10thirtysix

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Daughter

When I think of the American dream, I think of my mother and how I'm just one generation away from the cotton fields of Louisiana. As a little girl, instead of going to school in September, my mother went to the fields, picking cotton with her uncles and grandparents, who were sharecroppers or as she describes it, one step up from a slave. I was thinking that I shouldn't be there, and I should be at school 'cause I already knew that I could do, I could recite everything. And I was number one in my class. So, I wanted to be in school and not in the field. -

Daughter

For my mother, learning was her escape, despite her segregated school It was a relief and a release, a relief and a release. And the black schools that I went to K through 8, outdoor toilets we had and there were like 12 on each side for the girls. And you were facing another girl, every time you went to the bathroom. That was horrible thing. And then I always thought that was the most awful thing in the world. You didn't want to go all day. You would just try to wait until you got home. -

Daughter

She walked a mile to school, while the white children rode the bus. Her books were hand-me downs, marked up and torn pages. Her part of town was terrorized at night. -

Mother

We had what was called shot gun houses, where they could shoot straight through. So, they would put all the lights out. They meaning the klan. They mean the mayor. We knew by night, they were Klansmen by day. They were your overseers. -

Daughter

Still, my mother went on to graduate high school as valedictorian and went on to graduate school on scholarship. She eventually became a public school history teacher because she knew America could be better. The American dream is always what I know now was in The Declaration Of Independence, where all people supposed to be treated equal, and you have the right of for the pursuit of happiness and there should be equality. There should be sameness. So, I always strove to make sure that I was on track and I would be able to get a part, a piece. So no, I still haven't achieved the dream. I know what the dream is. My mother says she sees the dream in us and our children. She rarely talks about her childhood. So, this interview was more difficult than I thought it would be. You definitely gave us a great childhood, that was far from what I imagine yours was. I know you probably don't hear that enough for me, but I feel like you did give us the American dream and I'm very, very proud of that and grateful for everything you've done for us. So, this is all I had to give. And you gave it all. That's what I gave.