Two Realities

Eager about what was going to be learned and unsure of possibility of some ugly truths being revealed, I sat on the long bus ride from Beaver Falls PA, to our first destination, Greensboro, NC, excited and anticipating. Having previously watched the documentary, February 1, in Dr. Allen’s “Rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement” course, and watching it a second time in preparation of visiting the actual Woolworths store, a couple of things stood out to me that I did not recognize the first time watching. A couple themes stood out to me in watching the documentary and visiting the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. What first stood out to me was throughout the film, the men identified that their reasoning behind the sit in was not to start a revolution. They didn’t intend or expect to be publicized, or even spark something greater than themselves, they simply felt their dignity and manhood being challenged and disrespected and wanted to do something about it. They continuously said that what they did was not for the nation, but for themselves- that it was personal. The beautiful thing about that, is that while it was personal for them, it was also very personal for other, and their personal fight with seeking dignity, is what sparked the courage of others as well, to fight what they felt like was a personal attack as well. They too, wanted to stand for their personhood and dignity, and wanted to, as one member on the Greensboro 4 stated, demonstrate a sit-in (or any type of protest), until the nation, until the people enforcing discriminatory regulations, were forced to show them dignity. A quote that really conceptualized the meaning and power behind the Greensboro 4 sit-ins, came from the documentary, and it said “America was being taught how human beings are meant to deal with each other”

Seeing the inside of the Woolworths store and restaurant in the documentary, and my reaction of seeing it in person, surprised me. It was real when I watched footage from the documentary, it was real when I heard the men speak about their experiences, but it was chilling, powerful, overwhelmingly emotional, standing there. Standing on the very tile that those men walked, looking at the cracks, imperfections, and rips of the very stools and very restaurant these men dedicated themselves to. It was powerful. It all represented so much more than what I could put into words. It was such an incredible feeling and experience for me. Walking throughout the rest of the museum, two things stood out to me, the Coke machine, and the image illusion of the white children and their learning environments, and that of the black students. The image was one picture, being the white children in school, and when you moved a different direction, or to a different angle, the image of the black children in school appeared. The drastic difference, the obvious inequity, showed itself the second you moved your position. Similarly, was the Coke machine. On one side, which was for white people, the coke was 5 cents, while on the other side, for black people, the coke was 10 cents. Because there was a wall that divided the two sides, you would never know the price difference, unless you had access to the other side to see. With both pieces, two realities were present, that of the experience of the whites, and that of blacks, but until you stepped at a different angle, unless you looked from a different side, you would have not seen the great difference in these two truths, these two realities. For black people, it was access, and intentional prohibiting from being able to step into the other side, and for white people, it was the inability to see life different, the inability to see a different perspective, or hear another voice, or challenge racist thoughts engraved in them that clouded their ability to see another perspective, to change their angle view, and see another truth; see the ugly truth they didn’t want to face.

Hope Hammond

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