Edd Lee Bankhead is dead
Louis Epstein
I learned from a telephone call from a lawyer associated with the family
that Edd Lee Bankhead (his name has had a number of variations) died this
morning.
He achieved notable press coverage in the past decade based on his claim
to have been born in March 1883...however,this was based on a 1956 court
affidavit from Macon,Georgia,sworn by a friend,not any timely proof of
birth.Later claims said that he had 1930s documentation,in any case the
1883 date was accepted by the Social Security Administration.(Of course,
they also accepted Charlie Smith's 1955 claim to have been born in 1842;
Social Security death files allege hundreds of people dying at ages from
150 to 192).
The 1920 census records,however,are consistent with his being born in
1889(if his March 11th birthdate was correct for this year,he would have
been the oldest man in the world by twelve days)...while the 1910 and
1930 census records apparently point to his being born in 1897.He has
not yet been located in the 1900 census.
He was the son of former slave Alex Bankhead.
-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
Bill Schenley
> with the family that Edd Lee Bankhead (his name has had
> a number of variations) died this morning.
Strange. Edlee Bankhead lived in Erie, Pennsylvania for
many years. In Sunday's (November 24th, 2002) Erie
Times-News, there was an article about Bankhead and his
son, who are suing corporations for slave reparations.
Here is the Times-News story:
John Bankhead was born into freedom on July 4, 1929.
As a child growing up on Mississippi farms, Bankhead
heard the life stories of his ancestors - slaves and
descendants of slaves who, his father told him, never got
what was coming to them.
Former Erie residents John Bankhead and his father,
Edlee Bankhead - the son of a slave and possibly the
oldest man in America at the unverified age of 119 - have
joined a steadily growing number of black Americans
seeking reparations from companies that once profited from
slavery.
"Back in those days, black people were treated no better
than animals," said John Bankhead, 73.
Ten lawsuits seeking reparations are currently pending in
six states; the largest is a class action suit filed in New York
in March on behalf of more than 35 million black Americans.
The Edlee and John Bankhead lawsuit, also filed in New York
earlier this year, names as defendants Lloyds of London, the
insurance giant; financial companies JP Morgan Chase,
Lehman Brothers and Brown Brothers Harriman; railroad
companies Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific; tobacco
companies RJ Reynolds and Brown and Williamson; and
West Point Stevens, a textile company.
Each of the companies, John Bankhead said, has profited in
some way from slavery, whether by employing, insuring or
transporting slaves.
"Fighting for this is important to me because my dad and my
grandfather worked hard all of their lives," John Bankhead
said from his home in Corinth, Miss., a town of about 15,000
just over 200 miles south of Jackson, the state capital.
"My dad was a sharecropper most of his life," John
Bankhead said. "He would stay in one place for so long, and
then things wouldn't work out. ... At harvest time he'd get
cheated out of money for his crops and would have to leave.
People like my father and grandfather never got anything."
Edlee Bankhead, who lives in a nursing home in Corinth, is no
longer able to speak.
John Bankhead said he isn't bitter about the situation, but he
is determined - determined not only to get the money he
believes his father is owed, but also to educate people, to
make people remember a painful time in America's history that
many, he claimed, are trying to forget.
"This nation was built with slave labor," John Bankhead said.
"The railroads in this nation were built with slave labor. The
White House was built with slave labor. People need to know
this."
If Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, the force behind the reparations
movement and a plaintiff in a suit, has anything to say about it,
corporations won't just recognize the history of slavery, they'll
pay for it.
Farmer-Paellmann is coordinating nine of the 10 suits, including
the Bankheads'.
"The most important thing is that there have been reparations
paid to the survivors of the Holocaust and their descendants,"
she said. "That created a major precedent for us. There's a
chance we, the descendants of slaves, can get reparations."
Richard Ruth, an Erie lawyer who has tried civil rights cases,
said Farmer-Paellmann's approach to suing corporations might
prove more successful than previous attempts to sue the
government for reparations.
"The initial approach was to sue the government, and that
approach is extremely difficult," Ruth said. "That is like
climbing straight up a 90-degree slope. The approach of
suing insurance companies or railroads that financially
benefited from slavery might have a better chance of
success. It's a matter of historical documentation."
Time, however, might not be on the plaintiffs' side, he said.
"(The statute of limitations) might prove to be a very serious
stumbling block," Ruth said.
Opponents of the lawsuits, such as David Horowitz, a
nationally known author and civil rights activist, call the
lawsuits frivolous.
"This is shameful," said Horowitz, author of "Uncivil Wars:
The Controversy over Reparations for Slavery."
"I'm totally for giving reparations to former slaves - I don't
think 40 acres and a mule is enough - but the problem is
they're all dead," he said.
"These people aren't suing companies, they're suing living
shareholders, living employees, living customers," he said.
"Among all of those people being sued are tens of
thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of black people.
This makes no sense whatsoever."
Farmer-Paellmann dismisses the argument that the
corporations - "perpetrators of crimes against humanity"
- should be protected from paying by the passing of the
years.
