The following article was written by Eugene Kane and published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal on June 16th, 2005
It's Time We Cherish Cameron's Legacy
Sometimes, you don't appreciate what you have until someone else does first.

Milwaukee's own James Cameron, founder of America's Black Holocaust Museum, was recognized by the U.S. Senate this week as the nation's oldest living lynching "victim."

It's a story well known by some in Milwaukee. Cameron, 91, was almost lynched by a vicious mob in Marion, Ind., at the age of 16, escaping only when the bloodlust of the crowd was miraculously sated.

The museum at 2233 N. 4th St., which he founded as his legacy in 1988, has fallen on hard financial times. This week, that legacy was placed in the national sunshine for all to see, with Cameron leading the way.

The Senate formally apologized Monday for failing to outlaw lynchings when it had the chance. More than 4,700 Americans - most of them black - were lynched between 1890 and 1960.

Just imagine: There was once a time when white politicians who refused to ban the lynching of black Americans apparently never faced a political risk back in their home districts.

Thankfully, times have changed.

Cameron was back in Milwaukee on Wednesday, still beaming with excitement at his role in the formal ceremonies in our nation's capital.

"They treated me like royalty," he told me during an interview at his north side home. "There are no words to explain it."

Cameron has had brushes with fame before; he's been on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and visited the Clinton White House.

But this was different. It was an official validation of his life's mission. Still, Cameron understands the limits of such a symbolic gesture.

"It's significant in its own way," he said, "but it really doesn't mean much.

"It's too late. But better late than never."

I've written about Cameron for almost 20 years, harkening back to the first time I encountered him, selling copies of his memoir about his near-lynching, "A Time of Terror," at community meetings in the black community.

A diabetic who has been diagnosed with cancer, he seemed frailer than I could ever recall. But the reason his speech seemed slurred was not related to that.

"I have a new pair of teeth; they don't fit like they're supposed to," Cameron said.

Cameron's appearance in D.C. is part of a remarkable confluence of events related to African-American history.

Earlier this month, the body of Emmett Till was exhumed in suburban Chicago to determine the cause of the black boy's death in 1955. This week, a reputed Ku Klux Klansman went on trial in Mississippi after prosecutors reopened the case of three civil rights workers who were killed in 1964.

Now, here comes an apology for lynching. Gradually, it appears we as a country are finally coming to grips with the darkest parts of our past.

It's a good sign.

More than almost anyone else, Cameron has worked to keep these issues alive. Perhaps this latest bout of national attention will bring what the museum needs most to survive: more donations.

"What we need to make sure it lives beyond me in perpetuity is for people to keep giving money," Cameron said.

Now that the nation has recognized him, perhaps Milwaukee will cherish his dream just a bit more.

Hours
Tuesday-Saturday: 9 am - 5 pm
Sunday Open to groups of 50
or more (by appointment only)

Admission
     General Admission: $5
Seniors: $4
Students: $3
10% discount for groups
of 20 or more

Location
The Museum is located at
2233 North 4th Street
in Milwaukee Wisconsin.

Click here for a map
and driving directions