Pearl Fryar Overcoming Hate with Love
In 1976, as documented in a movie starring himself, a man named Pearl moved to Bishopville, South Carolina, where old concepts of bigotry and segregation were quite alive. He and his wife bought a house in an all-white neighborhood, where people didn’t hesitate to express their stereotypical concern that “these black people” wouldn’t keep up their yard.
Of course, Pearl felt insulted and demeaned by the obvious racism, but he made a choice not to respond with anger and bitterness. Instead he decided to make his yard the model of all the nearby homes.
He researched what was possible, and soon he began to cut every bush and tree in his yard into unusual, abstract shapes—animals and geometric figures as you might see in Disney World or sculpture gardens.
This is a very labor-intensive hobby, but he created a magical wonderland that eventually drew thousands of visitors from across the country, featured him on national media, and won him an award from his neighbors.
One local minister stated that people from all over could just feel the love in Pearl’s yard. To highlight the point, with flower beds Pearl emblazoned the words Love, Peace, and Goodwill into his yard.
Rather than protest injustice, and add yet another voice of anger to those of so many others, Pearl has enriched the world with his tolerance and love—for more than thirty years now. You can see his gardens HERE.
We can all learn to do this. As Martin Luther King said, “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
We can teach this to our children, regardless of our color, thereby nourishing the love so badly needed everywhere we look.
And as our children learn to be loving, they always reap the inestimable reward of being happy themselves.