"It's true that slavery ended a long time ago, but the last
slaves were only dying in the 1960s," Farmer-Paellmann
said. "Corporations are still investing the wealth they've
gained by slaves. If our ancestors, the slaves, received the
fruits of their own labor, if they were paid the wealth they
accrued, their descendants would be in a much better
condition today."
---
ABOUT EDLEE BANKHEAD:
Edlee Bankhead and his son, John Bankhead, moved from Erie
to Corinth, Miss., in 2001.
"My dad didn't want to die in the North," said John Bankhead,
73. "A lot of people from the South don't want to go back there
after leaving, but he did - it was all he knew."
No birth records exist to prove Edlee Bankhead's age, but
representatives from the Social Security Administration
recently visited him in Corinth to award him a plaque for
drawing on Social Security longer than any other person.
---
Can be found at: http://www.goerie.com/
KEYWORDS: Edlee Bankhead
Robert Young
> > I learned from a telephone call from a lawyer associated
> > with the family that Edd Lee Bankhead (his name has had
> > a number of variations) died this morning.
>
> Strange. Edlee Bankhead lived in Erie, Pennsylvania for
> many years.
If you read the entire article you posted, you would notice that he
moved back to Corinth, MS in 2001 "because he didn't want to die in
the north."
Also, he wasn't 119, that was an exaggeration. All the census records
point to an age between 105 and 113 years old.
Bill Schenley
> > > with the family that Edd Lee Bankhead (his name has
> > > had a number of variations) died this morning.
> >
> > Strange. Edlee Bankhead lived in Erie, Pennsylvania for
> > many years.
>
> If you read the entire article you posted, you would notice
> that he moved back to Corinth, MS in 2001 "because he didn't
> want to die in the north."
What would make you think I *didn't* read the entire article?
If *you* would have read *my* entire post ... the word "lived"
should have kicked in at some point ... You know ... as in
past-tense ...
Here, Robert ... try it again ... "Edlee Bankhead lived in Erie,
Pennsylvania for many years ..."
If you are still confused ... you could always try it again ...
Should all of this still have you sitting in front of your monitor
with that perplexed, father-knows-best look on your face ...
try thinking ... "Gee, I wonder if Edlee Bankhead *lived* in Erie,
Pennsylvania before he moved to Mississippi ..."
Robert ... Did you know Edlee Bankhead once lived in Erie,
Pennsylvania?
> Also, he wasn't 119, that was an exaggeration. All the census
> records point to an age between 105 and 113 years old.
You could be right ... But then ... *I* never said he was 119 at
the time of his death ... I reprinted a recent Erie Times-News
story about him ... *With* attribution ...
You would have known this ... had you read the entire post ...
> > Here is the Times-News story:
<snipped>
Robert Young
> > > > I learned from a telephone call from a lawyer associated
> > > > with the family that Edd Lee Bankhead (his name has
> > > > had a number of variations) died this morning.
> > >
> > > Strange. Edlee Bankhead lived in Erie, Pennsylvania for
> > > many years.
> >
> > If you read the entire article you posted, you would notice
> > that he moved back to Corinth, MS in 2001 "because he didn't
> > want to die in the north."
>
> What would make you think I *didn't* read the entire article?
"Mr." Shenley,
Your total failure to communicate effectively reflects poorly on YOU,
not me. As the writer of your statement, it is your incumbent
responsibility to make known to the reader the gist of what you were
saying--which you failed to do. Not surprising considering the short
shrift of a statement you made.
If you knew that Mr. Bankhead lived in Erie, PA, then what did you
find strange? That he died just two days after he was featured in the
local newspaper? I did in fact know that, but not from what you were
saying. I knew that because I had been following up on this case.
And yes I knew that he had formerly lived in Erie, PA.
As for the age issue--the real point of the discussion--the media
operates like the supermarket tabloid. The more sensationalism, the
more papers sell, as long as it is believable. Hence, they write the
story as if he "really was" 119 and the big, bad people at Guinness
just won't accept him. Well, that is a lie. The facts showed that he
exaggerated his age in order to get social security money early. Mr.
Bankhead was over 100, but was not close to 119--or 118 or 117 or 116
or 115 or 114. The 1920 census indicated he might have been 113, but
the other census records suggest he was younger than that.
Of course, legendary showman P.T. Barnum once said, "There's a sucker
born every minute" and "you can fool some of the people all of the
time." In fact, the elist theory holds that it is better to leave the
masses uneducated, to better control them. Just give them bread and
circuses.
The point of this post was not to debate you, but to counter the lies
that Mr. Bankhead told, which were then amplified.
Then again, maybe they weren't lies, maybe Mr. Bankhead just was so
illiterate he couldn't count backwards in 1935. In any case, his son
John Bankhead was said to be 66 in 1999, but by 2002 he was 62 years
old--some 4 years younger just three years later. The "119th
birthday" newspaper article said that Mr. Bankhead was the
second-oldest man in the world, after the 125-year-old man in Japan.
Of course, Mr. Chuganji is listed by Guinness as 113. That they
couldn't get that right either just shows the tendency by this family
to get their facts wrong.
Sincerely,
Robert Young
Bill Schenley
> > > > Pennsylvania for many years.
