Still worth the sacrifice

Those of us who were born in the 1950s and before know the impact of the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.

I was born in 1952 and had the opportunity to experience what life was like. The order of the day was segregation. I began school in 1957 and attended Buchanan Elementary School in Richmond. The school no longer exists. I attended that school under the leadership of its first black principal. All of the teachers were black and many were members of the church that I attended. Every Sunday was parent - teacher day.

I was taught out of books that had four or five signatures listed before mine. These books had been passed down to us from white schools. Needless to say by the time we got them they had been thoroughly used. Our school was not modern; in fact, my adopted mother had attended that school, and she was 44 when I was born.

I became aware that something was wrong when I noticed that my teacher was constantly missing church. I later discovered that she, among others, were involved in a weekend program that the state funded. Virginia did not offer master’s degrees to blacks, and therefore black teachers were paid to attend schools up north in order to get a graduate degree. Can you imagine that the state would rather pay for you to go out of Virginia to get a master’s than to have one of the state schools to offer it?

The Brown vs. Board of Education decision became law in 1954, but states took their time implementing it. I did not experience integrated schools until 1966. My hat goes off to those who were the pioneers in public-school integration. I saw the evidence that you can change a law but not people’s heart. I saw prejudice in the classroom. I saw white students get special treatment. Most of all, I saw black students who were determined to get an equal education despite the odds.

As I look back, I have had the opportunity to compare both systems and I must admit that the opportunities that came about as a result of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision have been worth the sacrifice.