Today is the 37-year anniversary of a terrible crime of white supremacy committed against innocent young Americans who had the nerve to be friends even though their skin tone wasn’t the same.
On August 20, 1980, a white supremacist, serial killer by the name of Joseph Paul Franklin came to Utah at the suggestion of a fellow LDS member to “do something about the race mixing in Liberty Park.”
Franklin was baptized in the LDS Church under his given name. We spoke before his execution. He shared the details of what led to that night of terror for his victims and their loved ones..
Franklin said he felt a kinship to Mormons because of the way they treated their Black members. Black people were not allowed to hold the priesthood when he joined.
He stopped practicing when the ban was lifted by the LDS prophet, after mounting pressure from publicity of racist practices discussed in a nationally televised and highly anticipated Barbara Walters interview of Donny and Marie. Many feel this interview was the catalyst that led to the lifting of the ban.
Almost four years after his execution, our country has become the battlefield of white supremacy, proving that if you don’t know your history you are doomed to repeat it. This is the race war Franklin hoped to achieve, but didn’t live to see.
Tribune file photo Emergency crews respond to the scene after Joseph Paul Franklin gunned down and killed Ted Fields, 20, and David Martin, 18, as they left Liberty Park on August 20, 1980.
Right now feels especially heart searing and ironic that this would be happening so close to the anniversary of the racially motivated murders of Ted Fields, and David Martin.
It can be tempting to could get lost in the sadness, the hopeless and helplessness that comes with thinking about it. But I don’t want to do that. I want their deaths to mean something, to be transformed.
Maybe time does not heal all wounds. I miss Ted and Dave. They were so young, funny and full of life the last night of their lives. We literally laughed so much that day that my cheeks hurt from smiling and my side hurt from laughing.
Hanging out with our friends was the best part of the summer of 1980. I remember the kids dancing and roller skating at Liberty Park on Wednesdays and Sundays, back then.
There used to be a wide street down the middle of the park where all the kids hung out and stayed out of trouble.
Before the murders, we all listened to music blasting from the cars or the boomboxes. We rode our bikes, practiced roller-skating, danced, joked and sang at the park. It was young innocence and fun in full bloom. I’m grateful we knew that kind of happiness and joy in our lifetime.
We were all so young and clueless about racism. We didn’t think about it. We thought racism was ugly and knew it happened here. But we were comforted with the thought that at least it wasn’t as bad as the South. We felt safe and insulated from those monsters in Salt Lake City.
Soon after the murders, the city closed that street and made it a walkway. They saw to it that there would be no more race-mixing at Liberty Park after that horrible night. To us kids it seemed like they said, “Let’s forget this ever happened.” But I can’t forget. I hope you will remember too.
There’s a small brass marker at the northwest corner of Liberty Park, between two trees facing the crosswalks where Ted and Dave were murdered. If you remember them or wish to honor them, please stop by and leave a token of remembrance at the memorial.
Terry Mitchell has lived in Utah for over 45 years. She is committed to speaking up about the racially motivated murders, not to glorify it, but to make sure it isn’t repeated.
