You can't sit in the back of the bus!
In 1922, my mother, her mother, sister and youngest brother moved from Amory, Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee. To say that it was culture shock would’ve been an understatement. They went from living in the country to the mysteries and regulations of the big city.
The differences were manifested in many ways. For one thing, my mother (who was a very tender 16 years of age) had never seen milk in a bottle. She wound up working at the phone company (AT&T) and made it back and forth to work by doing what most people did. Riding the bus.
Keep in mind that my mother was the only member of her family who was not a bigot or racist. How she managed to escape that mindset I will never know, but she did. Throw in ignorance of city ways, combine with a huge dose of country girl naivete and the result was almost totally predictable. Or if you prefer to look at it another way, she was about 35 years ahead of her time.
At any rate, one day she caught the bus. Whether to or from work I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. When she got on, she found that the bus was packed. The only seat left was at the very back of the bus. So, she trucks on back to the remaining seat and sits down.
In case y’all are wondering why any of this is unusual, you have to remember that we’re dealing with Memphis, Tennessee in 1922 in the Deep South. Segregation was the rule of the day. White peolple sat in the front of the bus and blacks sat in the back. That was the way it was and no one ever challenged it. But then they hadn’t run across anyone like my mother, either.
It didn’t take long after she sat down for the bus driver to pull over and bring the bus to a stop. He gets out of his seat, walks back to where my mother was sitting and told her she had to move up to the front. Keep in mind there were no seats in the front, but she still was ordered to move up front.
Her reaction to the driver? “Why?”
His response? “Because. You can't sit in the back of the bus.”
Her retort? “Why?”
The bus driver. “You don’t belong here.”
Her. “Why?”
I don’t know how long the exchange went on, but she finally moved up front. It was a very small episode and as far as I know, she never tried to sit in the back of the bus again. That’s just the way things were in Memphis at that time and you followed the rules. But I would suggest that was one of those very tiny ripples that eventually culminated in the Civil Rights movement some 35 years later.
The differences were manifested in many ways. For one thing, my mother (who was a very tender 16 years of age) had never seen milk in a bottle. She wound up working at the phone company (AT&T) and made it back and forth to work by doing what most people did. Riding the bus.
Keep in mind that my mother was the only member of her family who was not a bigot or racist. How she managed to escape that mindset I will never know, but she did. Throw in ignorance of city ways, combine with a huge dose of country girl naivete and the result was almost totally predictable. Or if you prefer to look at it another way, she was about 35 years ahead of her time.
At any rate, one day she caught the bus. Whether to or from work I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. When she got on, she found that the bus was packed. The only seat left was at the very back of the bus. So, she trucks on back to the remaining seat and sits down.
In case y’all are wondering why any of this is unusual, you have to remember that we’re dealing with Memphis, Tennessee in 1922 in the Deep South. Segregation was the rule of the day. White peolple sat in the front of the bus and blacks sat in the back. That was the way it was and no one ever challenged it. But then they hadn’t run across anyone like my mother, either.
It didn’t take long after she sat down for the bus driver to pull over and bring the bus to a stop. He gets out of his seat, walks back to where my mother was sitting and told her she had to move up to the front. Keep in mind there were no seats in the front, but she still was ordered to move up front.
Her reaction to the driver? “Why?”
His response? “Because. You can't sit in the back of the bus.”
Her retort? “Why?”
The bus driver. “You don’t belong here.”
Her. “Why?”
I don’t know how long the exchange went on, but she finally moved up front. It was a very small episode and as far as I know, she never tried to sit in the back of the bus again. That’s just the way things were in Memphis at that time and you followed the rules. But I would suggest that was one of those very tiny ripples that eventually culminated in the Civil Rights movement some 35 years later.
posted by Relative | 8:13 PM
4 Comments:
Interesting set of recollections. You would probably enjoy some of the material at Monroe County (MS) GenForum as you mention an Amory, MS background. Do you ever consider posting there?
Tried to reply to you via private email, but it bounced. So I'm posting the reply here.
My mother was born in Belden, Mississippi and grew up in Tupelo and Amory. I'm not familiar with the Monroe County GenForum, but would consider posting there. Can you provide me with a link?
I also have a website on my family's genealogy (at least some of it) that includes a number of old tintype photos that I've done some restoration on and also some 1600 names that tie to the family. You can find it at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wacastermarmo/
Finally, I have a photograph on the site of what appears to be a group of boarding houses. There's a possibility that it may be the boarding house/bordello that my g-grandmother owned.
Check out the site and let me know what you think of it.
Great site. The Monroe Cty GenForum is at http://genforum.genealogy.com/ms/monroe/
I gather that you have/had some family ties there. Check it out. A group of folks post there on occasion --- I see a lot of Monroe Cty surnames in your list that are still around the county. When I have time tomorrow, I wish to look at your site, the pictures specifically, to determine if I recognize anyone.
Thanks for giving me this link.
Let me know if you find any specific connections. When I get time to scan them, I have a great many more photographs, ranging from the late 1800s to the present time. Most are connected to my mother's line.
You will find that I have genealogical ties to a number of well-known names, particularly Stovall and Reagh.
Hope you find my site useful.
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