Sunday, February 01, 2009
Forty-nine years ago, today. . . .
A section of lunch counter from the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth's is now preserved in the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History
Four young men, little more than boys, really, changed the world they, and I, lived in, forever. I was 18, and spent the next five years of my life wishing, somehow I could go, be there. I didn't. But many I loved, and have loved in my lifetime did. And thank you.
And most of all Thank You, Ezell A. Blair Jr. (now known as Jibreel Khazan) (18), David Richmond (died in 1990), Joseph McNeil (17), and Franklin McCain (18).
Saturday, July 08, 2006
February 1, 1960:
After passing by Ralph Johns' store on Market Street, Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain enter the Elm Street Woolworth's at 4 p.m., purchase school supplies and "sundry" items. They then approach the lunch counter and order coffee at 4:30 p.m. They are refused service. The four remain in their seats until closing at 5 p.m.
When it happened, I wished I could have been there. Still do. If I'd ever put together a personal pilgrimage, this Woolworth's would be on it. Now I have seen it: it's a block down from the theatre. It will someday be a museum.
Bless them, and all who act for the good of us all with their hearts, putting their bodies where it matters, and taking the consequences. . . .
34 comments:
Howie be first!
great thread topic, puddle!
Was Shirlee that put me up to it!
Michelle Obama is giving the commencement at Agricutural and Technical University
this week-end.
A and T was originally the "black" school. It is also the school where the four young
men sitting at the Woolworth counter were enrolled. If you all ever get to GSO be sure to see their four statues on the campus. A proud movement--it was--after it all got sorted out by various players.
And [who] is still on first here? HD it is!
May 11, 2012 9:00 PM
my thanks to all who have fought for the rights of all people of the world. it doesn't come easy and it doesn't come quick.
BTW, there's another post in drafts, any time you wish to use it.
slept like a babe, I did! praying that Murphy and his wicked 'law' will leave me alone now.
beuatiful sunny day, I'm meeting my new nephew Alex today! I'll post some photos of him and his proud big sisters on fb if I can keep a connection long enuf.
thank you! will do.
Jo, I was thinking how change comes about -- actions: big and small. Beginning with very small things -- not laughing at a gay joke, or black joke, or anti-female joke. . . .
Babies is wunnerful!! Enjoy!
Glad you're perking up! Spring's a very good time to do that: so much fun after you're all perked, lol!
Night before last we had a frost with no warning; last night, a warning with no frost!
And -- those Clove Pinks are *powerful*!! As soon's you step out the door, the fragrance smacks you up along side yer hed, grin. Absolutely mah vuh lus!!!
glad you have the pinks, they are lovely!
Our response to weather is weird, yanno? I'm always struck by how *cold* 40 degrees is in the fall, and how *warm* it is in the spring.
Yesterday it never quite made it to 60 -- and I deemed it too cold to go down to the river to wash clothes. If I had had that day in January, I'd have been out there washing in a minute, lol!
yay! just talked to my d-i-l and they are headed to their favorite Burlington festial of all (and there ar a lot of them!) - Kids Day!
...Kids Day 2012
BURLINGTON PARKS & RECREATION TO CELEBRATE 27 Years of KIDS DAY!!!!
Return to Battery Park!
Train Rides at Main Street Station on lower College Street.
For Kids of ALL Ages!!
MAY 12, 2012
10:00 am to 3:30 pm
In 1986, Burlington joined more than twenty other cities throughout the country and established a Kids Day Celebration. Since then it has grown into a community-wide collaboration between schools, service organizations, businesses, families, performers, volunteers, and other individuals dedicated to recognizing the value and importance of our young people, celebrating their individual differences and abilities, and encouraging them to look forward responsibly to the world they will inherit. With each passing year, Kids Day has resulted in an increased awareness and appreciation of Burlington's greatest asset...ITS CHILDREN!
Vermont's largest children's festival, with attendance of up to 5,000, is open to all young people who wish to participate. Activities are accessible to everyone. If there are special needs, we assist in every way possible to make their experience successful. There is a diverse audience of young families and the young at heart from Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Canada who attend. Community involvement includes over 100 performers, 1500 parade participants, 75 businesses, 60 schools and service organizations, 50 volunteers, and 50 contributors.
lol, yes weather is 'relative'! when it's been coooold for weeks even 20 degrees feels warm, lol!
Funny thang about the pinks: I've been really enjoying them for the whole past year, even though they missed blooming last year. They seem to have a mild fragrance difference even when they're not blooming, the the different shape of the leaves, color, and growth habit has always given me pleasure any time I'm near the garden.
