Unwavering Ambition

The story begins. As a twelve year old boy growing-up in the deep s egregated south in the forty's and early fifties I was a happy go lucky individual. Even though all of society was deeply segregated my exposure to the segregation and Jim Crow laws was limited. I led a sheltered life in my community. Iseldom saw Caucasian, Hispanic, or Asian Americans and had no interaction with them. Discrimination, segregation, and Jim Crow laws had a very negative impact on Black folk in society during this era. When I was about nine years of age there was an incident which happened to me and my family which enlightened me to the harsh Jim Crow, segregration and racial overtones of society. Although this incident in human relations was small it opened my eyes to the social conditions of the time. It was my family's belief that the American Dream could be achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, rather than by chance. Life was good and most of my experiences were pleasant. As a young lad who was carefree, open-minded, I pretty much lived in my own small world. I was not exposed to much of the racial segregation which existed. However, I knew it existed, but my daily routines within my community sheltered my experiences. Playing sports for me was addictive. There were several neighborhood boys of my age group who played together whenever we had some free time. It was football in the fall and winter, and baseball during the spring and summer. Living in a semi-rural community there were no organized sports activities for children. There were no coaches or adults who guided our play. We just made-up and copied the skills we saw played by older boys. Our games and activities were very competitive and much fun was had by all. When I wasn't playing pick-up games I was trying to earn some pocket change by running errands for neighbors or picking up soda and milk bottles for resale. In addition I also mowed lawns and turned flowerbeds for several of our neighbors.