Many of you probably never heard of the Bronner Brothers dynasty, but this is a family that showed how anyone with business sense can excel in America.

Obit: Arthur Bronner Sr., 89, top name for black mane ATLANTA ? Arthur Bronner Sr. traveled town to town, beauty shop to beauty shop selling Sister C.J. Walker hair products before becoming a founder of Bronner Bros. which, for some, is the very definition of black hair care products. Mr. Bronner’s sales route became the distribution network for Bronner Bros., founded in 1947, said his son, Art Bronner III of Norcross, Ga. “He knew the back roads of Georgia like nobody’s business,” he said. Mr. Bronner Sr. and his brother, the late Nathaniel Bronner, started the company by selling other brands and moved into developing their own products in the 1970s. “Dad realized if they could make X amount of profit selling other people’s products how much more they could make selling their own,” his son said. Their first was BB Hair Food. Though Bronner Bros. sold other brands to beauty shops, beauticians renamed them, saying, “I want some BB,” said his sister-in-law, Robbie Bronner of Atlanta. “When we came out with our first product, we knew it had to be named BB.” Today, the company has 300 employees and offers more than 50 original hair care products. Its annual trade show draws thousands of stylists from around the country. Arthur Edward Bronner Sr., 89, of Atlanta, died of congestive heart failure Wednesday at Piedmont Hospital. … His winning ways won Bronner Bros. more than customers. When product manufacturers such as Revlon had a sales competition, Bronner Bros. always came out a winner, his son said. “His rapport with the hair stylists was so strong, they’d win every time,” he said. … He was a leader in Wheat Street Baptist Church and had been president of the Men Who Usher for 18 years.

In the traditions of Madam C. J. Walker, the Bronner Brothers built a hair care empire. They didn’t ask for anyone to give them anything. They made their own business and created jobs for others.

Well this is a sad one…. My wife probably said it best when she said after hearing of his death today, “he’s gone and we are left here with the fools“.

Mr. Parks work in photography and movies has touched all Americans. In some cases many probably will never know it was his work. America does not get many with his talent and who is to say another with his level of skill will pass our way again any time soon? He was an American original.

Filmmaker Gordon Parks Dies at 93 NEW YORK Mar 7, 2006 (AP)? Gordon Parks, who captured the struggles and triumphs of black America as a photographer for Life magazine and then became Hollywood’s first major black director with “The Learning Tree” and the hit “Shaft,” died Tuesday, a family member said. He was 93. Parks, who also wrote fiction and was an accomplished composer, died in New York, his nephew, Charles Parks, said in a telephone interview from Lawrence, Kan. “Nothing came easy,” Parks wrote in his autobiography. “I was just born with a need to explore every tool shop of my mind, and with long searching and hard work. I became devoted to my restlessness.” He covered everything from fashion to politics to sports during his 20 years at Life, from 1948 to 1968. But as a photographer, he was perhaps best known for his gritty photo essays on the grinding effects of poverty in the United States and abroad and on the spirit of the civil rights movement. …

I must dare to say, that given the circumstances that brought him into this world, if we are not careful we really will not see another like him again. Just look at the circumstances he was born into.

Filmmaker Gordon Parks Dies at 93 (page 2) … Parks was born Nov. 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kan., the youngest of 15 children. In his 1990 autobiography, “Voices in the Mirror,” he remembered it as a world of racism and poverty, but also a world where his parents gave their children love, discipline and religious faith. …