I really like texture differences in all the different leaves. Most of the year my garden IS simply that. A hundred shapes, a hundred greens. May be why the guys blunder through it so often: they don't even SEE it, lol!
Speaking of blundering, I seem to have had a deer the other night in the phlox. And ah well: garden in the mountains, you WILL have critters!
http://www.enjoyburlington.com/Programs/SpecialEvents/KidsDay.cfm
Somehow fitting that Kids Day is butted up against Mothers Day, eh?
ciao for now - I am heading out to visit my bro's family and new nephew on the way to dogsit my son's border collie Marble, at his house. he and his family are in DC for their foster daughter's graduation from college and have had a house sitter this week but they had to leave today so I get to go play with Marble!
I'll be off for awhile but IF they remembered to leave me the password for their wifi network I'll be back later and catching up on some personal stuff, looking up some videos that I've been wanting to watch, etc.
tomorrow I'll hook up with my brothers to take Mom to lunch - since she gets frustrated in restaurants these days we are taking her to her favorite (from her olden days) snack bar where they have the best burgers around. I think she will love it and it will be more casual and easier for my bro to bring his 2 daughters and brand new son, whom my Mom has yet to meet!
and I get to escape ny home for a couple of days - not that I don't love it, but I've been stuck here for a looooong time! yay! c u later!
Late Good Morning All--Thanks, Puddle for turning my news into a thread. Somehow after I had gone to bed I thought that might happen. Seems to me you do wonders with your computer.
Mom's Day and Kid's Day seems an appropriate combination--even more as the kids grow into adults and ah, middle age and their Mom's are still here--and it seems to mean more to both. Daughter Brenda just called wondering if, as part of a Mothers Day Treat, I would like to go over to Glenwood Books and Coffee and visit Mr. Al Brilliant, one of the best book men/women I have ever known. I may have mentioned him previously. My answer was an OOH!--Of course!
Best Mother's Day Treat ever--
It is interesting to me how relationships change as we all get older. We are all adults together and the age span isn't so important--leaving room for other things.
Jo--I hope Murphy's law just leaves you alone. Having been born--and going to die
a Murphy I'll try and put a hex on it :)
Healing Coming Up!!!
thank you Shirlee! things are much better for me today, thank you! I'm here with my sweet grand dog and there is a great selection of food in the fridge - they weren't sure what would be left because their other house/dogsitters were here for 4 nights and 3 days - so i don't need to do anything but enjoy.
the trip up wasn't bad at all - almost no pain, such a difference from the many months pre-surgery!
my nephew slept thru my visit but that means I got to focus my attention on my neices, who wish I visited more often, so was loads of fun! he's gorgeous and slept thru a loud impromtu dance recital by the girls, so that is wonderful for Mom and Dad! it's good when babes can shut out noise!
I'm gonna get settled and then sit on the front porch and relax a bit and enjoy the weather! I'll be baaack.
Jo, sounds wonderful. Nice to be out and about. Not to mention better internets, eh?
Shirlee, that was almost too easy, lol! Considering the dates on the original posts. Those boys, and they were: hardly past childhood, had a HUGE impact on my life ~~ the possibility and *necessity* of acting. One of those places Edwin and I matched so perfectly.
My relationship with computers is interesting: I got my first, an Apple 2C in the mid eighties -- just a glorified word processor as far as I could see. Spent more time adding words to its dictionary than any thing else. Finally donated it to a Quaker school before I left for California. About five years later, friends with old computers started trying to gift me with them. My stance: what *for*???? I have a phone, I write letters, I have a library. In 2003, after a winter of begging, I finally gave in: I'll take your damned computer, now shut up!
It was brought on a gardening visit. And long before the weekend was over, I *knew* there was a critter on my desk that was going to change my life in HUGE ways. How huge, even I didn't have an inkling of. It was kinda a case of Curious George finds a Magic Carpet! If our neural pathways need stimulation to avoid atrophy, what better gift than that which *demands* you learn, forever? (And I *do* try to remember that when I'm having trubble with a piece of software and/or hardware, lol! Try, at least!)
The first which was dying, and buggy as hell, lasted to Christmas, when the giver gifted me with a brand new one. I believe he was pretty stunned by what I'd done -- he'd pretty much used it to trade stocks, and really had no idea what all was out there, lol! I'm not easy on 'em either -- 12 hours a day on average. I seldom even turn it off, and it's no Mac. Reboot when it's drifting too far away from the set up, which happens in hours now instead of days. I'm both dreading and looking forward to the next incarnation which is likely to be soon.
