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Discrimination and Race Relations

1955 – Blacks boycott buses in Montgomery; Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953 to 1961) was president.

1955 - Supreme Courts orders school desegregation, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953 to 1961) was president.
1960 to 65 – Civil Rights movement, John F. Kennedy (1961 to 1963) and Lyndon Johnson (1963 to 1965) were presidents.
1963 – President John F. Kennedy assassinated (1961 to 1963).

Above is the time line in which I was born.  I was born in the year 1955 and was bused to school.  Here are excerpts from my book, “Checkered Fences” about my personal experiences.

“I not only had problems with the local black kids, I also encountered problems with the white children whom I attended grade school.  Since I was raised up in a small town, I was bussed to school.  I attended school with predominately white children.  Often, I was the only black kid in the class or occasionally there were two of us.

When I started kindergarten, at recess and lunchtime, I would go out to the playground to play.  None of the white children would play with me, so I would play on the monkey bars and swings by myself.  While I played on the monkey bars or a swing, the white kids would push me off and I would get hurt.  I would tell the playground monitor and my teacher.  They wouldn’t do anything about it.  So at recess and lunch, I would stay at my desk and eat lunch.  I didn’t speak to anyone unless I was asked a direct question.

While in kindergarten, one day my teacher instructed me to go to the nurse’s office.  I went to the nurse’s office and was given tests to do.  One of the tests consisted of a different shaped block puzzle.  I was asked to put the blocks in the slots where they belonged.  I quickly placed the blocks where they belonged.  The nurse then said to another lady in the room with her,

“I can’t find anything wrong with her.  I can’t see any reason to hold her back a grade.”

“But she never speaks,” responded the lady.

Now I thought this was very strange, since they both acted as if I wasn’t even there.  Not once did either of them ask me why I never talked or I would have told them why.  I was then instructed to go back to class.

My teacher called my mother one day after school, saying she wanted to hold me back in kindergarten.  My mother asked why.  My teacher stated it was because I never talked or played with the other children in class.  My mother replied to my teacher, that she didn’t care.  She demanded I be passed to the first grade, since I had passed all of my academic classes.”

Alma Hudson, Author

Book:  Checkered Fences

Email Address:  Quench1@msn.com

Website URL:  http://www.eloquentbooks.com/CheckeredFences.html

Tagline:  Discrimination and Race Relations

Short bio:  Alma Hudson works in legal management and is actively involved in community and environmental issues.  Ms. Hudson has an Associate’s and Bachelor of Arts Degree and lives with her two children and husband in California.