High School Memories about Race

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For Generations Yet Unborn

I grew up in Illinois, west of Chicago. I attended elementary school through high school in my hometown. I cannot help but smile when I think back on my high school experiences. A Power Point slide show presentation runs through my mind with fond memories of football games, homecoming dances, and school plays all set to the tune of my high school’s fight song being played by the marching band. This mental slide show belongs not only to me, but also to many of my friends here at U of I. I know not everyone experienced the same “Miss Suesy High School” experience that I went through, but as a 16 year old I somehow blocked other’s not so grand high school experiences from my mind, and naively continued to go to football games and dances. When I came to the University of Illinois, along with twenty some others from my high school, I pressed saved on my slide show of high school memories and began my college career. It wasn’t until March 1, 2004, that I opened up my Power Point file of high school memories at the request of an amazing woman.

Melba Beals, a congressional Gold Medal honoree for her work as a civil rights activist, spoke at the University of Illinois in March about her experiences as one of the Little Rock Nine and her book Warriors Don’t Cry. In Beals’ book, she recalls unpleasant childhood memories of growing up in Arkansas during segregation of the 1950s. Beals drank out of water fountains marked for blacks only, ate at “colored” restaurants, rode at the back of the bus, and attended a segregated elementary school. Beals and eight other children “helped integrate an all-while Arkansas public high school in 1957.” The majority of Warriors Don’t Cry exp...

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...ed segregation “little pins” and with time all the pins will be removed and the pain will be gone. Melba said my generation will live to see even more results than she ever will. Her advice to us was to continue our education and to learn as much as we can. She said endless opportunities are available with education, whether you are black or white. Melba is over fifty now and she is still continuing her education in international educational studies. Melba has recently adopted two young children and she learns from them and with them every day of her life. She told us never to loose our passion for learning. Education for her keeps her “young and alive.” If I can reach Melba’s age, and have the outlook on life that she currently has, I will feel blessed. Melba’s slide show may be very different than mine, but without hers mine would not be nearly as bright.

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