Growing Up in Pendleton SC in 1950's and 60's

Back to how it was then...at the drug store soda fountain, we were not allowed to sit down - we stood at a corner of the counter until we were recognized or until everyone else that was white had been served. One time a young black woman, that had moved to the North, came home for a visit and went to the soda fountain where she proceeded to placed her bottom on the stool to place her order. Well you guessed it - she was refused service. They went so far as to remove the stools from the soda fountain to prevent it from happening again. Talk about overkill! I was told by Mr. Robert Thompson that when he was a young boy, we were not allowed to order a Coca Cola. It seems that was a forbidden drink for people of color.

The schools were separate with all black teachers trying their best to give us an education with used books and equipment.

Can you imagine the first day of school and getting your books for the year to find that they had been written in and torn from the previous owners? It was a rare thing to get a new book for school. Can you imagine teaching science classes with only 1 bunson burner in the whole school?

It took a student sit-in a few years after I graduated from high school to correct this injustice. The school district had the money but because no one had ever stood up to the superintendent and said enough is enough they did not bother to hand over new supplies.

Ah! but life took a turn for the better.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law on July 2, 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson. The bill was introduced by President John F. Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June, 11, 1963 in which he asked for legislation "giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public - hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores and similar establishments "as well as" greater protect in the right to vote".

This piece of legislation in the United States outlawed racial segregation in schools, public places and employment. It also enforced the constitutional right to vote. It was conceived to help African Americans.

Now, things did not change overnight.

It took Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and many others who fought and lost their lives in order for us to receive the freedoms we have today.

We have the freedom to go to the movies and sit anywhere we want. We have the freedom go into the grocery store's front door and purchase our groceries without waiting for all the white people to complete their purchases. We have the freedom to sit down in restaurants and soda fountains all over the world without any repercussions as long as we have money to pay for these privileges. We have the freedom to go into any store to shop and not feel like a criminal - that is unless you have sticky fingers. We have the freedom to drink water from any public water fountain we want to with looking for the "Colored Only" sign.

I could not wait to get my voter registration card and vote for the first time. This was progress - a privilege that we were denied because of the color of our skin. I still take the opportunity to vote every time there is an election.

When I first moved back to Pendleton, election time came, I gave them my voter registration card. At that point I was asked if I had married and I said yes, then I was told that I needed to change my last name to my husband's by this person at the poll. I guess you know what I said - very politely. Imagine, he was still trying to control me after not seeing me for 20 or more years. Did I change my last name - NO!

I never would have imagined back during the time of my growing up I would see a man walk on the moon or even yet a Black man actually get the nomination from a political party to run for President of these United States of America.

The next amazing thing I witnessed was that same Black man actually won the race and has become the President of these United States of America. He won because people (black, white, brown, and every color of person) came together for a common cause and put race behind. They believed in the man and what he represented "change".

Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream that one day this nation would rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal".

Now the feeling has changed in the Black community -any one of us can run for any political office in the country if we so desire. Some of us even win these offices.

Does this mean that we have finally arrived? I doubt it but it is a very large step.

In the years that passed, we have the freedom to attend any school we choose if we have the grades, money, and determination .

The Black community of Pendleton has produced State Legislators, owners of franchises, lawyers, doctors, and just about any other profession there might be. We have forged ahead because of and in spite of the injustices we experienced.

The Pendleton Community Center is where our children can go during the summer and have recreational activities and a meal each day. These children are taught arts and crafts and are provided a shelter from the streets and the dangers that lurk there for young children. After all, it was founded on the concept of providing these things for children of the community.

The center is a meeting place for many clubs and organizations. The center has held many plate sales, fish fries, yard sales and reunions. Politicians find this a place where they can present their platform to the Black community. It was a shame that someone thought so little of the center that they defaced the interior. This will not stop progress - just a set back.

All Squidoo Lenses have the opportunity to earn money according to their rankings and according to merchandise sold from the lens. 10% of the profits from this lens will go to a Recognized Squidoo Charity, The Jackie Robinson Foundation, and the remaining portion will be donated to Pendleton Community Center.