Pensacola has lost one of its greatest champions for justice and equality.
Rev. Hawthorne Konrad “H.K.” Matthews, the fearless civil rights leader who spent decades fighting for equality in Northwest Florida, passed away last night. He was 97 years old.
A Life Defined by Courage
Born in Snow Hill, Alabama, in 1928, Matthews embodied moral courage. As he shared with me in 2022, reflecting on the racism he faced:
- “During those days, Black people like us were the chickens. If we went to court, the arresting officer, first of all, was a fox. Before we went to court, the jailer was a fox. When we did go to court, we found that the judge was a fox. We looked in the jury box, and there were 12 foxes in the jury box. What chance did we think a chicken had with all those foxes?”
Despite these overwhelming odds, Matthews never backed down from his fight for justice.
The Frame-Up That Couldn’t Break Him
In 1975, local authorities, tired of Matthews’ protests and boycotts, orchestrated what can only be described as a frame-up. Leading the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Matthews had organized daily protests at the Escambia County Jail, demanding an investigation into a deputy who had shot and killed a Black man.
- When a businessman offered him a bribe to stop the protests, Matthews refused without hesitation. “If you’re not asking me to sell out, what are you asking me to do?” he responded. “Because every morning, when I get up and look in the mirror, I know what I would’ve done. I’d have to look at those young people who joined me for the protests, and they would know what I did.”
Three days after rejecting the bribe, Matthews and Rev. B.J. Brooks were charged with felony extortion, falsely accused of leading chants that said “assassination” instead of “incarceration.”
Standing Firm Against Injustice
The trial that followed was a travesty of justice. As Matthews recalled: “The judge, Kirk M. Beale, was not one of my biggest fans. The shotgun tape recording was audible to a point because it clearly showed that the chant was ‘Two, four, six, eight, who shall we incarcerate?’ And it clearly showed that it was not my voice leading the chant.”
When offered a plea deal, Matthews refused. His reason was simple and powerful: “Because the charges were false.”
While Brooks accepted probation, Matthews was sentenced to five years of hard labor by an all-white jury. Even facing prison, he refused to compromise his principles.
Dodging Another Bullet
Matthews’ courage may have literally saved his life. While being transported to prison, he was handcuffed to a white man who repeatedly urged him to run. Matthews’ instincts told him something wasn’t right.
- “I just had an intuition, and that didn’t smell quite right,” he later recalled. His suspicion proved correct—the man later revealed he was a plant: “They had me handcuffed to you to entice you to run so that they could shoot you and say you were trying to escape.”
Matthews said, “I dodged another bullet.”
Abandonment and Redemption
After his conviction, Matthews faced abandonment from many quarters. Even the Southern Christian Leadership Conference disavowed him, and fellow Black ministers distanced themselves.
- “Even those I was out there fighting for and defending, even most of them deserted the island and left me out there,” Matthews said. “They put on their little life jackets and hopped on the lifeboats, and they swam to shore, leaving me on that lonely island by myself.”
He added, “There were a lot of Black people who even denied knowing me.”
Eventually, Gov. Bob Graham granted Matthews a complete pardon, vindicating his stand for justice.
Choosing Grace Over Bitterness
Despite the years of persecution and abandonment, Matthews chose forgiveness over resentment. When the businessman who had offered him the bribe later taunted him about the $18,000 he could have taken, Matthews didn’t respond with anger.
- “But then, as I grew older and reflected more on that situation, I said, ‘You know, really, I’ve got a right to harbor a lot of bitterness.’ But I really shouldn’t because everybody just didn’t have the stamina I had… I don’t need to put bitterness on my plate.”
A Legacy of Courage
Matthews understood his suffering had purpose: “Coming up in Wilcox County and Snow Hill, Ala., way back then, that’s how the Lord had called my life out to be. And to this day, God does not make mistakes. So whatever happened to me, it happened for a reason. In God’s providence, I went through the things that I went through.”
Rev. H.K. Matthews leaves behind a legacy of unwavering courage, principled resistance to injustice, and ultimately, forgiveness. His life serves as a reminder that one person’s refusal to accept the unacceptable can change the world.
He admitted that he was “being haunted by some of the memories but not haunted to the extent that I dwell on them.”
- Rev. Matthews proved that foxes don’t always win, and that sometimes, the chickens can change the whole henhouse.
My interview with Rev. Matthews in April 2022:
This world should have been in far better shape when he left it. Thank you for your courage and integrity, Reverand Matthews. God willing, more good people will find theirs soon. There will never be another quite like this man, though. We need to honor him for his unique resolve and the losses he sustained from having the courage his detractors and tormentors didn’t, and do better in his memory. He stands tall among the truly great men and women who have given their all to the cause of justice, and somehow found more to give beyond that.