We Call Our Daddy "Mister"

ISBN #: 1-4276-0692-7

This is the true story of a prominent white Georgia, pioneer family’s son, a farmer, who “took up” with a “mulatto” lass to be his common-law wife. Burrell Harrell and Rosa Winston lived together in the early 1900’s in defiance of Georgia’s anti-miscegenation laws. They became the proud parents of five boys and four girls over a stretch of 20 years, remaining on the family’s plantation of nearly 2000 acres.

His father died in 1901. Burrell was then only 17 years old. From his father’s deathbed, Burrell promised he would take care of his four brothers, three of whom were older, and five sisters, two of whom were older, as well as his mother, and a legion of farm hands up from slavery. His immediate family not only refused to accept his relationship with Rosa but also denied its existence, although Burrell was indispensable to their well-being but through, disdain, daring, derring-do, and deceit, he ruled the roost.

Their children were “white” in appearance showing absolutely no features of their mixed race, yet the laws forbade them to attend the white school and to enjoy the many rights and privileges reserved for whites. This story courses their many struggles as they grew up, and how their father successfully staves off so many of those challenges including attempts by the KKK do harm to his family; however, he, himself, was conflicted about his own children’s race. His upbringing disabled his acceptance of them as equal to his own kind.

Burrell managed this vast plantation for nearly 60 years, before passing control of the plantation not to his own sons but to the eldest living white male, a nephew, Roy. Roy was the son of Burrell’s slain but profligate brother. Burrell felt that the white power structure would not be fair to his children and left the task to Roy, an inveterate confederate.

Two of Burrell’s daughters still live on the property by fate alone. One is 78 and the other is 85 years old.

About the Author

Archon James Schell is a retired Federal Government and Industry Executive now performing in his fourth career. His experience ranges from teaching to creating publications in technical and doctrinal domains, to serving as a Director in Industry as well as winning a Presidential Appointment as Senior Executive, Director of Tactical Computer Systems and Software Engineering Centers, US Army.

He has written three unpublished books of the memoir genre, Aunt Nora --The Lives and Times of a Wise Woman; Moi; and Talk, various short stories, numerous technical papers, a travel log, Trekking through France, and two children books, Beepy and JATO.

He is a graduate of Morehouse College, studied Business Administration, and graduate level Anthropology and Genetics at California State University. Northridge; is certificated in Executive Management from University of California, Berkeley, and Executive Development from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

He was awarded the Doctor of Laws Honorary Degree in 1984 from his alma mater for his work in initiating Computer Science and Software Engineering Technology (Under Federal Sponsorship) Curricula in Historically Black Colleges and Universities starting in 1981.

He is married to the former Doris E. Hunter. They live in Ocean Hills, California. They have five adult children.