Now granted America has moved beyond those early 1900’s issues of racism and that is a good thing. And the level of poverty he was born into does not exists in today’s America of abundant social programs. But the fact he was the last of 15 children, born into a home without a lot of money is pretty much unheard of today. Any family with 14 children and one in the womb would be advised to have an abortion murder the baby. The family would be told that they “can’t provide” for the child and the entire situation would be spun to give the impression that murder would actually do the baby a favor. Well there was no legal abortion when Gordon Parks was born and thank God there was not. Because his family realized they did not have a lot of money, but they used whatever was available to them to keep their children fed. Also, when we speak of “providing” for children, we should not equate “providing” simply to money. Because “providing” means more than money. There is love, caring and values, that a family gives to a child and those things can’t be bought. Even the poorest of families can have those eternal goods in great supply. Yes some people having babies might be short on money, but they can get by if they dare to take the initiative and not abort kill the baby. What any family needs most in the way of “providing” for a child is love, caring and a strong moral foundation. These are the best things a family can provide a child. And even if a family is short on those, the child should still be allowed to live. To have an opportunity to possibly do better for himself/herself.

Gordon Parks grew up in poverty, but he was given valuable love from his family. Gordon Parks, rest in peace.

Having been to several funerals for relatives of mine in rural Tennessee, I’ve witnessed something amazing each time. It is an amazing display of respect, that simply does not happen in the “big city”. And growing up in a metropolitan suburb I was awe struck the first time I witnessed it and it still amazes me whenever I see it.

Every funeral I’ve been to in rural Tennessee involved the funeral procession having to go through quiet rural roads. And each time I would see people literally stop their cars as the funeral procession drives by. Many times, the people who stop, out of respect even get out of their cars and stand in respect for our loss. This display of respect for our recently departed loved one makes me want to cry. Everyone stops, no matter the race, no matter if they knew my loved one well or disliked them. Even the most staunch racist in town will stop if driving on the road that day. All to show respect for a person that passed on. This is one aspect of Southern Hospitality that I wish the “big city” would learn.

Yesterday President Bush “pulled to the side of the road”, got out of a jet plane and tried to pay respects to Coretta Scott King. As I’ve mentioned before, Bush had little or nothing to gain politically by going. Little did he know that people like Joseph Lowery, Jimmy Carter and the members of the congregation that cheered them on would basically roll down their car windows and spit on him! You would hope that for one moment in time partisan bickering would cease to respect and honor the life of a woman who tried to do good for mankind. For some that is simply impossible. For them, seeing someone “pulling by the side of the road” to show respect, is nothing more than an opportunity to take pop-shots at them.

As was mentioned in a write-up I cited in my funeral coverage, CS King stood by Bush, as he laid a wreath at the tomb of Martin Luther King Junior. She stood respectful of the President’s visit, while some hecklers were across the street. It is a shame that the ring leaders of the hecklers were allowed to speak yesterday.

Atlanta’s channel 11 news has a live feed.

What I’ve noticed is that when the Presidents entered there was JUBULENT clapping when Bill Clinton was shown (George H. W. Bush was also in view) and when Bill Clinton was shown with Jimmy Carter there was more JUBULENT clapping. When President George W. Bush was shown there was silence. Then Bill Clinton was shown again near Ted (I lost her in the lake) Kennedy and again there was JUBULENT clapping. Then they showed President George W. Bush again and again there was silence. It was like the camera was going back and forth between them to catch the response. I guess the fact there was just silence for President George W. Bush was a form of respect considering what could have occurred.

Of course the singing is great. And New Birth has the mass choir singing. Byron Cage led the initial praise and worship.

update (2/7/2006 12:54PM ET): Bishop Long opened with some kind words, another song was sang (Psalm121), then scripture reading and now a solo (Our father). The solo is being sung by Miriam Fawaz, who is a great classical singer.

update (2/7/2006 1:00PM ET): After the solo Bishop Long asked the Civil Rights leaders to stand and of course there was applause. Then he introduced President Bush with a very respectful introduction. WOW! Great applause! I mean there was loud applause for Bush! Now Bush is speaking. He mentioned “now she leans on everlasting arms…”

While speaking Bush almost had a word fumble, but he was able to keep flowing. Bush spoke against the past evils of segregation and how strong CS King was in the fight for equality under the law.

update (2/7/2006 1:08PM ET): President Bush closed with “Our sister Coretta is on the other shore, at peace, at rest, at home.” (You can get the full text of President Bush’s remarks here.)

