We were assigned an Oral History Project last week and here’s a snippet of my creative fiction piece, adapted from the project…
“my mind wondered into adulthood for a moment because I know parents do everything possible to protect their children. So, I posed a question regarding safety persuasions. I asked if there were any specific things his mother had taught him or his sisters, in case the dogs or the hose were put on them.
“Well, some of those things were taught at the mass meetings by the leaders. And she you know would go along with that. She would just tell us to be safe and to watch your surroundings and stuff. I think we were more concerned about her cause we all figured we could get around better than she could.”
By this point, I’m so deep into the conversation, that I hear nothing, but his voice and I automatically have my next question. I asked if he and his family were in the 50s or 60s, would he preach to his children what his mother preached to him and would he put his children in “harm’s way.”
His response was so powerful I couldn’t believe it. It proved to me that his passion, his strength as a man, and his determination for the rights of a black man or woman in America. He said, “As a matter of fact, I do and I would. I preach to ‘em everyday you know tellin’ ‘em, in fact, they can say what I’ma tell ‘em before I get it out my mouth cause they’ve heard it so much.”
As the interview came to an end, I asked what the difference between the rights of a black man then and now. He told me that he and his sisters had earned AT LEAST a bachelor’s degree. He also said that the place where his mother served as a maid, was the same place he later became the superintendent of – this proved to me that no matter how hard things may be right now, there’s always room for change. It also proved to me that all those sleepless nights, rough fights, and all-night prayer meetings, worked.”
