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re: For anyone with parents/grandparents alive during segregation
Posted on 12/29/14 at 10:02 am to 337Tiger19
Posted on 12/29/14 at 10:02 am to 337Tiger19
Some things my mom's mother said at the time:
"If your car ever breaks down on the side of the road, hope some black people drive by. They are much more likely to stop and help you out."
In reference to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination "That's awful, now they're going to make him out to be some sort of martyr."
"If your car ever breaks down on the side of the road, hope some black people drive by. They are much more likely to stop and help you out."
In reference to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination "That's awful, now they're going to make him out to be some sort of martyr."
0
Posted on 12/29/14 at 10:31 am to 337Tiger19
I remember:
The balcony at the "picture show." Blacks entered via a stairway at the side of the building. I was always jealous. I wanted to sit in the balcony.
The town swimming pool. It was fenced in and there were bleachers outside the fence. Couldn't enjoy swimming because I felt so sorry for the little black kids sitting on the bleachers watching. (early example of white guilt, I guess)
Also re the pool, it was closed as soon as integration was enacted, and there was a problem before that with a few people who wanted to ban the 1/2 Japanese kids (dad was a GI who married a Japanese woman) and, later, the Cuban kids who had fled Cuba.
The blacks had their own cafe' right in the middle of down. At night it was a barroom. It was called the Boll Weevil. Big, two-story building.
Only two black kids started school the first year of integration. Boy was named Leslie and the girl's name escapes me. There were no problems other than that they had no one to hang around with at school, no fights that I'm aware of, and both were good students. Neither was in my grade, but I did have a class or two with each, stuff like PE or Civics.
Was told at an early age that there were two types of females, women and ladies. Black females and trashy whites were never, ever ladies.
Was also told that it was never acceptable to be rude or disrespectful to ANYONE, black, white or otherwise. Infractions of this rule reflected more on the doer than the target, and that manners didn't cost anything but were worth a lot.
The balcony at the "picture show." Blacks entered via a stairway at the side of the building. I was always jealous. I wanted to sit in the balcony.
The town swimming pool. It was fenced in and there were bleachers outside the fence. Couldn't enjoy swimming because I felt so sorry for the little black kids sitting on the bleachers watching. (early example of white guilt, I guess)
Also re the pool, it was closed as soon as integration was enacted, and there was a problem before that with a few people who wanted to ban the 1/2 Japanese kids (dad was a GI who married a Japanese woman) and, later, the Cuban kids who had fled Cuba.
The blacks had their own cafe' right in the middle of down. At night it was a barroom. It was called the Boll Weevil. Big, two-story building.
Only two black kids started school the first year of integration. Boy was named Leslie and the girl's name escapes me. There were no problems other than that they had no one to hang around with at school, no fights that I'm aware of, and both were good students. Neither was in my grade, but I did have a class or two with each, stuff like PE or Civics.
Was told at an early age that there were two types of females, women and ladies. Black females and trashy whites were never, ever ladies.
Was also told that it was never acceptable to be rude or disrespectful to ANYONE, black, white or otherwise. Infractions of this rule reflected more on the doer than the target, and that manners didn't cost anything but were worth a lot.
Posted on 12/29/14 at 10:34 am to LSUfanalways
My grandfather went to an HBCU for undergrad. He
Sad part is they got better educations than the white folks who stayed in-state. Sad in that is what it took to get a really good education.
quote:
wanted to earn his masters but neither SU nor grambling (the only two HBCUs in the state) had the program, so technically, this was a violation of his plessy rights. So, the state paid for him to earn his masters degree in another state to keep him from trying to get into LSU. This was pretty common practice and there are quite a number of blacks who will have undergrad degrees from SU or Grambling and advanced degrees from places like NYU (family friend) or Northwestern (THE northwestern-another family friend).
Sad part is they got better educations than the white folks who stayed in-state. Sad in that is what it took to get a really good education.