> > > If you read the entire article you posted, you would
> > > notice that he moved back to Corinth, MS in 2001
> > > "because he didn't want to die in the north."
> > What would make you think I *didn't* read the entire
> > article?
> "Mr." Shenley,
> Your total failure to communicate effectively
*Mr.* Young ... Don't you mean "[my] total failure to
communicate effectively" ... *to you* ..
> reflects poorly on YOU, not me. As the writer of your
> statement, it is your incumbent responsibility to make
> known to the reader the gist of what you were saying
> --which you failed to do.
Maybe you're right ... Maybe it was my fault ... for
momentarily forgetting about the recent influx of
dumbasses on alt.obituaries ...
> Not surprising considering the short shrift of a statement
> you made.
Sorry. I should'a known that "short shrift" would be a
tough read ... for some ...
> If you knew that Mr. Bankhead lived in Erie, PA,
I did ...
> then what did you find strange? That he died just two
> days after he was featured in the local newspaper?
There ya' go ... I see *you* have now read the entire post.
> I did in fact know that, but not from what you were
> saying. I knew that because I had been following up on
> this case. And yes I knew that he had formerly lived in
> Erie, PA.
Really? Then how did it all get so difficult for you, Bob?
If you had been reading the entire thread ... you should
have known my post was in response to the original post
where I pointed out Mr. Bankhead lived in Erie, Pa. for
many years ... The article I reprinted from the Erie
Times-News clearly stated:
"Former Erie residents John
Bankhead and his father, Edlee
Bankhead ..."
KEYWORD: "Former"
"John Bankhead said from his
home in Corinth, Miss. ..."
KEYWORDS: "home" and "Corinth, Miss."
"Edlee Bankhead and his son, John
Bankhead, moved from Erie to
Corinth, Miss., in 2001."
KEYWORDS: "moved from Erie"
Bob ... Those three pieces of information ... plus ... "Edlee
Bankhead lived in Erie, Pennsylvania for many years"
would have led most readers to think ... "Gee, that old Mr.
Bankhead must have once lived in Erie, Pennsylvania ...
but probably moved to Mississippi ... in 2001... Somewhere
near Corinth ..."
Apparently, for you ... it was a bit more difficult to string
all this data together ...
> As for the age issue--the real point of the discussion--the
> media operates like the supermarket tabloid.
Well ... Duh ... Then you must have *loved* the AP obit ...
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-deaths1130n
ov30,0,4906273.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dnation%2Dheadlines
<snipped>
> The 1920 census indicated he might have been 113, but
> the other census records suggest he was younger than
> that.
The birth records from Noxubee Co. Mississippi have his
birth year as 1899 or 1896.
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ms/noxubee/military/ww1/registran
ts/nox-ab.txt
Louis Epstein
:> > > > Strange. Edlee Bankhead lived in Erie,
:> > > > Pennsylvania for many years.
:> "Mr." Shenley,
: I did ...
: KEYWORD: "Former"
: KEYWORDS: "moved from Erie"
: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-deaths1130n
: ov30,0,4906273.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dnation%2Dheadlines
: <snipped>
Yes,Robert and I have both written to an Associated Press
reporter about this far-too-credulous text...specifically
the reporter who wrote a story on the authentication of the
current oldest validated American,whose family got the
paperwork together mainly from Robert's guidance...he and
I have been doing work in this area for years,and when the
Bankhead family's consultant recently submitted the age
claim to the Guinness Book,the relevant senior researcher
at Guinness immediately contacted me and Robert.I quickly
called the consultant and got more details...she promptly
informed me when Mr. Bankhead died the next day,which is
how I posted the news here before it reached the press.
However "strange" it may be that the man died right after
a newspaper in his former hometown published a story on him,
the pertinent reaction to gullible journalism is careful
correction of unsubstantiated claims.
:> The 1920 census indicated he might have been 113, but
:> the other census records suggest he was younger than
:> that.
: The birth records from Noxubee Co. Mississippi have his
: birth year as 1899 or 1896.
: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ms/noxubee/military/ww1/registran
: ts/nox-ab.txt
Thank you very much for this citation.
He would seem likelier to be the 1899 than the 1896
Bankhead,as the other lacks the middle name and has
a different birthday.However,this refers to draft
registrants' provided birth information,not actual
birth records.
Bill Schenley
> : his birth year as 1899 or 1896.
>
> :
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ms/noxubee/military/ww1/registran
> : ts/nox-ab.txt
>
> Thank you very much for this citation.
> He would seem likelier to be the 1899 than the 1896
> Bankhead,as the other lacks the middle name and has
> a different birthday.However,this refers to draft
> registrants' provided birth information,not actual
> birth records.
Yeah, I used the wrong term ... but I give more credence
to these dates as being actual ... because Bankhead
would have had less reason to deceive anyone at this
stage of his life ...
StellaStar
>would have had less reason to deceive anyone at this
>stage of his life ...
I know people well under 100 who can't come up with their accurate age, or much
else either. As for the "coincidence" of the Oldest Person dying...it happens
almost weekly. Funny thing about that.