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For my blog this semester I wanted to pay homage to Black History Month and the importance of observing this month. Black History has for too long been cast aside and written out of the textbooks. Black History is American History, and it is important to educate ourselves every month and not just in February.
When Black History Month comes to mind, we instantly think of slavery, Jim Crow, and the figureheads of the Civil Rights movement such as Dr. Martin Luther King. While it is important to know these aspects of history, there are also other stories and pieces of history that haven’t been told. It is in the stories of unknown heroes and sheroes like my grandparents that bring to light how historical touchpoints manifested in the lives of everyday people. My grandparents’ stories are good examples.
My grandfather (Pawpaw) Larry Scott was born in 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio and grew up in primarily African American communities. He was in the service during Vietnam stationed in Europe, eventually attended Central State University, and became a teacher and a pastor. My grandmother (Mawmaw), Linda Scott was born in 1948 in Warsaw, Kentucky. A small town with majority white community and relics of the segregated South. My grandmother attended Morehead State University and worked as a manager for Cincinnati Bell for over 30 years. I have heard tidbit of stories that they experienced while growing up, but for Black History month this year I wanted to interview them and hear their stories more in depth. While their stories might not be written in the history books, they are still representative of the experiences of many Black Americans, and they deserve to be told.
To guide the interview, I prompted my grandparents with questions to help spark memories and stories. Below are the questions I posed to them, and the answers which followed.
February 10, 2022
Paighton: What were some of the historical events that happened when you were younger?
Pawpaw and Mawmaw: When Pawpaw as in the tenth grade and Mawmaw was in the eighth grade is when President Kennedy was shot. We all watched the news on their small televisions, they expressed how powerful it was to see everyone was hurt by his death.
The Black Panther Party also arose at this time out in California. They recruited people from all over the country to be a part of the organization, there goal was to gain more representation for Black people.
The NAACP was also very strong back then. They did not win every case, but the cases they did get involved in they usually helped a lot. We feel the impact of the NAACP has diminished in recent years and felt they fought a lot harder in cases of discrimination then they do now. It seems like they have neutralized a bit in some ways. This may have to do with the finances and now there’s so many other groups that are doing the work the NAACP did before when they were at the forefront.
Dr. Martin Luther King was prominent as well, we remember his “I Have a Dream” speech and his assassination. It was a really hard time, it was unbelievable really. When Pawpaw was in the service in Europe, he had experienced no racism. Then when he came back from the service, he immediately found out that Martin Luther King had been shot.
Paighton: Did you ever experience discrimination or reap the negative effects of segregation?
Pawpaw: The environment in my high school was not the greatest but it was never blatant racism. However, when I was younger, I had an experience of actual racism. I was with my dad and cousins, and we were driving down to a church convention in the South, in Atlanta, Georgia. We stopped on the way in Chattanooga, Tennessee to get something to eat. We went in a sat down at the lunch counter and the lady working told us to get up and that we could not sit there. We were stunned. My cousins and I wanted to protest and stay seated, but my dad told us to get up. So, we got up and left. That was such a horrible experience because the lady was so rude and mean. In Cincinnati, we didn’t experience that type of racism and discrimination and didn’t know any better. I was around 12 or 13 years old at the time.
When I was in the service over in Europe during Vietnam, I didn’t experience any type of racism. In fact, a lot of the Black people stationed in Europe stayed there once they were discharged. During my time in the service, it was no longer segregated. I had a lot of Caucasian friends that I became very close to, and we played basketball and football together overseas. Obviously not all the European countries were ahead of the United States when it came to race relations, but when I was in France, I didn’t experience any. During both your great grandfather’s time (during WWII) it was still segregated, and the Black people had separate barracks.
Mawmaw: There are experiences you have but when you are younger you don’t realize the weight of the problem. My parents emphasized to us when issues of racism arose. Even still in 1950’s early 60’s, we attended a one room school that was for all the Black children. Warsaw of course is a very small town, but we had one Black teacher, Ms. Naomi Johnson, that taught every Black student from 1st-8th grade in that one room. She made the most with our limited resources. First graders were in the same room as eighth graders, and she would block us off, and we would know when she was taking care of one grade the others were studying. I don’t know how she did it to be honest, but she was gifted and blessed. She was kind but she was very strict. When went through the process of integration, a lot of the white teachers did not want Ms. Johnson to teach at the integrated school. Eventually they gave her a job, and once the school integrated, many of the Black students outperformed than the white students despite learning in the one room school. The percentage of Black students at the school was still probably only around 2% but we were able to excel because of her.
