Related article: 2017 Winter Workshop
By Hon. Sheryl Lynch, Marion Circuit Court
On October 12, 2017, my grandmother, Vivian Bridgeforth Smith, ascended into heaven at 101 years of age. She was born on May 19, 1916, in Alabama in the home of her grandparents, George and Jennie Andrews Bridgeforth. She was the daughter of Bascomb and Rassie Townsend Bridgeforth.
She was born in the family home which was located on the Tennessee River in Tanner, Alabama, in the area called Beulah Land. If you have not heard of Beulah Land, just google it. There is a well-known gospel hymn written in either 1875 or 1876 titled Beulah Land. There was a TV Mini-Series in 1980 titled “Beulah Land” which detailed the lives of two Civil War families.
George Bridgeforth’s mother was a slave. He was the biological child of the Bridgeforth plantation owner. Jennie Andrews Bridgeforth’s mother was also a slave. She too was the biological child of an unknown plantation slave owner. My grandmother’s grandparents, who were born into slavery, became prosperous land owners and farmers. They are the beginning of my legacy and the Bridgeforth lineage.
You may wonder how George and Jennie, born into slavery, become prosperous land owners and farmers. The Civil War ended in 1865. George Bridgeforth’s biological slave owner father arranged for him to have the property in Beulah Land once slavery was abolished. Family lore reports that when that happened, the owner moved to Tennessee and left George Bridgeforth the plantation.
When George and Jennie met it was not legal for slaves to marry. So, they participated in the slave ritual called “Jumpin the Broom.” There is a movie called “Jumpin the Broom.” After performing the ritual for slave tradition, they said “Us married now.” George and Jennie had a son, Bascomb Bridgeforth, my grandmother’s father.
Bascomb married Rassie Townsend and together they had six children. My grandmother was the fourth child out of six. Rassie passed away in September of 1963. Bascomb passed away in September 1974.
My grandmother inherited land from her father Bascomb when he passed. She maintained the property while two of her brothers fought in World War II. Through all of her experiences, which included losing her parents and some of her siblings, she kept her faith and stayed strong. She eventually moved to Indianapolis with her husband, Ural Smith. They had two children; a boy and a girl. The girl is my mother, Shirley Smith Lynch, who was born in 1941 and is currently in the last stage of Alzheimer’s.
My grandmother, who was uneducated, started purchasing property in Beulah Land in the 1970’s while living in Indianapolis. She worked for a white doctor, cleaning his house and office. She was humble and a hard worker. One day the doctor asked her if she wanted to learn how to operate the x-ray machine. She took on the challenge and did that job for a long period of time.
She eventually worked as a domestic helper in the family home of a Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company executive. This job helped with the rearing of her children and to pay for my mother to attend college, something that my grandfather was against. He didn’t believe women should attend college.
My mother graduated from college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She became a teacher and later promoted to Media Director with the Indianapolis Public School system. My father also was a teacher, principal, and a regional director for the Indianapolis Public Schools.
My mother and father are both retired, still married, and living in our family home despite my mother’s Alzheimer’s.
So now you know the history of my grandmother Vivian Bridgeforth Smith. I am so blessed to have had her in my life. Over her lifetime, and especially early on in Alabama and then in Indianapolis, she experienced a tremendous amount of racism. She tolerated it with grace and humility. Her faith helped her endure the prejudice and bigotry and pushed this uneducated woman of slaves to be successful and prosperous.
My grandmother was blunt and shot straight from the hip. She had been through a lot but attained success and prosperity. She passed down to me the trait to be honest, speak my mind, and fight for what I believe even if it is not popular. My grandmother taught me how to deal with racism with humility and a forgiving heart. She did it for so many years. She taught me to just take it and move on so I could be successful and get to my destiny.
I was blessed to be on the panel for the December 2017 Winter Workshop “Understanding Race: Beyond Black & White.” I shared my stories of the racism I have experienced since being appointed to the Marion Circuit Court in 2001. In 2014, history was made and I was elected as the first black, and the first woman, to the Marion Circuit Court since it was established in 1816.
I have had many of our colleagues commend me for sharing the racism I have experienced. It is a very difficult topic. I could not have had the courage and humility to be honest on that panel if it had not have been what my grandmother taught me and showed me over the last 50 years of my life. I so look forward to being an active participant for the initiative “Access to Justice” in the state of Indiana.
Vivian Bridgeforth Smith: Sunrise May 19, 1916 and Sunset October 12, 2017. Rest in peace grandma. I will continue the fight you taught me and demanded that I must have to continue and honor your legacy!