Growing up on the southside of Chicago was like growing up in an African American town within a white city. We had our own schools, stores, churches, after school programs, movies, night clubs and other businesses. Whites came into our neighborhoods as teachers, workers or business owners; however, I was not aware of any racial conflicts. I heard and read of the racial conflicts in other parts of the country – lynchings, race riots, etc.

I remember hearing an uncle, my mother’s brother saying that he couldn’t get some jobs because he was colored. I couldn’t understand this because his skin coloring looked white to me. I remember thinking that this wouldn’t happen to me because I would be well prepared for any job I would seek when I grew up.

I did not encounter prejudice until I went to the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois. We were told that we could not live in the dormitories and would need to find housing in private homes. We heard that there were some restaurants off campus that would only provide us with their food to go.

There was one restaurant, Steak and Shake, that was on our way from campus to the private home where seven of us stayed in three bedrooms. The restaurant had a big oval counter. We would stop there for hamburgers and soft drinks on our way home after school. One day, the waitress did not come to take our orders. She waited on people to the right and left of us but not us. I went to the manager and told him that she would not wait on us. He responded that he couldn’t say anything to her about it; because if he did, she would quit. A few weeks later, we were socializing in the Student Union, when a student entered the room and announced, “Y’all can eat at Steak and Shake again!”

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