I was born in November 1965, a little over a year after my next oldest sister, Bettye. She was born in the middle of Freedom Summer. We grew up with our older siblings in Meridian, MS. 2505 ½ Fifth Street, within walking distance of our parents’ house, was the home of the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) office opened by Michael Schwerner. The COFO office was the headquarters of the Freedom Summer operation in Lauderdale County.
My oldest sibling graduated from a segregated school. Bettye started school the first year that Meridian Public Schools integrated. I went the second year. We were afforded what we thought was a decent educational experience – although I often wondered why my mother would show up at the school and just watch us after having worked all day as a maid. I remember her standing across the street and watching me on the playground sharing a swing with Brenda, my white class mate with whom I am still friends today. As a child, I was unaware of the fear she must have felt for our safety.
We grew up somewhat protected and therefore unfortunately unaware of the inequities faced by people of color. My parents were not rich by any means but they worked hard and ensured we valued education. My maternal grandmother, Mudear, had been President of the PTA and stood side by side with the white education officials for the ground breaking of Carver Middle School. I grew up admiring the picture of her holding the shovel while dressed to the nines in high heels and gloved hands. My brothers played football for Meridian High School, my sister and I both participated in extracurricular activities. It was not until my junior year when, as Class Vice President participating in the planning of the prom, the realities of the efforts of civil rights workers caught up with me. We realized that we were planning the first prom held at Meridian High since integration.
I then began to look around and see beyond the protections of my parents, older siblings, grandparents, church and neighbors who looked out for each of us. I had always known my parents to vote, or so I thought. I began to learn of the sacrifices paid by so many. I wondered as I read the accounts or reflected on overheard whispered conversations of grown folk talking (back then children were not allowed to stand around while grown folk talked) whether my parents were scared raising us under the shadow of the White Citizens Council and Sovereignty Commission and having to go to work every day. I often wondered why Mudear would insist on us walking a certain way – head held high, shoulders back, and eyes straight ahead. While our other grandmother, Queen, would snatch us off the side walk in Philadelphia, MS to allow a white person to pass by. What had they seen or experienced that made them have such different perspectives?
What I realize today as we approach the 50th Anniversary of Freedom Summer is that I am very thankful for the sacrifices made by heroes, the heralded and the unsung, who paved the way for us. The pavement they laid was too often mixed with blood and tears but it was a foundation on which we must continue to build.
I am grateful for the protections of my parents and the perspectives of my grandparents. I am grateful for the songs of the movement and the lessons of the struggles. They defined me and have brought me to this place and space in my life.
As we move into the summer, I encourage all young people to go back and capture the experiences of your parents and grandparents during Freedom Summer and how it defined them and you. If upon reflection, you do not see their courage reflected in the mirror of who you are today then know you are not saying thank you to those who fought and died for you. Make this summer the pivotal point in your own history where you decide the struggle for the civil rights and liberties of all Mississippians continues. Decide, like the young freedom riders of 1964, to make a difference in Mississippi, a state that continues to “[swelter] with the heat of injustice.”
The 50th Anniversary of Mississippi Freedom Summer Conference is from June 25-29, 2014 and the Youth Congress is June 23-29, 2014.
