Page 40 - Salesianum - Winter 2019

FEATURE
ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
Throughout the day on November 14, and for every day that followed, it seemed to most that it was as if the new Salesians had been there all along. Bill Jones was greeted immediately by fellow freshman Felix Rapposelli. “If anyone gives you trouble,” he said, “you can count on me.” They remained friends throughout their lives. Fr. Tom Landgraff, OSFS, a member of Salesianum’s Class of 1953, got to know James Owens through his involvement with the track program, where Owens became the first black captain of a Salesianum sports team. “We became the
best of friends,” Landgraff recalls. “That friendship had a wonderfully good impact on my life and ministry.”
As Fr. Lawless noted then with pride, not a single family withdrew their son in protest. “I see nothing to apologize for,” he said at the time, “other than the fact that it wasn’t done years ago.”
As that historic school year came to a close, Collins Seitz, among those who had urged Fr. Lawless to act and who by then had risen to Vice-Chancellor in the state courts, spoke at Salesianum’s graduation on June 4, 1951. “You will never be worth your salt if, at some time in your
life, you don’t take up a worthwhile cause and fight its fight,” he told the graduates. Seitz continued the fight, writing the legal decision that struck down segregation in Delaware public schools. His rulings were appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and proved highly influential
in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision of 1954.
On Wednesday, November 14, 2018 — the 68th anniversary of the day Salesianum made history — the story was retold to Salesianum students, packed into
the auditorium that Fr. Lawless had built as the centerpiece of his new school at 18th and Broom Streets. But it was the
living stones of that legacy who made the day special, just as they had 68 years ago. Just as in 1950, no one knew they were coming to school. But this time, James Owens ’53 and Fred Smith ’54, the two surviving members of those original five pioneers, were greeted with a standing ovation and thunderous applause as they made their way to the stage and embraced one another as brothers.
As students filed out of the assembly, both living legends shook hands and greeted the young men who are part of their legacy. Some asked for autographs. James Owens reached out to as many as he could, repeating over
and over, “Be great!” He delivered the words with both enthusiasm and urgency, a powerful reminder that the giants on whose shoulders we stand today made the world better by daring to be bold, and by doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.
Fr. Chris Beretta, OSFS, is the Principal of Salesianum School.
REFERENCES
Murray, P.T., & Owens, J. F. (2009). “They walked through the front door”: The desegregation of Salesianum School. Delaware History, 32 (4), 213-240.
Seitz, V.A. (2004). Chancellor Seitz’s perspective on Brown v. Board of Education. Delaware
Lawyer, Spring 2004, 11-13.
38 DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN | Winter 2019