Posted on 12/29/14 at 10:47 am to TigerTattle
Continuing:
There were signs over the drinking fountains and on the bathrooms.
We were poor (very) and lived for a time in an apartment attached to the back of a house. Behind the house was a tall wooden fence, with "quarters" (shotgun houses) on the other side where the blacks lived. Near the fence was a big fig tree where my mother had placed a bushel of sweet potatoes we were given. The potatoes were going fast.
We were outside one day when a child, obviously scared, scooted under the fence and a woman's voice called to him to "get 3 of 'em." My mom shouted at the woman to keep her kids on her side of the fence, and if she needed potatoes to ask for them. The potatoes stopped disappearing and the woman never asked for any. My mom always felt bad about that, but she didn't condone stealing.
Also re the quarters: their homecoming day. You've never seen such finery as those 1950's formal dresses they wore in the parade. Huge, lacy things. It got really loud on the other side of the fence. Happy loud. The dresses the white girls wore at their parade were similar, but not as flamboyant.
When I was very small, my sister and I stayed with two black sisters while our mom worked. They lived in a shack (our abode wasn't much better) that had newpapered walls (to help insulate), and a woodstove for heat and cooking.
It was the cleanest home I've ever been in, and they were the sweetest people you'd ever want to meet. They used to let me sit on the porch and throw cracked corn to the chickens. One was rather thin, the other wasn't and had a huge bosom. She saw me in a grocery store when I was about 10, wrapped me up in her arms, and damn near smothered me. True story.
I loved those ladies.
There were signs over the drinking fountains and on the bathrooms.
We were poor (very) and lived for a time in an apartment attached to the back of a house. Behind the house was a tall wooden fence, with "quarters" (shotgun houses) on the other side where the blacks lived. Near the fence was a big fig tree where my mother had placed a bushel of sweet potatoes we were given. The potatoes were going fast.
We were outside one day when a child, obviously scared, scooted under the fence and a woman's voice called to him to "get 3 of 'em." My mom shouted at the woman to keep her kids on her side of the fence, and if she needed potatoes to ask for them. The potatoes stopped disappearing and the woman never asked for any. My mom always felt bad about that, but she didn't condone stealing.
Also re the quarters: their homecoming day. You've never seen such finery as those 1950's formal dresses they wore in the parade. Huge, lacy things. It got really loud on the other side of the fence. Happy loud. The dresses the white girls wore at their parade were similar, but not as flamboyant.
When I was very small, my sister and I stayed with two black sisters while our mom worked. They lived in a shack (our abode wasn't much better) that had newpapered walls (to help insulate), and a woodstove for heat and cooking.
It was the cleanest home I've ever been in, and they were the sweetest people you'd ever want to meet. They used to let me sit on the porch and throw cracked corn to the chickens. One was rather thin, the other wasn't and had a huge bosom. She saw me in a grocery store when I was about 10, wrapped me up in her arms, and damn near smothered me. True story.
I loved those ladies. Posted on 12/29/14 at 12:12 pm to prplhze2000
They got great educations on the state's dime. A family friend got her Phd from northwestern! That's a REAL PhD!
I love talking to older black people in my family because the strength and resolve and faith they had are really lost on my generation. My family has simply had no excuses for mediocrity. My sister feels like a failure bevause she has only a bachelors from Notre Dame!
My grandmother used to pick strawberries with a masters degree; she did what she had to to survive. My father grew up using an outhouse and tells stories of how he used to get in trouble bc he would burn the maggots. His mom said "are you crazy! That's how we process the waste!" He was on southerns campus when those two young men were murdered by the police. My entire moms side is from lake providence. You wouldn't believe the indignities they faced. They were basically sharecroppers for the white farmers in LP. The blacks lived (and live) on one side of the lake (and a few whites interspersed) and the white landowners lived (live) on the other side. Those people had LOTS of kids (grandmother was one of 13). BUT education, family, responsibility, were stressed. I interviewed a family member who is a judge for a school paper. He worked in the fields all summer and for part of the school year. He still grew up to attend Boston College, go to law school and succeed. Black people today are so disconnected from our ancestors' struggles and many of us really take the past for granted. If we talked more to these people, maybe our communities would strengthen. Done with rant.
