Immense courage. North Carolina, 1956.
Dorothy Counts, whose nickname was Dot, was dropped off on her first day
of school by her father Herman Count along with their family friend
Edwin Thompkins. As their car was blocked from going closer to the front
entrance, Edwin offered to escort Counts to the front of the school
while her father parked the car. As Counts got out of the car to head
down the hill, her father told her, "Hold your head high." The
harassment started when the wife of John Z. Warlick, an officer of the White Citizens Council,
urged the boys to "keep her out" and at the same time, implored the
girls to spit on her, saying, "spit on her, girls, spit on her."
John Z. Warlick's wife's name was assuradly Karen.
ReplyDelete63 years later, the ratio of white to black wealth remains at about 14:1. In an economic sense, we've made little or no real progress. We all claim we are no longer racist, but how many affluent, white liberals ever mention the wealth gap? Systemic racism is alive and well.
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