I shudder to think of what this country would be like today had it not been for Rep John Lewis ( D-Ga ), 2/21/1940-7/17/2020, and the other men and women who shared his vision of racial equality. Rarely does a day go by that I do not recall those horrible times when black people had to sit in the theater balconies and could not eat in many of the restaurants I was allowed to eat in during my childhood. I was eight years old when the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, but even at that young age I was well aware of its significance. Perhaps I noticed the injustice of that era more than many children my age because my cousin, Mona Kay Green, was black. She was my best friend. Mona’s grandmother and my grandmother were sisters. My family lived in Bowling Green, Ky. Mona’s lived in Louisville. Our families had business connections so we visited one another often. I spent an average of one to two weekends a month at my great-aunt’s house in Louisville: Mona was my constant companion during those formative years.
My mother loved going to the movies. She often took Mona with us. I did not understand why Mona had to sit in the balcony. I used to swivel around in my seat, squint my eyes and try to spot Mona somewhere up there in that dark abyss. My heart ached and wondered why we weren’t allowed to sit together. It wasn’t fair. One night when I felt particularly brave, I snuck up into the balcony and sat with Mona. Within minutes, the manager whisked me away and escorted me back downstairs.
Many times when we ate at a restaurant, we had to take Mona’s food to the car because she wasn’t allowed inside.
My first fight was over Mona. Her family also stayed at our house in Bowling Green, Ky. When I was in the first grade, Mona stood with me one morning while I was waiting for the school bus. When I got on the bus, I was greeted with jeers and a white boy who was older and bigger than me poked my chest with his finger and snarled, “What are you doing standing there with that _______?” I assume I had heard the "n" word before, but I did not realize its meaning until that moment. “Don’t you call Mona a _______,” I shouted and punched him in the face. He lunged at me but the bus driver broke the fight up before another blow could be struck. It’s safe to assume he would’ve beaten the daylights out of me but, from my perspective I won that fight as soon as I stood up for Mona.
That was the America I grew up in. That would still be the America of today had John Lewis and those like him not have had the tenacity to stand up against the bigots and racists that ran roughshod over this country. And now many of the grandchildren of those same bigots and racists are trying to regain the ground they lost to heroes such as John Lewis. But those of us who believe that all Americans are guaranteed freedom, equality and basic human rights must continue to, “get into good trouble,” as John Lewis said, and fight for equal justice for all.
I do not want to go back to those dark days when I could not sit in the movie theater with Mona Kay.