When I was seven or eight, I wanted to read every word of every volume of the big encyclopedia at the library. Never made it through volume I -- but this is *better*! I have it twenty four hours a day!
Interesting computer life history, Puddle.
It seems to me that we all want more information and ask more questions about everything because we know we can find at least part of the answer without having physical access to a research library.
But,I still have a lovely time at a library or bookstore.
More than lovely--it is the greatest comfort to look at walls and stacks full of books, pull some out, browse, check out or buy and chat with other book lovers.
Ah, now I see Edwin must have been at the Triad when you were with him in GSO.
Brenda was the production manager at
the Shakespeare Festival in High Point for some years.
When the too large board began to make hiring and management mistakes that wonderful regional theatre went down the tubes.
Most of the good people ended up in GSO in theatre or in events planning. GSO gained, and High Point lost, a lot of talent.
John-a lighting designer who came from the SF to the Triad with that group did some great work while here, while also teaching at UNCG. He just recently left town for NYC at double the salary. Such a nice guy with a heart stopping smile.
I think most of this happened between 2000 and 2003. Just wondering if you and Edwin knew John?
Brenda and I go to the Triad for special times--Carolina Chocolate Drops and/ or Lauralynn Dossett.
I LOVE being within walking distance of
the Triad and the restored Carolina.
If he was at the Triad, I'd lay odds that Edwin did: *nothing* on a production, no aspect, did he not pay attention to, lol! I still have his cup from that production. It was a lovely time. (The Matchmaker)
We left, drove to Baltimore, and got on the plane for San Diego -- DeanFest, lol!
And I agree about *books* -- The weight in the hand, the binding, the paper. . . . even the smell. . . . Despite the fact I love my 'puter, I truly doubt I'll ever be converted to any kind of e-reader. Though reading now is one of the few places I need glasses.
Ah. Found this. Awesome!
Puddle, the A&T site is wondrous! Can't we just name you "BFA 3.0
Researcher-in-Chief"?
Another, 3 times larger group of marchers this morning with the same chant--but adding
"Hey, Hey, Ho ,Ho
Amendment One has got
to go."
This group included
some mothers with small children. Last in line was a little girl--maybe four years old and waving her own small banner.
Good night all
Cool, misty, green morning. Rain promised for later. Which we can use: no complaints here.
Puddle, what an interesting man Edwin must have been. Just
had time this morning to look at his resume.
Thank you for posting the link.
Downtown Urban Market firing up across Elm St. Had 400-500 people last week--more expected as fresh, local produce becomes available.
Have a lovely day all--
Happy Mother's Day! I had a wonderful day at the Pow Wow at Stanford. I posted a few pix on my Facebook page. Lovely native people in their beautiful, natural attire, Indian Tacos on Fry Bread, traditional dances, song and prayer.
Happy Mother's Day to Mother Earth, too.
Happy Mother's Day. I've been having a hard time logging in so I'm going to leave it at that. I've written a comment five times now...LOL.
Ha, look at that :)
Quick hello from N'Awlins,
Went to Audubon zoo this morning, had dinner at Miyako's. People so warm, interactive, "How ya doin' darlin'? the wonderful old oaks, one limb about 60 feet long horizontally, flowers, what an amazing place.
So glad you are here. Happy Mother's Day to to all and yes, Mother Earth.
Pat
Hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!!!
I truly did.
But now, "what I wanna know is"--why
do (some?) Christians
refuse to accept the idea that there are other religions, beliefs, etc. in the world? This subset of the "faith community" seems to
have played a large part in the passage of Amendment One.
What gives them the right to use their belief in a particular world view
to deny others theirs, and impact their lives negatively?
If this is not appropriate for discussion JO--just
x-it. But It bothers me terribly and I can easily get my Murphy Mouth into
an argument in some situations! Would just like to understand what makes 'em tick!
Shnirlee you can say whatever you feel here - my only request is that we always be respectful of each other, as you certainly have.
I agree that there is no excuse for the behaviour of some who would call themselves Christian, since their very actions prove them to be anything but. I think that all beliefs should be respected unless they injure or inhibit the rights of any other human being. we will always have disagreements about certain behaviours but basic human rights should be the line in the sand for all people.
I think it comes down to the fact that those who want to push their rigid beliefs on others are scared bullies at heart or have been bullied into their beliefs themselves.
it's hard to change that but I think we have a generation of kids coming up who have no room in their lives for prejudice and intolerance. I cerainly hope so!
thank you for being here, I appreciate your voice. xo
new thread!
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