The subject is travel, and with high unemployment and even higher fuel cost it has made it increasingly difficult to travel by car. But these are economic barriers. Recently a young couple talked of the surprising lack of humanity and hospitality by fellow Americans as they completed a recent car trip through the south. Starting in Richmond Virginia with an ultimate destination of San Antonio Texas, husband and wife Andrew and Georgie Foster report finding many restaurants not willing to seat or serve African Americans ...
and being forced to go to the back of some establishments to pick up a cold sandwich for lunch. Later that day this same dining experience is repeated in another town for dinner. In these modern times sleeping accommodations for African Americans are still nonexistent in southern towns in states like the Carolinas, Kentucky and Tennessee. Each night this same couple, now tired from the days travels, is surprised like another famous couple , that "there is no room for them in the inn". In this updated version we are talking about the Holiday Inn and the reason they are being turned away is for having black skin.
Given the afore Biblical example Andrew and Georgie are in a fix as there is a definite shortage of local "mangers." So what is the African American couple to do? Well in the south the beacon of light, the oasis in the desert comes from a very unlikely place ; the local Black funeral director. That's right, Andrew and Georgie will actually be sleeping good tonight, as the generous undertaker allows the couple to sleep among the caskets; some empty some occupied.
Andrew and Georgie are my parents and this is just one of the many stories I like to hear them tell as normal life in the 1950's and 60's.
Every year each of us has virtually the same experience when it comes to Martin Luther King Day. Meaning, each year there is an endless barrage of dated film clips on the television, a parade or special church service the day before and if energy permits someones special program either live or back to the television, live from Washington D.C. It's easy to get complacent and matter of fact about the whole day. Unless we share.
1960 Martin Luther King at Durham North Carolina Woolworth Lunch CounterMeaning , you or someone you know might remember actual events of that turbulent time we lived. Personal incidents that involved you are the best memories to share with a young person or just anyone. If it is not your memory, then ask someone about their memory. Take that memory and share it with someone who might not know or needs a touch of sensitivity. We all have someone who could use a bit of sensitivity. As we get older our family and relatives are getting older, forget and die. We need to go back to what we did as Africans; that is, commit to an oral history of our ancestry. Keep the word and the stories alive for future generations.