Now Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue is speaking.

Governor Purdue finished and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is speaking. She mentioned the “foolishness of war”. Are the Leftist shots starting?…

update (2/7/2006 1:17PM ET): Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is done. She is the first to mention anything that really leans to the Left politically, but she kept it fairly clean. A delegate from South Africa is speaking now. The delegate is done, now another classical styled solo by a different singer.

update (2/7/2006 1:30PM ET): Dr. Dorothy Height is speaking now.

A running theme with several of the speakers is “we’ve made progress, but have a long way to go”. As if we moved from living under rocks to living under trees. These folks need to acknowledge that IT ALL HAS BEEN WON. The only person who actually said “we won” was the delegate from South Africa, in speaking about efforts in her own nation.

Sherry Frank of the “American Jewish Committee” is speaking now. She mentioned how CS King signed a letter asking Iraq to stop firing scuds into Israel and that she recognized Israel’s right to exists.

update (2/7/2006 1:46PM ET): Ted (I lost her in the lake) Kennedy is up to speak now. Very loud applause. Ugh….

(President Bush is still present, keeping an eye on Ted .)

Ted Kennedy brought up “the call” made by Bobby Kennedy to free Martin Luther King Jr. from prison. Loud applause. Too bad Ted never made a CALL to save his employee when she was drowning in a lake!

Ted does look sober .

update (2/7/2006 1:55PM ET): John Conyers is up speaking now. He mentioned 3 planes of Congresspeople came with him and had them stand. Lots of Congresspeople! They almost take up one entire section of floor seating by themselves.

update (2/7/2006 2:00PM ET): Joseph Lowery is up to speak.

With 2 hours in the books I’ve got to go. This ends my live blogging of the funeral. It is still being webcast live by Atlanta’s channel 11 news.

Reader skbarton13 mentions: Darnell: Here is the program for the funeral today: http://alt.cimedia.com/ajc/pdf/kingfuneral/funeralprogram.pdf If you look at the sequence of events, you?ll see that Sen. Kennedy and Rep. Conyers just jumped over 25 speakers and singers to do their thing.

WOW! But then again they always liked having rules where somebody gets ahead of the line instead of waiting their turn .

Thanks for the link to the program! I’ll have to print myself a color copy.

I should also point out that CS King’s baby daughter Bernice King will be doing the Eulogy. That is just deep!

update (2/7/2006 4:05PM ET): It seems just as I got off from Live Blogging, the Liberal nuts got their “Bush Bashing” ON. I had to go, plus Joseph Lowery makes me sick. But he got the real Bush bashing started with this:

From SFgate.com report … And both Bush and his father winced as they sat behind the pulpit and heard the Rev. Joseph Lowery, who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr., take several jabs at foreign and domestic policies. “We know there were no weapons of mass destruction over there, but Coretta knew and we knew there are weapons of misdirection right down here,” Lowery said, complaining that were far too many in the U.S. are living in poverty and without health care insurance. “For war, billions more, but no more for the poor,” Lowery continued, a take-off of a lyric from the song “A Time to Love” which drew a roaring standing ovation. …

Expose the Left has video of Lowery in action.

And from there it continued! (The SFgate.com article has the sequence of events a little out of order, but they did capture the pertinent details.)

… The funeral took on political overtones as former President Carter said of the Kings: “It was difficult for them then personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps.” Later, he said that Hurricane Katrina showed that all are not yet equal in America. …

Expose the Left has video of Jimmy Carter in action too. Funny how he never mentioned it was a DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION in power then. It would have been better if he had offered an apology for his party’s actions!

Of course all that helped get the crowd into a more partisan spirit!