Another example of discrimination I remember is from when I was in high school, I received an award from the Daughters of the American Revolution, but again because I was Black, the white parents didn’t feel like I could represent this organization. My dad had a friend within the system, and he shared there was a lot of stirring about me getting the award because I was supposed to go to the state capitol in Frankfort. His friend explained that we would have some opposition, but he supported us all the way. So, it was bit uncomfortable thinking how it would be perceived by the white folks, but it ended up once we got to the capitol to accept the award, the controversy had died down a bit, and I was awarded it. Most of the grievances that people were saying weren’t up front and out in the open - it was said behind closed doors. Parents weren’t telling my dad, because he was well known in the area. He was the first Black Water Commissioner in the area, and he was in and out of a lot of home because of his refrigerator repair business. So, the people didn’t want to admit to him that they felt that way. So, there was a lot going on behind the scenes to make sure I did not receive the award but in the end justice prevailed.
Paighton: What experiences in your life would you consider to be Black History?
Pawpaw: When I was a senior in college in 1970, the local school in Wilmington, Ohio did not have any Black teachers, and they were searching for some to start at the high school. The school ask my professor if they knew of any student, they felt were qualified to do the job, and me being a few years older than my classmates because of my time in the service, they chose me. So, I was the first Black teacher at the high school in Wilmington, Ohio.
During my time there, I was able to become an advocate for the Black students. One instance was surrounding the school cheer team. The young Black girls were upset because the school had never had a Black cheerleader and would not allow them to cheer. So, I talked to the administration and of course they said it was not time yet for that change, but I felt that it was past time because they were allowing the Black players to play football. So, I went to all the ministers in the community, and we got together, and we had all the Black football players boycott and not play. We even had them sit in the hallways. After we boycotted, not only did they give us one Black cheerleader they gave us two! When those girls became adults, they would reach out and call me all the time and tell me that they remembered that I fought for them to be able to cheer.
Our family has overcome a lot. It wasn’t that long ago, your great-great-great grandmother was a slave and your great grandfather, my dad, grew up picking cotton as a sharecropper when he was a small boy. He used to tell me about that all the time. They would pick cotton from sunup to sundown. My grandmother raised your great-grandfather, my two uncles, and my auntie and eventually they moved from North Carolina to Cincinnati for a better life. A lot of people migrated back then from the South to the North because that is where the jobs were. Back in the early 30s and 40s a lot of Black men excelled in the railroad and other industries, too. Your grandfather later would go work and retire from Cincinnati Gas & Electric (now Duke Energy.)
Mawmaw: My dad, your great grandfather, was over in France as well during World War II. My dad was a staff supply sergeant and during that time it was quite an honor. It was rare that a Black person was appointed to sergeant at that time. You were either a private or a corporal and that was it.
When I was a graduating senior, I was named the first Black valedictorian the school had ever had but the school made me share the award with White co-valedictorian. We didn’t fight the school on it, but we think they felt that they couldn’t just let a Black student outshine all the white students. So, with the co-valedictorian one was black, and one was white. Even still to this day at reunions, the other White Valedictorian comments that it should have be mine alone.
My brother was also the first Black person in Warsaw to be buried in the main cemetery. He passed away in his 30s in 1982, but before then, Black people were still buried in the Black cemetery which was tucked away in a corner. The main cemetery was visible and right off the main road. My dad fought hard to be able to have him buried there, and that’s where my dad and mom are now buried as well.
Paighton: What does Black History mean to you and why is it important still in 2022?
Pawpaw: We must understand from the beginning of this country that the forefathers were not upfront and truthful. They knew all about slavery and the hardship of Black people, but they tried to write it into law to where they could feel justified in their actions. Black people should never stop the struggle and fight for truth. The truth about what democracy really is and what this country was built on. For some reason, I feel that it has slacked off in the 80s and 90s, the white people start pacifying us, but the Black people can’t get off the bandwagon. We still must fight for others who are struggling. My grandmother used to say, “It’s hard to teach an old dog, new tricks.” We must keep fighting against racism and discrimination and teach those that have not gotten caught up that it’s not right and it never will be right. We must keep fighting for the struggle and not give up so we can overpower racism because it is evil.
Mawmaw: I think it very important for this next generation to know of their history because a lot of it is not taught in school, so they need to be aware that our race has been accomplishing things for a long time - it just hasn’t been brought to the forefront. It also gives the next generation something to aspire to today. It’s important for Black children to know that they are just as smart and talented if they are given the same chance. It is important to recognize the people that have paved the way for us to be able to reach our goals and dreams. It gives the younger people an incentive that if other people that look like me can do it than I can do it too.
As you can see many of these anecdotes are from recent history and did not happen very long ago. Many of these experiences my grandparents encountered were less than 60 years ago. Our country is not cured of its racist past and these stories give us reminders that there is still work to be done to combat the racism that is still prevailing today. Black History is happening every day and one day my experiences will be considered a part of Black History. It is important to continue to highlight stories of those that we prominently know, as well as the stories of unknown figures, like my grandparents who also made their mark in powerful ways. These stories deserve to be told and heard every month, not just in Black History Month.
Paighton Brooks is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2024. She is studying political science at the University of Louisville.