“I can not help but wonder, had B.T. been given the opportunity and the walls of ‘American apartheid’ did not exist, where would he have ventured? What if his early plans to attend law school had materialized? Or his Olympic dreams? Maybe he would have ventured into politics.”
“He lived his life to the fullest.’
Such was the assessment of Master Barber and Senior Griot Sid Fumbanks during our impromptu conversation Saturday about the ancestorial transition of Robert Thomas.
Sid’s comment could be open to differing interpretations, depending on whom you ask.
To some, Thomas (B.T.) never reached his full potential as an athlete or entrepreneur, hampered by bad luck and systemic racism.
Others will note, however, he opened previously closed doors and paved the way for a generation of achievers on both sides of the civil rights and corporate doors.
James Mosley, awaiting a styling by ‘Super Sid,’ said, ‘Mr. Thomas’ as most knew him, inspired a generation of youth while running the Northside YMCA after graduating from Marquette University a half-century ago.
However, that contribution paled compared to his entrepreneurial contributions, which included several food ventures and running the state’s two largest Black newspapers.
After getting my ‘Afro’ shaped, a brother I engaged while exiting the MCJ with a stack of newspapers revealed he knew B.T. from his glory days at North Division high school, where he excelled in track, eliciting several scholarship offers from major colleges.
The brother posited had B.T. been a privileged White athlete, he probably would have earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, “he was that good,” he theorized.
But finances and limited access to specialized coaching held him back.
Likewise, activist Tyrone Dumas lamented that B.T.’s entrepreneurial brilliance was stifled by lousy luck and systemic bias.
After leaving the ‘Y,’ he accepted the challenge of pioneering the first major fast food restaurant in Milwaukee’s central city, ‘Robby’s’.
It was said McDonald’s corporate managers encouraged the establishment to ascertain the viability of a franchise in the Black community.
‘Robby’s’ proved successful, but the franchise was given to basketball great Wayne Embry instead, not because of Embry’s business acumen, but rather his name recognition.
B.T. was crushed, I was told, but not deterred and instead focused on two other family businesses, Ebony Cue and a central city bowling alley.
He later started the largest Black catering business in the state, ‘Robby’s Catering,’ which was derailed by governmental intrusion spurred by an elaborate probe of one of the state’s largest nonprofits. The investigation of that agency left in its wake innocent bystanders damaged financially and—in some cases—probably psychologically, one of which was B.T.’s successful catering business.
Adding to his travails was the ongoing harassment by police and some disgruntled local politicians whose conduct was under question by this newspaper.
Publishing a vibrant Black newspaper carries with it both rewards and risks. As Frederick Douglass once posited: “power concedes nothing without a demand.”
I won’t get into the various forms of retribution we encountered over the years, but suffice it to say staff members took heart knowing leadership always had our backs.
In fact, I was ‘honored’ to learn B.T. and I had been provided VIP status on former Police Chief Harold Breier’s Red Squad list. The infamous ‘list’ was the byproduct of a Milwaukee Police Department special unit that monitored—and harassed— civil rights leaders and outspoken Black abolitionists.
B.T. took the harassment with a grain of salt, once explaining you have to be ‘doing something right—worthy of scrutiny by the ‘enemy’—to be included on the list.’
Being a native of Tennessee, he obviously knew better than I to keep his ‘apartheid aspirins’ within reach and his verbal powder dry.
Nonetheless, I can only surmise how he maintained his cool amidst the turmoil of being at the vanguard of the struggle.
Among his other attributes, B.T. was resilient. And seemingly eager to play the game despite the odds. Some suggest he thrived on adversity, and every time lady luck threw him a nasty look, or Jim Crow knocked him down, he would gather himself and start anew.
Aside from his media role, he found time to explore multiple side ventures. When one was derailed, he used the experience to try something anew.
For example, Robby’s restaurant led to Robby’s catering which led to ‘Robby’s Corn Roast,’ which was among the first Black businesses at Summerfest and continues to this day.
From my prism, however, his most significant undertaking was his media footprint, starting with the Milwaukee Star Times, which he began with his then-wife, Patricia, and later restructured as the Milwaukee Community Journal.
