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A Tale of Three Young Men
Where Are They 50 Years Later
The above photo was taken in the fall of 1972. From right to left, the three young men in the forefront are Ronald Judy, Brian Herron, and myself, William Spivey. We were very sensitive about being called young men and not boys, which was often used as a term of disrespect. The event was a football game at Washburn High School in Minneapolis. Ronald and Brian attended Washburn, and I took the city bus across town to Marshall University High.
It was mostly a coincidence we were standing together. Brian and I were friends from our Black church, where his father was the pastor. Ronald was Brian's friend more than mine, though I knew him. Most likely, I had been on the Marshall-U side of the field until halftime, when I strolled over to the Washburn side to visit with friends there. Washburn won the game; we never beat the much larger school in football or much of anything else in those days.
I first saw Brian when he accompanied his family to our church. His father was one of the finalists to replace Rev. James Holloway at Zion Baptist Church in North Minneapolis. Pastor Holloway had passed away after decades of service, and the final candidates gave a trial sermon at the church before the final selection was made. Rev. Curtis Herron from Kansas City was chosen, and the next Saturday, Brian joined the…
