In 1991 Johnathan M. Daniels was recognized as a martyr by the Episcopal Church.
On 20 Aug 1965, however, he was just another victim of the vicious violence perpetrated by white supremacists who tried to brutally suppress the exercise of civil rights by African Americans in AL.
This memorial on the town square in Hayneville AL, stands near the site of Cash's store where Tom Coleman shot two white civil rights workers, killing one. As he was about to be shot by local white supremacist Deputy Sheriff Tom Coleman, Daniels shielded Ruby Sales, a young African American civil rights worker, with his body, thereby saving her life. Another white civil rights worker, Rev. Richard Morrisroe, was also hit by the blast, injuring his leg.
The memorial is made of bricks with a brass plaque attached to it. The plaque reads as follows:
"[Christian cross]
JOHNATHAN MYRICK DANIELS
VMI Class of 1961
Johnathan Daniels was murdered near this spot, then Cash's Store, on August 20, 1965.
He gave his life in the fight for integration of the churches and universal voter registration.
At the time, he was a divinity student at The Episcopal Theologial School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Erected by the Promaji Club
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, Virginia.
Courtesy of
Shirley and Cabell Brand,
VMI class of 1944"
From the VMI website, we learn more about Daniels and that fateful day: (
visit link)
"Jonathan Daniels, Civil Rights Hero
About Jonathan Daniels
Jonathan M. Daniels, a native of Keene, New Hampshire, was valedictorian of the VMI Class of 1961. He was awarded the prestigious Danforth Fellowship for post-graduate study and enrolled at Harvard University to continue his study of English literature. Daniels soon realized that he was called to the ministry. While a seminarian at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts he responded to the pleas of Dr. Martin Luther King for clergy to become more actively involved in the Civil Rights movement, and traveled to Alabama to assist with voter registration efforts in the South.
In August 1965 Daniels and 22 others were arrested for participating in a voter rights demonstration in Fort Deposit, Alabama, and transferred to the county jail in nearby Hayneville. Shortly after being released on August 20, Richard Morrisroe, a Catholic priest, and Daniels accompanied two black teenagers, Joyce Bailey and Ruby Sales, to a Hayneville store to buy a soda. They were met on the steps by Tom Coleman, a construction worker, and part-time deputy sheriff, who was carrying a shotgun. Coleman aimed his gun at sixteen year old Ruby Sales; Daniels pushed her to the ground in order to protect her, saving her life. The shotgun blast killed Daniels instantly; Morrisroe was seriously wounded. When he heard of the tragedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "One of the most heroic Christian deeds of which I have heard in my entire ministry was performed by Jonathan Daniels."
In the years since his death, Daniels' selfless act has been recognized in many ways. Two books have been written about his life, and a documentary was produced in 1999. The Episcopal Church added the date of his death to its Calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, and in England's Canterbury Cathedral, Daniels name is among the fifteen honored in the Chapel of Martyrs.
Recognition at the Institute
The VMI Board of Visitors voted in 1997 to establish the Jonathan M. Daniels '61 Humanitarian Award. The award emphasizes the virtue of humanitarian public service and recognizes individuals who have made significant personal sacrifices to protect or improve the lives of others. The inaugural presentation was made to President James Earl Carter in 2001; the second award was presented to Ambassador Andrew Young in 2006. In addition, one of only four named archways in the VMI Barracks is dedicated to Daniels, as is a memorial courtyard."