You are here: Home › Op-Ed › CNN story about James “Little Man” Presley- retiring after 72 years in the cotton fields of Mississippi

CNN story about James “Little Man” Presley- retiring after 72 years in the cotton fields of Mississippi

CNN.com’s Sr Producer, Wayne Drash, shares a part of history and his story as he opens up about how his great grandfather hired James “Little Man” Presley at the age of 5, following the death of his (James’s) father, to work the family’s cotton fields. After 72 years of picking cotton for this family, James “Little Man” Presley is retiring.

Since I can’t embed the CNN video, click HERE and then let me know what you think.

I’m a little conflicted watching this. It reminds me of an elder I know that is still cleaning the same family’s home for the past, I don’t know, say 40+ years. Never on a payroll. Never had health benefits. I even wonder if the family even had the courtesy to keep up with minimum wage.

To me, I say fuck loyalty! How dare this be likened to the American Dream or call him the Unsung Civil Rights Hero! I would have rather the story include something about how Wayne Drash’s great grandfather encouraged James to go to college, if not for him, then maybe his wife or their children. Something more than a loyal black man who is in what I see as modern day slavery.

Don’t get me wrong, I admire James for his life of hard labor. I couldn’t do it. I pay tribute to him for remaining in the south when many were escaping slavery. I praise him for marrying his wife Eva May and fathering 10 children and 6 grandchildren. I just wish he was given some choices along the way.

That’s just me.

What do you think?

Maybe Oprah will see this story and write James “Little Man” Presley a fat check. 😉

12 Responses to "CNN story about James “Little Man” Presley- retiring after 72 years in the cotton fields of Mississippi"

danielle says:

January 12, 2009 at 12:59 pm

obviously this is a great man, but do you think CNN did this story justice ? and this wayne drash fellow — he’s a senior producer ? and this wayne fellow’s family is the one that hired him !?!?! ! Really ? Seriously ?

i have one word for this: exploitation.

maybe instead of plastering him on TV and trying to get bonus points for ‘crossing the railroad tracks’, he should take a chunk of the change that he’s surely gotten as a result of the 10-fold markup off of James Presley’s hard labor that paid for him to attend the best colleges, and pay out the back LIVING wages that ‘little man’ is surely owed. They paid him $3/week !!! Hiring a freakin 5 year old ??????????? Was that even LEGAL ? how has that wage grown since then ? health insurance ? social security ?? retirement matching funds ? 401k ??

and those 2 black cnn employee’s — Don and Robert — sitting there with him need to take a hard look in the mirror. ya’ll are comin up SHORT. did they really miss this one too ? were they really moved by wayne’s writhing with the guilt in knowing that his very family had exploited James Presley and his family to what would appear to be a near poverty condition ?

yes wayne, your family, and many many others. you OWE him ! Pay him NOW ! You call him your ‘black kin’ — well, tell me what member of your family you’d let be exploited like that. PAY UP NOW ! and with interest !!

instead of commending him for his hard work, for not being ‘the stereotypical black man’ (and a BIG WHATEVER on that stereotype that CNN itself is pushing) how about they pay him for the hard work he did.

I need the ALCU to see this story and press charges against the Drash family for back wages. PAY UP.

Don and Robert — more in common than we think ? interconnectedness ? The freakin connection here is the freakin extension of slavery which kept this great man workin the freakin cotton fields because he didnt have enough money to do anything else ! AH !

senior producer ? really wayne ? i guess this sort of detachment would explain why our media is such garbage.
1. krom says:
  
  July 13, 2009 at 10:36 pm
  
  are you f’ing stupid? Sorry…, rhetorical question. The man is 78 y.o. Do you know anything about minimum wage (I’m quite sure you do, check your paycheck), pay scales,inflation,401K? retirement, matching funds?? how old are you? try knowing what your talking about before you comment. There wasn’t even a minimum wage until 1935 and then it was only .25 per hour. Last time I checked minimum wage is a little over $5 per hour now so…Owe him, for what? He wasn’t a slave, he willingly worked. He seems like a good man but, working hard was what life was about back then. I worked on my grandparents farm for .50 an hour when I was a kid in the 70’s, maybe I should sue them for helping build character. Mr. Presley seems like a good, hard working man, hope he has a good retirement.
blkirish says:

January 12, 2009 at 1:59 pm

Okay… I wouldn’t have been upset if Don Lemon reached over and smacked Wayne Drash in the back of the head on GP. ^5 to Danielle … I agree that this fluff is more exploitation than anything else.

side note: Thanks Affrodite for the straight-dope!

~blk
aw (pronounced "A Dub") says:

January 12, 2009 at 6:03 pm

i luv the story of the man, but you all are right in terms of his rights and non-opportunities. i too hope to hear he gets a FAT check and lives out his dreams!
James says:

January 13, 2009 at 11:29 am

You people need to get a life! Look at what CAN be , and SHOULD be LEARNED from this man Mr.Presley , and Mr.Drash for his honesty !! The history , the times . the very heart of this country….!! Wayne , spend more time with your now “extended” family and learn and show us what can be learned. Black and white alike all need to be reminded of what RACISM means and does to all it touches. And for all of you idiots , yes I am white , 50 years old , and had to visit the grave of an old friend. ashamed and crying telling him how sorry I was , as we were turned away and scorned by a church we attended as children and how these so-called christians treated us because we brought our friend Willie from down the dirt road to church with us as kids. We grew up , played , eat, celebrated holidays and family things together, later worked together for years til we eventually moved away and lost touch, yet we never forgot. Our color wasn’t an issue except to others that saw us kids playing together , lunches , working our jobs, family times together. But look at the people we become……….
affrodite says:

January 13, 2009 at 12:11 pm

@James- Point taken on Wayne Drash for his honesty and your childhood friend Willie. A lot of bad things have been done in the name of Christianity and even the best of Christians forget about their commitment to forgiveness. I’m sure that was extremely painful for you.

