When I was a child growing up in the segregated South, I didn’t understand prejudice. Now, that I’m an adult, mother, and grandmother, I still don’t. I grew up in abject poverty, but in a loving household with two parents and four siblings. Prejudice was the reason our intelligent, WW11 veteran father was denied employment. Our Christian parents had to make do by working in cotton fields.
After civil rights laws were passed, our father (Dad) was able to obtain employment as a janitor at the Naval Air Station Memphis. In 1965, he benefited by the Manpower Development Act of 1962. In spite of a cumulative score of 97 on the Civil Service Exam (CSE) years earlier, the only employment opportunity offered him was a janitor.
Dad loved to read and write. He was born in Mississippi but grew up in Chicago. His parents and their children migrated to Chicago when he was a child. He was the youngest of ten children, all males, and was not accustomed to Southern ways. I read many of the treasured articles he wrote and kept in his Army footlocker. Like Dad, I loved to read books and write.
Our mother, whom we affectionately called MaDear, was a quiet storm. She was the eldest of ten children. Her parents were tenant farmers in North Mississippi. Her parents worked the land they cleared of stumps and rented from a wealthy white man. Eventually, they were cheated out of their land and lived in poverty. MaDear was strong-willed and protective of us. She supported Dad throughout 43 years of marriage. Only death separated them.
Our parents raised us to be loving, supportive, and responsible adults. Growing up, we had many honest conversations regarding the world we were living in. They also had questions they couldn’t answer about the world we were living in. As Christians, they believed in loving God, sharing the Gospel, living a Holy life, and being a good steward of what they had, no matter how little. Their examples led us to live a Christian life.
A few years ago, I read a book by Gordon W. Allport entitled, The Nature of Prejudice. In the preface he wrote, “Most prejudice is a product of fears of the imagination. These imaginary fears can cause real suffering. As a result, Black people suffered indignation at the hands of white people who invented fanciful racist doctrines to justify their condensation.”
He went on to say, “Until recent years, prejudice was not related to race. It was mostly related to religion. Race gave an immediate and visible mark, so it was thought, by which to designate victims of dislike. The fiction of racial inferiority became, so it seemed, an irrefutable justification for prejudice. It had the stamp of biological finality, and spared people the pains of examining the complex economic, cultural, political, and psychological conditions that enter into group relations.” His book was initially published in 1954. It’s now 2025, and non-white people are still experiencing racial prejudices. These racial prejudices and actions may be harmful to their livelihood.
Our parents worshipped God and Jesus in their poverty. They feared no man. They believed no external forces could destroy them if they kept a spirit of victory around them. They allowed no one to determine the quality of our inner life. They showed strength and vitality.
We traveled the road we had to travel but acquired knowledge and strength along the way. We lived in a segregated society but lived with dignity. We lived in a shack that was a loving home. We lived in a community with families that cared for each other. Some became life- long friends. We had many hungry days but were fed daily with God’s word.
It was not easy, but we knew God was on our side. He gave us strength. We knew racism was wrong and had a responsibility to help make this country better. We refused to be fitted into a category of prejudgment because of the color of our skin. We had a responsibility to help make a difference and became involved in the civil rights movement!
Stay tuned for Chapter Two!
Francie Mae. March 15, 2025
Reference
Allport, 1954.1958.Gordon W. The Nature of Prejudice. United States. 1st and 2nd editions, Addison-Wesley, 1954. Anchor Books, 1958.