My parents were always honest with me and helped me to keep my eyes wide open in situations that may not be welcoming because of my Race.

That said, they were equally as quick to point out the good that I should look for in people of all races.

Just one example: There was a contest in all the elementary schools (colored) in Baltimore.It was a contest to select the Best Poem to present to Marion Anderson. At the time she was known all over the world but when she came to Baltimore, she could only perform for a White Audience.

I wrote my poem about Miss Anderson and I won ` I was 8 years old!

As the winner, I was invited,with my Mom, to see Marion Anderson in concert at a downtown auditorium, my mother told me that it was "Only Whites" and she explained to me what " NO Negroes" meant to our people.


I was so excited and my mother dressed me up with a pretty bow and a beautiful dress. My grandmother spent at least one hour curling my long black hair with a round wooden stick. The neighbors came to watch her and I was getting more excited by the minute.

Everyone in the neighborhood and all my relatives came to see me and waved goodbye as we drove off, they gave me little flowers and sweet gifts -- I was a star!

When we entered through the stage door, we were taken to meet the great Marion Anderson! I was thrilled and recited my poem to her. She was so gracious and kind. It was magical.

I thought we were going to have a seat and watch the performance but to my surprise, we watched her sing on the stage side of the curtain -ironically, better than a front row seat. She was able to see me clap for her and she would give me lots of smiles when she would exit the stage after a select number of songs.

It was a once in a life time experience.
As I write this, I have an even stronger feeling that she must have told the manager....if I could not sit in the audience, she wanted my seat to be as close to her as a seat could be.

When her performance was over, she hugged me and told me that she was so pleased that I came to see her.


It took a few more years before people of color could sit in an audience downtown or even to sit on the main floor to see a Movie, we only were allowed to sit in the balcony.

I'd like to think that Marion Anderson and a little brown skin girl with her sweet Mom, had a lot to do with the barriers coming down.