American History and Politics During My Lifetime
The Beginning of Desegregation
Also during the year that I was born, the U.S. Supreme court
ruled on the Browder v. Gayle case stating that racial segregation on buses was
unconstitutional. It was a year-long case following the Montgomery Bus Boycott
led by Martin Luther King, Jr. The case re-affirmed that segregation laws
violated the 14th amendment and that “separate but equal” was no
longer accepted. This had a huge impact on society and set us on a better path
to integrating everything. Though we had Black people living in Vernon, I had
very little exposure to them. It was not
a focus of my attention as they had their own schools in a part of town that
was label Colored Town. I can say
though, there was no malice in those words. It was just how society was during
the era that I grew up. I suppose, looking back now, there was prejudice, but I
didn’t live in a world of hate. It was just the way things were. I did have
exposure to a Black man who Daddy purchased BBQ from. He cooked out of his kitchen,
and I would go with Daddy to pick up his order. This Black man was the nicest
man you would ever know. His home was impeccably clean and I felt honored to
know him. Another Black man sold tamales on the corner of Wilbarger and Main
out of a small cart. He, too, was a very nice gentleman. I once attended a
Black funeral, possibly for the man who cooked our BBQ. It was held in a Black
Baptist Church and it was truly an experience for me, as it followed the
protocol of what I had in my mind as “holy rollers”. There were loud Amens,
waving of hands and lots of singing.
