I am so disappointed that some teachers and the principal did not come out and escort her into class and at least supervise so that the ugliness would have been sharply curtailed.They could have made a significant difference in how she was treated once in school too. How differently it could have gone!
This story makes me weep...but it is so beautifully written I feel as though I was there. I hope you won an award for this! Baby steps and kudos to those who bravely took them!
I thought this was beautifully written, Tommy. I've tried to explain this era to my 25-year old daughter, who, although empathetic and outraged by inequity, has trouble fully grasping what Jim Crow and his many cousins were like. A classic case of, "You hadda be there!" I was only 10 years younger than Dot was at the time and only tangentially aware of these things - there was no robust national source for news yet. But soon enough we could all see it, every night in black-and-white (pun intended), see the water hoses and dogs, hear the brave singing and see the impassive willingness to suffer blows and not return them. To see the rapid rise of moral authority on one side and the cratering of any claim to decent on the other. It was a time!
I am so disappointed that some teachers and the principal did not come out and escort her into class and at least supervise so that the ugliness would have been sharply curtailed.They could have made a significant difference in how she was treated once in school too. How differently it could have gone!
As powerful today, maybe even more so, than the day you first wrote this, Tommy.
This is the epitome of strength and power of black and brown women seen across the globe. Love her.
This story makes me weep...but it is so beautifully written I feel as though I was there. I hope you won an award for this! Baby steps and kudos to those who bravely took them!
I thought this was beautifully written, Tommy. I've tried to explain this era to my 25-year old daughter, who, although empathetic and outraged by inequity, has trouble fully grasping what Jim Crow and his many cousins were like. A classic case of, "You hadda be there!" I was only 10 years younger than Dot was at the time and only tangentially aware of these things - there was no robust national source for news yet. But soon enough we could all see it, every night in black-and-white (pun intended), see the water hoses and dogs, hear the brave singing and see the impassive willingness to suffer blows and not return them. To see the rapid rise of moral authority on one side and the cratering of any claim to decent on the other. It was a time!