"Joshua Abraham Norton (c. 1819[2] – January 8, 1880), the self-proclaimed Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, was a celebrated citizen of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States"[3] and subsequently "Protector of Mexico".[4]"
Obviously insane, instead of treating Joshua Norton like a criminal the City of San Francisco, California, its citizens and citizens of the United States honored Emperor Norton during and after his life:
"Though some considered him insane, or eccentric,[8] the citizens of San Francisco celebrated his regal presence and his proclamations, most famously, his order that the United States Congress be dissolved by force and his numerous decrees calling for a bridge crossing and a tunnel to be built under San Francisco Bay. Similar structures were built long after his death in the form of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Transbay Tube,[9] and there have been campaigns to rename the bridge "The Emperor Norton Bridge". On January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed at a street corner and died before he could be given medical treatment. At his funeral two days later, nearly 30,000 people packed the streets of San Francisco to pay homage.[10] Norton has been immortalized as the basis of characters in the literature of writers Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Moore, Maurice De Bevere, Selma Lagerlöf, and Neil Gaiman."
And when one errant police officer crossed a line:
"In 1867, a policeman named Armand Barbier arrested Norton to commit him to involuntary treatment for a mental disorder.[3] The Emperor's arrest outraged the citizens and sparked scathing editorials in the newspapers. Police Chief Patrick Crowley ordered Norton released and issued a formal apology on behalf of the police force.[10] Crowley wrote "that he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line."[12] Norton magnanimously granted what he considered an Imperial Pardon to the errant policeman. All police officers of San Francisco thereafter saluted Norton as he passed in the street.[24]"
Emperor Norton was even allowed to issue his own currency and the citizens of San Francisco accepted it as legal tender for bills public and private:
"Norton did receive some tokens of recognition for his position. The 1870 U.S. census lists Joshua Norton as 50 years old and residing at 624 Commercial Street; his occupation was listed as Emporer [sic].[4][27] Norton also issued his own money to pay for his debts, and it became an accepted local currency in San Francisco. These notes came in denominations between fifty cents and ten dollars; the few surviving notes are collector's items. The city of San Francisco also honored Norton. When his uniform began to look shabby, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors bought him a suitably regal replacement. Norton sent a gracious thank you note and issued a "patent of nobility in perpetuity" for each supervisor.[28]"
How would Greensboro treat such a man as Joshua Abraham Norton if he were to come here today? Despite the fact that Emperor Norton died with only five or six Dollars in his pocket and one gold sovereign, worth around $2.50 in his rented room the newspapers wrote:
"[o]n the reeking pavement, in the darkness of a moon-less night under the dripping rain..., Norton I, by the grace of God, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life".
And his death made the front page.
"Initial funeral arrangements were for a pauper's coffin of simple redwood. However, members of the Pacific Club, a San Francisco businessman's association, established a funeral fund that provided for a handsome rosewood casket and arranged a suitably dignified farewell.[12] Norton's funeral on Sunday, January 10, was solemn, mournful, and large. Paying their respects were members of "...all classes from capitalists to the pauper, the clergyman to the pickpocket, well-dressed ladies and those whose garb and bearing hinted of the social outcast."[11] Some accounts say as many as 30,000 people lined the streets, and that the funeral cortège was two miles (3 km) long. San Francisco's total population at the time was 230,000.[32] Norton was buried in the Masonic Cemetery, at the expense of the City of San Francisco."
San Francisco was almost as big a city then as Greensboro is today. Is there any citizen of Greensboro whose death could draw 30,000 mourners to line the streets? And if there is, how would Greensboro receive him or her in life and death? Any nation, any city, is only as good as it treats the least among us. How would we treat Joshua Abraham Norton if he were with us today?
Sadly, I think too many of us know how Greensboro would treat him.