I love talking to older black people in my family because the strength and resolve and faith they had are really lost on my generation. My family has simply had no excuses for mediocrity. My sister feels like a failure bevause she has only a bachelors from Notre Dame!
My grandmother used to pick strawberries with a masters degree; she did what she had to to survive. My father grew up using an outhouse and tells stories of how he used to get in trouble bc he would burn the maggots. His mom said "are you crazy! That's how we process the waste!" He was on southerns campus when those two young men were murdered by the police. My entire moms side is from lake providence. You wouldn't believe the indignities they faced. They were basically sharecroppers for the white farmers in LP. The blacks lived (and live) on one side of the lake (and a few whites interspersed) and the white landowners lived (live) on the other side. Those people had LOTS of kids (grandmother was one of 13). BUT education, family, responsibility, were stressed. I interviewed a family member who is a judge for a school paper. He worked in the fields all summer and for part of the school year. He still grew up to attend Boston College, go to law school and succeed. Black people today are so disconnected from our ancestors' struggles and many of us really take the past for granted. If we talked more to these people, maybe our communities would strengthen. Done with rant.
Posted on 12/29/14 at 12:15 pm to RogerTheShrubber
My grandparents used to tell us stories about separate drinking fountains in public places.
To this day, my family continues the racist tradition of keeping our colored laundry separate from our whites.
quote:
I found pictures of me as a child sitting on a washing machine in Mississippi that had a sign on the wall that said "whites only."
To this day, my family continues the racist tradition of keeping our colored laundry separate from our whites.
This post was edited on 12/29/14 at 12:16 pm
Posted on 12/29/14 at 12:16 pm to 337Tiger19
My husband tells lots of stories of his family being segregated amongst blacks. They were not quite passé blanc, but they still created communities only accessible to other light skinned blacks. They discriminated against any black darker than a paper bag. Slavery has left us with quite a legacy and it goes way deeper than mere black and white. It's legacy permeates and reeks havoc on the black community to this day with us being very judgemental towards each other because of the color of our skin.
This post was edited on 12/29/14 at 12:19 pm
Posted on 12/29/14 at 12:24 pm to LSUfanalways
quote:
LSUfanalways
quote:
Black people today are so disconnected from our ancestors' struggles and many of us really take the past for granted. If we talked more to these people, maybe our communities would strengthen.
Agree but disagree with the last statement ONLY because black people (all people really) back "in the day" never felt like they were entitled to anything.
Posted on 12/29/14 at 12:32 pm to 337Tiger19
Pow pow owned a dairy farm down in chalmette. One day one of his workers took out his car without permission. Don't you know he hung him from a tree. Before he could finish the job my great grandma came outside and stopped him. Given this was probably during the 20's or 30's
Posted on 12/29/14 at 12:42 pm to 337Tiger19
My grandfather was on the school board of a rural school in the middle of a cotton patch. He pushed to integrate the school which would allow the farm workers' children to attend and importantly ride the same busses. He was successful.
The school district bordered an urban district and fell partly within an undeveloped area of the city limits. Not by chance, this area of the city is now the hood and was initially developed by prominent city residents as low income housing shortly following the integration.
The school district bordered an urban district and fell partly within an undeveloped area of the city limits. Not by chance, this area of the city is now the hood and was initially developed by prominent city residents as low income housing shortly following the integration.
This post was edited on 12/29/14 at 12:44 pm
Posted on 12/29/14 at 2:25 pm to TIGRLEE
quote:
From what I gathered over years from my grandpaw everybody was happier. Blacks and whites.
This is pretty hilarious, even by your standards.
Posted on 12/29/14 at 4:48 pm to lsu2006
quote:
This is pretty hilarious, even by your standards.
