WEBVTT

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In 1954, the Supreme Court
made school integration

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the law of the land.

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In the South,

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reaction to this ruling, was
angry and swift.

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The only thing I can see
that this is leading to

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is destruction

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of our school system.

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In the middle of the school year

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we had to desegregate.

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It was something that nobody
had done before.

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Leland was divided.

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We lived in completely
segregated neighborhoods.

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We was nervous about it
because we didn't know

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what was going to happen next.

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My hometown finally
had to reckon

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with something it had been
avoiding for years.

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I didn't really have
any awareness

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of the racial integration.

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From a five year olds
perspective,

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there was no difference.

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Black, white.

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We were just going
to another school.

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Be on your best behavior,
you know, like your parents

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would want you to.

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Turned out to be one of the best
that ever happened to me.

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There were wonderful
social relationships
between 8:15 and 3:30.

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But outside of school,

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going to each others' house,

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didn't do that often.

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In the community, there wasn't
the embrace of the integration.

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We never really took it
to the next level.

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It's very strange.

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Every other dimension of life is
harshly segregated
as it ever was.

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But here in this one place,
for a few hours every day,

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it's Black and white.