I was born and raised in Kansas, which my Abolitionist, Quaker grandfather always pointed out was never a “slave state”. The Civil War was recent history in his experience. Kansas is also the home of Brown vs. The Board of Education which gave black children the right to go to unsegregated schools.
This was a non-issue for us. There were always a few black kids in our schools. We saw them at the movies and skating rink. I didn’t think a thing about it. My initial brush with racism happened when my family went to visit our relatives in Louisiana and I saw signs stating that certain stores, restaurants and water fountains were for whites only. I peppered my parents with questions, but got no satisfying explanation. The time I had institutionalized racism rubbed in my face was when I moved to Texas and took my first office job. I was handed a pile of resumes and instructed to throw away all the ones that were from black people. (At least they didn’t use the “N” word or I might have fainted). I was perplexed. Leafing through the forms I could see there were no pictures, no “race” boxes checked. I asked my supervisor how I was supposed to tell which ones were black. “Just check the names and addresses,” I was advised
To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://www.etypeservices.com/Forney%20MessengerID423/
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.