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- I’m Afraid President Obama, Himself, is a Bit of Coward on the Race Issue
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Jan
3
A Good Black Hero Story
Filed Under Black/African American Issues, Media Praises and Critiques, Race and Racism, Sociology, Uncategorized by Rachel
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you would know that I routinely complain about the dearth of stories about black heroes.? In many cases black heroes are ignored or nonexistent in popular culture, but I saw a good story yesterday on the local news that challenges the stereotype? on “non-heroic” blacks.? When a 19 year old fell into the tracks in front of an oncoming train, Wesley Autrey jumped in after him.
Autrey and the teen landed in the drainage trough between the rails Tuesday as a southbound No. 1 train entered the 137th Street/City College station.
The train’s operator saw them on the tracks and applied the emergency brakes.
Two cars passed over the men with about 2 inches to spare, Autrey said.
Autrey downplayed his heroism,
Autrey, 50, of Manhattan, declined medical attention.
Autrey had been waiting for a train with his two young daughters. After the train stopped, he heard bystanders scream and yelled out: “We’re O.K. down here but I’ve got two daughters up there. Let them know their father’s O.K.,” The New York Times reported.
While spectators cheered Autrey, hugged him and hailed him as a hero, he didn’t see it that way.
“I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help,” he told the Times. “I did what I felt was right.”
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8 Responses to “A Good Black Hero Story”
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[...] A Good Black Hero Story – Rachel’s Tavern “I saw a good story yesterday on the local news that challenges the stereotype on non-heroic blacks. When a 19 year old fell into the tracks in front of an oncoming train, Wesley Autrey jumped in after him…” (tags: black africanamerican) Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
A very brave and selfless act. I’m glad he’s getting the recognition he deserves.
Great Story!
Rachel, thanks so much for this story.
I got home that evening, turned on the TV and not only was this report on NATIONAL TV, it was also broadcasted on LOCAL TV.
That gentleman is more than just a “hero”. He literally put his life on the line for that person who was in harms’ way.
WhIile listening to the news reports, all I could do was wonder, “What was going through that man’s mind as he sheilded that person from the train? What thoughts were going through his mind as that train rushed over both of them? Did he, or the other person think, ‘Was this my last day of life on Earth? Will we both make it through this?’”
Certainly not knowing what either of them was thinking does not stop me from wondering what they both could have been thinking while laying between those rails in just enough space (2″ inches to spare) to keep them both safe from the wheels of the train.
That day one person saved another person’s life.
If not for Mr. Wesley Autrey being on that platform that day, at that time, that 19-year-old might not still be alive today.
All it takes is for a person to turn down a certain street; walk to a certain corner; decide to wait just a few minutes before leaving home or work; or be there to save a life that they did not know they would save that day.
Well done Mr. Autrey!
You just did what needed to be done in the most selfless of ways.
And you truly were your “bother’s keeper.”
Sorry. That was supposed to read…”And you truly were your brother’s keeper.”
Rachel, here is another “hero” story. I could not get the link to work, so I posted the story here.
“BRONX BOY CAUGHT AFTER 40 FOOT FALL”
04:08 PM CST on Friday, January 5, 2007
Associated Press
Click to watch CBS report
NEW YORK – Two passers-by rescued a 3-year-old boy who fell four stories, scrambling to catch him as he tumbled from a fire escape, police said.
Julio Gonzalez, 43, and Pedro Nevarez, 40, saw 3-year-old Timothy Addo dangling from a Bronx building on Thursday, police said. The boy had crawled out of a window when his baby sitter briefly took her eyes off of him, police said.
“He was hanging on for dear life,” Gonzalez said.
Hearing people in the building scream for help as the boy’s grip weakened, the men rushed over to position themselves under the fire escape to catch him.
“No one came,” Nevarez said. “We knew it was up to us.”
The boy tumbled and hit Nevarez in the chest so hard he knocked him off balance, but he bounced into Gonzalez’ arms.
Timothy was treated at the hospital for a cut on his forehead.
“He’s fine. He’s happy. He’s smiling,” said his mother, 26-year-old Katrina Cosme, who was working at the time of the accident.
Police talked to the baby sitter, and an investigation was continuing Friday, Detective John Sweeney said.
The crucial catch came two days after a bystander threw himself onto a Manhattan subway track to save a man who had fallen, and a day after three police officers delivered a baby on a Brooklyn subway platform.
“This is the week of heroes in New York,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.”
Hey another good one. I saw that one on TV last night, too.
Two more brown guys ;)
See my entry on the social activism of West Fresno’s heroic black community, which I cite as an example of a much needed positive story on the post-civil rights era black experience:
http://burkeanreflections.blogspot.com/2007/01/west-fresno-neighborhood-embodies-best.html