His story is touching and shows that determination and doing the right thing can raise a man, the son of a tenant farmer in Alabama, the deep south, to the halls where major decisions are made in the United States of America. I doubt that he ever thought he would reach such heights when he was a young man in his twenties, a follower of Martin Luther King, the pacifist black man who changed our country.
The story told about John Lewis that brings tears to my eyes is not the horrible beating he took on the bridge in Selma Alabama in 1965 when I was a young married woman. It is the story of him going to the library in Selma when he was a little boy and being refused because "the library is for white people only." This child had a hunger for learning, but he was poor and black, and was denied the only place where he thought he might find books so he could read and learn.
I was a reader from the time I was small and loved to see the Book Mobile come to my house on the farm where I loaded my arms with books to last me until that book mobile came again. I wonder now, did that book mobile go to the homes of the black farmers whose farms were adjacent to our place?
John Lewis' story is a sad reminder of a little white girl who lived on the wrong side of the tracks in Pelham, GA. She, too, loved to read but the only books available to her were at school. In the summer she told her mother she would like to read. She was told to walk downtown a few blocks away and go to the library.
The little girl, excited that she would be able to find a book to bring home, made her way down the road and across the dividing line of the Haves and Have Nots, the railroad tracks. She approached the large library doors, already feeling intimidated, and entered. Amazed to find so many books on all the tall walls, she didn't know what she should do, where she should go. Behind a large desk an older woman sat oblivious to the little girl who had just entered.
| PELHAM CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 133 Hand Street |
"Can I get a book to take home to read?" The shy little girl asked the woman behind the desk.
That little girl never forgot the look the woman gave her or the words she said. "No. There are no books for you here."
That little girl never forgot the look the woman gave her or the words she said. "No. There are no books for you here."
The little girl turned and walked through the big doors. Tears ran down her cheeks as she made her way back across the tracks.
Eventually the little girl and her family moved to another town and another school. The little girl excelled in school, was a favorite of one of her teachers, and was given a college scholarship. She always loved books, fine literature, best sellers, and even in her last days she found reading a great comfort.
Today, one of her great nephews is head of the libraries in the region of Pelham, GA. I would like to tell him this story and ask what librarians today would say or do if that little girl came there. I hope they would help her.
Visit this site today to read more about John Lewis and my brother-in-law, Stu Moring.
https://www.glendacouncilbeall.com/2020/07/congressman-john-lewis-servant-leader.html#.Xx3azlVKj3g
https://www.glendacouncilbeall.com/2020/07/congressman-john-lewis-servant-leader.html#.Xx3azlVKj3g
I too cried when I watched the carriage with John Lewis' body slowing moving across the bridge, strewn with rose petals. He made an enormous difference in the world. Today, I suspect, that all libraries (if they were open) would allow children, all children, to visit and read book these days. A wonderful story, Glenda. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBooks are a privilege. I was not allowed to read except for school. We had no books other than the Bible and an old Veterinary Manual in our home until I was about 10 years old and then bought my own books with my allowance. My Mother always said reading was a waste of time and we should do other things....so I was only allowed to read after all the work was done.
ReplyDeleteSo I understand.
How very sad, Far Side of Fifty, that your mother did not realize the importance of reading. I am happy you had an allowance and could purchase your own books. Yes, you understand that child's need to have books to read. Thank you so much for visiting here today and for leaving your comment.
ReplyDelete