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Candice Hardwick / An Open Report

On Wednesday, December 20, 2006, I would have the honor to accompany
the infamous(Antidote) Attorney Kirk D. Lyons to Federal Court in
Florence, South Carolina; where he would work his magic in behalf
of Candice Hardwick; a young Latta High School Junior from Dillon,
S.C.. Candice has faced persecution daily since middle school from
the politically correct academic staffs assigned to monitor and
guide her education process. All of this because she chose to honor
the memory of her ancestors and the brave others who like them who
fought in the army of the Southern Confederacy; she wore apparel
that depicted the Southern Cross.

I had been in the Federal court room with Kirk D. in Austin, Texas,
and shared in the random outburst of cheers from the spectators
gathered who witnessed his brilliant dissertation in behalf of my
Southern babies of Hayes County High School. Yet I remember how
our hearts sank at the proclamation of the Judge that he didn’t
care about the law; it was his courtroom, and if Kirk D. thought
he was going to allow him to sue the poor old under paid school;
Superintendent, or any member of his school staff, he had another
thought coming. He went on to say that these were his friends and
former clients of his when he practiced law as an attorney.

I had been in Federal Court in Richmond, Virginia as Kirk D. argued
for the seven men who had faced suspension from their jobs, and
outright abuse of authority of supervisors of the DuPont Company.
Their crime; the display of the Southern Cross on license plates,
belt buckles, and a host of other paraphernalia depicting the likeness
of the Southern Cross. I would cheer as all who had sat intently
listening to Mr… Lyons as he battle back and forth against a cadre
of lawyers who vast sums at their disposal to use against him. They
would argue that the arguments of Mr… Lyons case were frivolous
and without merit, and further sought a huge payment from Mr.. Lyons
and his clients for bringing the case to court. The Judge would
rule that the case had merits, and was not frivolous. However, he
also ruled that Mr.. Lyons was setting precedent , and that according
to the law, he could not force DuPont to shoulder the cost of that
burden in his court, but Mr.. Lyons you can move forward in the
body politic of the law.

I had been in Federal Court in Mobile, Alabama with Kirk D.; it
was here that I began to view Kirk D. in yet another light. It was
as if he were a sculptor, I could understand the master piece he
had been to sculptor as he worked is his way through what I had
become to view as the most hostile courts in America. I listened
as the Judge there continued to pave the way for the day the tide
would began to turn for those of us who called ourselves Southern,
and dared to show that pride in the body politic of our nation.

It would not take long for the brilliance of Lyons and his team
to bring forth a major victory for Southern heritage ; the method
of his madness began to rise as the towel was thrown in by those
who would persecute Jacqueline Duty; another brave Southern woman,
who like Ms Hardwick would make her stand in Dixieland with the
Honorable Kirk D. Lyons at her right hand. I would serve as an expert
witness in this case , nut my claim to fame is the prediction that
this case would never go to trial.

On this Wednesday morning, I could sense a glow about Kirk D.. It
was if he had suddenly found some sense of peace. He was the proud
papa of twin baby girls. I thought, that’s good, but boy he needs
a raise. He exclaimed to me, HK I’m ready. I feel good about this
one, referring to Hardwick. I don’t want to try to call the proceedings
blow by blow. However, it is necessary to report that Mr.. Lyons
held us all spell bound at the masterful presentation he laid before
the court and the gracious and fair Judge who sat upon the bench
in this Federal Court. Never mind the beautiful cake that Mr.. Lyons
had baked , and the icing that little Candice , and Attorney Larry
Salley placed upon it, you could here the sucking sound of defeat
coming from the mouth of the defense attorney as he played the only
card left on the table before him; the race card, and what a sad
sight it was for him as Mr.. Lyons proved there was no merit to
his claim that all the black children of the school and their parents
and community were sensitive to the flag and fear of some confrontation
was the motivation for his clients actions. I had walked across
the great State of South Carolina on my way to Texas, and again
I had made that March to join in as a color Bearer in the Hunley
Funeral Procession, and again I had Marched along side the caisson
of Senator Strom Thurmond confabulating all along the way with the
citizens of the great State of South Carolina, and the one thing
that had resonated to me from most of the Blacks citizens I met
along the way was that more should be taught about those men and
women of color who had earned that place of honor and dignity, and
their exploits of doing so under the banner that I so proudly carried.

May God bless you all, and may you all have a Merry Christmas and
a prosperous New Year, and thanks for your help and kindness.

Your Brother,
HK