Tell the TRUTH, SHAME the Devil An Essay by Marsha Cann PROLOGUE During the Civil Rights movement, Beaumont High School’s integration was featured in a documentary film that was nominated for an Academy Award. After the closure of Little Rock Central High School after its integration crisis in 1958, three members of the Little Rock Nine came to St. Louis and completed coursework at Beaumont. After the 1970s, however, the school re-segregated as an all-black school…Even after a court mandated desegregation transfer program, Beaumont remained a de facto segregated all-black school from the 1980s through the 2000s. (Wikepedia)
Say it loud! I’m Black, and I’m proud! It was 1968, my first year of high school… James Brown traded his process for an afro and penned our battle cry Gone! With your bad self….Say it loud!.... I’m Black, and I’m proud! And that September we came from up the street, across the park, ‘round the corner To Beaumont High, used to be all white, then just 10 remained, With 3,000 black teens on the scene, the Big B was our claim to fame. We were ready, with our bad selves. Turtlenecks and college brogues, mini-skirts, bucks and bell bottoms. Couldn’t tell us we wasn’t black and beautiful, hip and bad as we wanna be as we entered those halls! Yes, we were ready for this new journey, high school! Don’t’ you know we were cool and ready for it all. Some of us sweet, some sassy, some shady, some fly, Most of us silly, some slick, some smart, and some shy. All different but similar, sharing the same love for the Big B, Sharing the same journey, being teenagers together, Becoming like family. But in America turbulent times of terror engulfed us, Oppressed us, shook us up to see Our lives in poverty, Our paths challenged with discrimination and white supremacy. Hating to see Terror too terrible to talk about Black blood spilled from sea to shining sea, shot down in the street, dogs, hoses, bullets, bombings beatings and bodies – having to fear It’s not safe for us here,
Denise, Carol Ann, and I were like the Three Musketeers. We did everything together – and when Deb wasn’t busy working at the record shop or spending time with her boyfriend, we were the Four Musketeers. She was always more “grown” than we were, even though she was the youngest. She was fast. We were all comedians, experts at finding something funny about everything and everybody. We laughed a lot. Looking cute was also very important and of course boys - looking at the cute ones, having crushes and being in love from afar in our dreams, our imaginations, mostly, except for Deborah, like I said, she was more “grown” than the rest of us. And Denise and JD used to get put out of history class on purpose so they could kiss in the hallway. But me and my girls, we were hipper than most, got to hear all the newest records before everybody else because Deb would hook us up. We’d be dancing and singing up a storm…doing the James Brown… Baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby baby, baby baby -- I got that feeling baby In love with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles… Love is here…standing by… Oooo…and The Dells… If you stay---stay darling, stay in my corner- wooo… Loved us some Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell… Ain’t nothing like the real thing baby, ain’t nothing like the real thing And back to JB hittin’… Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud! We were dancing the funky four corners, mashed potatoes, tightening up, bopping and jerking Shopping downtown on Saturdays, Sharing same dreams, clothes and make-up Getting ears pierced and taps on shoes Spending gum poppin’ afternoons and evenings singin’ On the corner like the boys, everyday after school And soon as we’d get home Came hours on the phone for important relatin’ we had to do About what, when & who “…saw him lookin’ at you girrrrl, and his friend was lookin’ at me… ooowee!” We were about grooving and having fun. And we really did love school, prided ourselves in doing well and got good grades. But hey, we liked talking about boys, making fun of everything and everybody, and hanging out in the smoking area, even though we didn’t smoke. Just teenagers being carefree, trying to get in where we fit in. But it was becoming clear that things could never truly be carefree for us. Earlier that year, my sister Annie and I were on our way to church for Wednesday night youth meeting when the horrifying news came over the car radio. I remember hearing my sister scream “Oh Lord No!” and bursting into tears. I was panic-stricken. My whole body trembled.
Our present still like the past. It was hard times at Beaumont High, Trouble had come to pass. If we would be part of the solution, we had to grow up fast…
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I was only 13 years old, and though frightened, I knew. We must stand. We’d have to take up the baton; continue to fight for the right to be judged for the content of our character instead of the color of our skin; fight for justice. We must tell the truth and shame the devil – no matter what. Still, I
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Volume 5.3 June 24, 2018