Divorce didn’t subvert the couple’s business partnership, as B.T. served as general manager and associate publisher of the MCJ until his death two weeks ago.
It was at the Star Times that our lives intersected, and my fated career was cemented.
I was a sophomore at UW-Milwaukee majoring in mass communications when the department chair submitted my name for an internship at the Star Times.
I believe that God (Nyame) designates a specific role for each of his children, although few ever realize what they are destined or fated for.
In my case, a guiding hand pushed me toward my journalism career, starting with my first job as a copyboy at the old Milwaukee Sentinel.
While there, I learned how to write straight news stories while receiving an injection of newspaper ink that would ultimately determine my professional journey.
I learned the basics of journalism while there and
continued to learn my craft while in the military. I finally saw my name in print when I crafted a short story and photo of Sammy Davis Jr.’s entertaining the troops in the heart and heat of the Vietnam jungle and submitted it to Jet Magazine.
I extended my enlistment six months after my tour to attend photography school before being called back to Milwaukee by the late radio host Walter G. Beach to participate in a series of demonstrations stemming from the ‘accidental killing’ of a young sister employed by my aunt’s nursing home.
While I had no desire to return to Milwaukee, participating in the demonstrations led to my enrollment at UW-Milwaukee.
It was doing my sophomore year that B.T. came into my life, fulfilling my fated paradigm of never having applied for a job.
In retrospect, it was not solely based on the potential that B.T. chose me over several more advanced students for a Milwaukee Star Times internship.
He said at the time that his rationale for choosing me was more about my commitment to the movement than my photojournalism skills which would improve over time.
As strange as it seemed at the time, he posited I was fated for a position in advocacy journalism.
I would become the managing editor through attrition, which led to my career at the MCJ.
I learned much about business, culture, and life from B.T..
Equally important was his philosophy that Black newspapers not only chronicled our journey but stood at the vanguard of the civil rights movement.
The awards over the decades represented our journalistic expertise, but it was the laws and lives we impacted that revealed our true worth to the community.
Former Northcott Neighborhood House director and Juneteenth Day coordinator Mac Weddle pointed out Tuesday that “Mr. Thomas was one of those rare influencers who never turned his back on us. He used his position to open doors for others. He always responded to our requests for help or advice.”
Given the challenges I frequently presented by my often harsh and militant editorials (he gave me the title of ‘militant midget’), I assume many publishers would have sought to restrain me. Instead, B.T. and publisher Patricia Pattillo focused on maintaining community and political support, keeping us afloat against the odds.
They allowed me the freedom to articulate—from a Black Nationalistic perspective—a philosophy I assume cost us advertising revenues and occasional warnings from the scared ‘Negrocracy.’
I never took that reality lightly, particularly given that both B.T. and Mrs. Pattillo had other career optionsthat offered greater financial stabilityand comfort.
In fact, I cannot help but wonder,had B.T. been given early opportunities and the walls of apartheid had not limited his aspirations, where would he have ventured?
What if his early plans to attendlaw school materialized? Or hisOlympic dreams? Some theorize he would have been an excellent politician.
That latter profession makes sense, for he had the unusual ability to assess situations on the fly, conceptualize tactics, and lead and inspire individuals.
In any event, we have all benefitted from his lifelong commitment to entrepreneurship and the Black Press.
Even after a series of health concerns, he stayed faithful to that roleand, while forced to operate from a walker or wheelchair in his later years, he rode shotgun during the distribution period of our two publications while maintaining oversight of the advertising department.
I have no doubt that B.T.’s solehobby—playing chess—was not just an incessant hobby, but his careerphilosophy.
A good chess player must look twoor three moves in advance. He must simultaneously play offense and defense.
His vision, courage, and leadership earned him a place in ‘Our-story.’
Yeah, as Sid surmised, he lived hislife to the fullest.
But another quote comes to mindwhen I think of my ‘Uncle Bob,’ onehe could have written himself, but instead, was offered by John Maxwell:
“The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying.
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races, one after theother. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
Hotep.
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