I wish you could grasp what it was like for all races to be poor in some areas. There were no buses for people to ride in the back. There were no diners nor enough money to eat in one so "white only" signs were never seen. All men and some women had jobs but pay was minimal. I can go on. The point is people were happy when they had the necessities and don't know there could be more. This goes for black and white. Hell, for all we knew Jim Crow was the name of somebody's pet bird.
Young people have this picture in their mind that they can't get past. Life was very different in all areas of the country. There is no argument that there was inequality and unfairness. The point is not everyone was pissed off and unhappy. Sometimes ignorance is really bliss. It was for me and it was for my friends.
Posted on 12/29/14 at 4:51 pm to LSUfanalways
quote:
It's legacy permeates and reeks havoc on the black community to this day with us being very judgemental towards each other because of the color of our skin.
I have personally witnessed this and was/still am totally amazed. This is one reason I am so amazed the black community has accepted Pres. O.
Posted on 12/29/14 at 4:52 pm to member12
(no message)
This post was edited on 2/24/15 at 2:10 pm
Posted on 12/29/14 at 5:18 pm to lsu2006
Quit being a little fricking bitch.
Posted on 12/29/14 at 5:22 pm to 337Tiger19
In the 30's my paw paw (add a few greats) had a drifter type named Jack that did farm work and slept in the barn. One night somebody was trying to break into the house and Jack heard and shot him. The dead guy was white, Jack was black.
They called the sheriff out the next day and the sheriff was gonna arrest Jack for murder. It was a pretty big deal that a black man shot a white guy, even if it was justified. My paw paw wouldn't let the sheriff take Jack away because he'd lose his farm help.
In the end Jack got charged with murder and sentenced to life, but instead of going to Angola the judge sentenced Jack to work on the farm. So he worked for my paw paw the rest of his life
They called the sheriff out the next day and the sheriff was gonna arrest Jack for murder. It was a pretty big deal that a black man shot a white guy, even if it was justified. My paw paw wouldn't let the sheriff take Jack away because he'd lose his farm help.
In the end Jack got charged with murder and sentenced to life, but instead of going to Angola the judge sentenced Jack to work on the farm. So he worked for my paw paw the rest of his life
This post was edited on 12/29/14 at 5:25 pm
Posted on 12/29/14 at 5:57 pm to 337Tiger19
Black people didn't have the right to not be segregated until 1954, 60 years ago, and they didn't have many other rights until 1964, 50 years ago, so I'd venture to say most people on here have parents on grandparents who remember this shite. Especially if your family is from the deep South.
Some school in Mississippi had its first interracial prom 5 years ago. In 2009. Those teenaged kids have first hand knowledge
Some school in Mississippi had its first interracial prom 5 years ago. In 2009. Those teenaged kids have first hand knowledge
This post was edited on 12/29/14 at 5:59 pm
Posted on 12/29/14 at 6:15 pm to TIGRLEE
quote:
Quit being a little fricking bitch.
What?
Posted on 12/29/14 at 6:17 pm to TIGRLEE
quote:
From what I gathered over years from my grandpaw everybody was happier.
Blacks and whites.
and you wonder why you're a joke around here
Posted on 12/29/14 at 7:42 pm to REG861
Haven't you ever heard that black folks LIKED being slaves? Free housing, they were able to work out in the fresh air, etc. It must have been awesome!
Fifty years after the Civil War, during the great flood of 1927, Delta plantation owners refused to let field hands be evacuated to the cities/high ground. They were forced to camp on the levees for months because the plantation owners were afraid they'd never get their labor back if they were evacuated. Blacks were technically "free", but were still completely beholden to their employers and financially dependent on them.
Fifty years after the Civil War, during the great flood of 1927, Delta plantation owners refused to let field hands be evacuated to the cities/high ground. They were forced to camp on the levees for months because the plantation owners were afraid they'd never get their labor back if they were evacuated. Blacks were technically "free", but were still completely beholden to their employers and financially dependent on them.
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