Dahndra A. Moore, a 23 year old African American, was darned proud of his new car, a 1989 Crown Victoria. He had driven it to his mother’s house in Bennettsville, located in Marlboro County, South Carolina so she could see it.
Nature was calling as Dahndra was driving home so he pulled up to a Stop ‘n Shop gas station on Salem Road around 11:30 p.m. He did not know it at the time, but when he asked to use the bathroom he had stepped into a bee hive of white supremacy hatred.
A moment later, racist thug, Thomas Howard Blue Sr., banged on the restroom door. Dahndra heard someone on the other side of the door calling him by a vile name. The “N” word is so ugly it is rarely printed anymore.
I wonder how Dahndra felt as he came out of the bathroom. He was immediately confronted by 49 year Thomas Howard “Big Bad” Blue who was the owner of the Stop ‘n Shop.
Sunset on the Pee Dee River
Marlboro County by Cal McInville
“We’re not selling you anything out of this store, ‘N’” “Big Bad” Blue stated.
Then the racist brute grabbed Dahndra and forcibly removed him from the store. The two struggled and Blue pushed Dahndra Moore to the ground. Dahndra was terrified by the unexpected assault and tried to get out of “Big Bad” Blue’s grip.
That is when “Baby Blue”, whose name is Howard Blue Jr., came to his father’s rescue. Rescue, in this case, was with chain saw in hand.
“All you could see was hatred” Dahndra said. “They looked really serious about what they were doing!”
Moore said he was scared to death as “Baby Blue” came at him with the chain saw buzzing.
“I was scared. I was trying to get (away) from him,” Moore said.
Meanwhile, with Thomas Howard Blue Sr. and Thomas Howard Blue Jr. struggling with Dahndra, a friend of the Blues, Judson Hartley Talbert, jumped into Dahndra’s car and took off. He drove it to “Blue’s Landing” on the Great Pee Dee River.
Pee Dee River
After realizing that Moore was trying to call police, Blue chased Moore from the Stop and Shop parking lot to a nearby road. Dahndra frantically knocked on the door of a stranger, Jamie Gray.
“I said to (Gray), they took my car, you know.”
You can imagine how Dahndra felt when the confused Gray offered to take him back to the Stop ‘n Shop. Things were finally made clear and Gray drove Dahndra to his parent’s house. Gray told Dahndra he would go down to the Stop ‘n Shop to take a look.
Don’t stop for strangers who are in a rage in the middle of the night is the message here. “Big Bad” Blue put a pistol to Hayes's head and cocked it. Blue Sr. was convinced Hayes knew where Dahndra was.
“Where’s the “N”? Where are you hiding the ‘N’?” he demanded to know.
When Hayes could not give an answer the panicked Blue pistol whipped him, causing him to bleed profusely.
By now, Gray arrived after dropping Dahndra at his parent’s house. “Big Bad” Blue turned the pistol on Gray. Both Gray and Hayes fled from the racist man's attack. The police finally arrived and they arrested the two Blues plus a third person. The third person was eventually exonerated.
When Howard Blue Sr. got out of jail he and the man who stole Dahndra’s car, Judson Talbert, met. They went to “Blue’s Landing” on the Pee Dee and burned Dahndra’s Crown Victoria in an attempt to destroy the evidence.
When one is denied use of a bathroom located in a private business solely based upon race, they are depriving that person of their civil rights. That is because the business held it’s bathroom open to the public. It cannot discriminate based upon race.
The three bullies were indicted on a slew of charges including violating civil rights, car jacking, use of a fire to commit a felony, use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, evidence tampering and grand jury perjury.
Today, the Department of Justice announced sentencing on guilty pleas as a result of a plea bargain. U.S. District Court Judge R. Bryan Harwell sentenced the three brutes in a Florence, S.C. courtroom. Judge Harwell sentenced Thomas Howard “Big Bad” Blue, Sr., to 156 months in prison, Thomas Howard “Baby” Blue, Jr. to 36 months in prison car thief and pyrotechincal expert Judson Hartley Talbert 108 months in prison.
The three remained arrogant and rebellious to the last, telling the Judge they committed their reign of terror because Dahndra was black.
“Just looking at them makes me feel like I’m living that night again,” he said.
Moore said he is confident the Blues have done this to other blacks.
“It’s surprising. Growing up, I only saw it on TV,” he said. “Mama would let you see the movie ‘The Color Purple’. Stopping at that store was like something you see on TV. It was like a nightmare, really.”
“Our nation has come a long way in our battle against bigotry, but this case is a reminder that there are still those individuals who wish to divide our communities by hate,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“The barbaric conduct of these three defendants against a man solely because of his skin color is shocking,” said W. Walter Wilkins, United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina.
Substantial information for this article regarding Thomas Howard Blue Sr., Thomas Howard Blue, Jr. and Justin Talbert and their denying the civil rights of Dahndra Moore was obtained from SC News.
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