… The audience showed where its allegiance lay when former President Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, came to the podium to wild cheers and a long standing ovation. He opened by saying that he was honored to be with the other former presidents. Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Future president!” in reference to his wife’s possible 2008 bid. …

Just when I thought there was hope for having a funeral with Lefties without partisan shots.

update (2/7/2006 10:35PM ET): Some powerful commentary from The Cultural Strategist:

Mrs. King’s Funeral: Kneegrows, Bush And Black People … A few years back President Bush visited the King Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend to lay a wreath at the tomb of the great civil rights leader. With hundreds of angry Black folks protesting the presence of President Bush on these hallowed grounds, having been provoked to show up by the local Black media outlets Mrs. King stood by Bush’s side as he offered tribute to her husband who rested, encased inside of his tomb, the eternal flame still burning. We learned today from Reverend Lowery and others today that Mrs. King was in strong disagreement with many of Bush’s policies, particularly the war. During the time of her funeral, with Mrs. King being silent for eternity in this world, Lowery and others decided to lend their voice to the body that lay in an open casket, spouting words in public to President Bush that THIS WOMAN DID NOT DO while she was in the flesh on this Earth, fully capable to do so. It seems to me that Reverend Lowery and others who borrowed Mrs. King’s name today to ?Speak Truth to Power? failed to borrow her dignity. They only borrowed her corpse. …

It’s a shame that tonight instead of everyone talking about the good works of Coretta Scott King, a few idiots have turned it into just another night of partisan political debate.

update (2/10/2006 2:03PM ET): Now the “reverend” Lowery claims that he was only doing what he was asked to do. Given he was supposed to do a Civil Rights and Human Rights Tribute. He even asks “what should I have said”? This is a clever attempt by Lowery to cover his dirt! Joseph Lowery spoke for over 30 minutes. He took a few minutes out of that long winded speech to take shots at Bush. He could find over 30 minutes of other things to speak about in his “Civil Rights and Human Rights Tribute”, but acts like his jabs at Bush were him just doing what “he was asked to do”. What a crock! Also, there were A LOT of speakers at the funeral. Almost all of them offered tributes related to human and civil rights, including President Bush himself! Lowery is a nut and he proves his time has past daily.

Just a little over 2 weeks ago I mentioned here that she was starting to show signs of recovering from a stroke. But I guess it was her time to go. She apparently died in her sleep, given her daughter Bernice King was unable to wake her this morning.

Needless to say, there is massive media coverage, as their should be for the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. and of course she performed plenty of work herself. Living here in Atlanta we are hearing from plenty of people that knew her well.

One important thing that should be mentioned, is that while it is true there is disagreement in the King family about how to handle the affairs of the King Center, they love each other very much. It is a disagreement of opinion, but not a family feud.

Coretta Scott King (aka Mother King) was the main driving force behind Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday becoming a national holiday. Proving that she had the ability to influence the nation even after her husband’s passing.

Here are some of the media reports about her passing:

• Reuters: Rights leader Coretta Scott King dies
• Atlanta WXIA News: Coretta Scott King Dies at 78 (includes video)
• Flags Lowered in Mrs. King’s Honor (includes video)

What those reports don’t mention, is that she successfully raised 4 children as a single mother, while many parents have trouble raising one child today. I think that’s just a sad example of how times have changed. Despite any disagreements I may have had with some of her views she was a strong woman. I would see her from time to time at a church I used to attend. She was not an “Easter Sunday only” kind of Christian. She tried her best to do what she felt the Lord wanted her to do till her death. And everyone should respect her for that. Regardless of whether you agreed with her views or not.

Lastly I must mention, there are plenty of people saying things like “she’s seeing Martin now”. But to be theologically accurate, she like Martin awaits the last trumpet. Paul best described this in the following verses.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 50) Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed? 52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54) So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ?Death is swallowed up in victory.? 55) ? O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?? 56) The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

I pray she rest in peace with the Lord.

La Shawn Barber is doing a roundup of blog coverage.