I think what upsets many African Americans who have commented here, is the feeling that James Presley was allowed to work picking cotton for 72 years. I mean even technology has advanced in that area so I’m left wondering was he literally in the field picking cotton? They show his hands and how leathery they are. Don and Robert’s reaction left us as fellow African Americans confused. It really would have been received better if there was some happy ending, like a retirement fund a trust for his future generations. Some way to show true repentence. My guess is that Wayne Drash’s great grandfather is no longer living which means there were at least 1 if not 2 generations that perpetuated this practice of slavery.

Thanks for posting, James, really I appreciate it. I just don’t agree with you completely, but that’s my favorite part of blogging- engaging in lively discussion. We can all learn from each other.
Sharde Thomas says:

January 15, 2009 at 2:13 pm

I really enjoyed the video. I think my brother and I did a really good job.
Jaquetta Robinson says:

February 2, 2009 at 10:19 pm

I am the great niece of James Presley. My uncle has come a long ways in life. An he is an Hero of his time and our time. He havent wrote any speeches or walked around the world. But life is an unwritten novel and a march through hardship and a many struggles. HE is a loyal and humble man who deserves credit and honor!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cierra White says:

February 2, 2009 at 10:28 pm

My uncle has did alot in his time. No one can change the past or the future.My uncle,James ”Littleman” Presley is a proud man.Life is not easy and the only person that can change the world is GOD.To let you all know me and my uncle were born in the same month and day,but just different days!!!!!!!!!!!
affrodite says:

February 8, 2009 at 1:42 am

@Jaquetta and Cierra- Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. I am honored to hear directly from family members of Mr. Presley.

@Shardre- The center of the discussion is not about the quality of the production.

Everyone- Mr. Presley was a hard working man and should indeed be honored. It’s just puzzling to some of us learning of this story, including myself, that Mr. Presley worked the cotton fields for so long (I only hope he got to use machinery as technology advances occurred). It appears that perhaps Mr. Drash’s great grandfather took advantage of Mr. Presley in a way that feels reminiscient of modern day slavery.

Thanks again everyone for visiting and stopping to comment. This is my favorite part of blogging.
Kenneth from South Georgia says:

July 13, 2009 at 11:04 am

He apologizes? For what? Don’t get me wrong….I am sorry for obstacles that Mr. Presley endured, but that was the way of life for most of the people in the south during this period of time. I have grown up listening to the stories of my dad chopping cotton, my mother’s father dying and the family picking cotton until their fingers bled just to stay on and keep share croping with the land owner. I have heard mama talk about the grits and “hoe cake” that they ate 3 times a day to keep going.

Again I am not disrespecting Mr. Prestly and his accomplishments but I am criticizing Mr Dresh for exploiting this man for ratings……All this is article shows, is yet another attempt for ratings for political correctness. Oh by the way my family were white sharecroppers. They picked and chopped cottons next to the black sharecroppers.

It is never about a black white thing its a poverty thing. Root out poverty and give a person an education and they can go far. look at me I have several college degrees and I was the grand son of a sharecropper.
Bill Drayton says:

May 21, 2010 at 2:50 am

I frankly do not know where to begin. First of all, I am very grateful to Wayne for both the article and the broadcast. I believe the reason for doing so was NOT to exploit anyone but to highlight an issue which has been hidden for too long. I am aware that this has generated much anger, which must not be dismissed, because we need to recognize that the slavery system was evil and had far-reaching consequences which are even with us today in terms of prejudice and discrimination. I also believe that unless and until we learn to listen to one another, telling our respective family stories, with respect and grace, then we will NEVER find a resolution. I am part of the same project that Betty and Phoebe Kilby are involved in – “Coming To The Table” – set up as a forum for descendants of slave-owners and slaves to come together and address the legacy of slavery in order to work out programs of healing. I highly recommend this project, which has its own website – http://www.comingtothetable.org.
Some of those who watched / listened to the broadcast may have missed the response of some of the Presley family to Wayne’s apology. They said that he personally had nothing to do with slavery, which happened in previous generations. However, I understand why he did it. I too have made a public apology for my family’s involvement in slavery. I personally identified with what they did, even though I was not personally involved. I chose to do that. In fact, I had no choice. If you go to my website and click on to “Newsletters” (the penultimate letter), you will read about the sequence of events which took place to bring me to that point.
Now I must address the issue of reparations. I believe if we deal with it purely in financial terms, we are missing the point. We’re just scratching the surface. Fundamentally I believe that reparations have to do with the repairing of relationships between individuals and communities. Now that will inevitably involve all kinds of restorative action – with financial implications in some cases, for example, trust funds or scholarships or grants or donations . But these will be done in a spirit of reconciliation. Surely the aim is to break down the barriers which exist today. Attack is NOT the best means of defence. All it does is further exacerbate an already volatile situation. Trust me! I’ve talked with relatives, who think I’m crazy even to go this far.
As someone, who has his roots in the South but is somewhat removed, I have to ask the question: Can the United States of America really be united? The strains are showing. I don’t think you’ve begun to address the unfinished business from the Civil War. I apologize if I’m wrong in my opinion. But if I’m right, then a nationalwide forum – not just a “talking shop” – needs to be set up in order to find the “common ground”. Or is that an impossible task? Is the hurt too much ingrained in the psyche of the competing groups? God bless America! Bill Drayton.

Comments are closed.

What do you think?

Share this:

Like this: