'We Didn't Play With the Other Kids Anymore'
Mr.
Rodney
Douglas,
Indianapolis,
Indiana
It was 1960, and there was Grandma, Simon, and me. We traveled every summer to New Orleans. My grandfather worked for the railroad, so his family traveled free. The train left Union Station in Indianapolis that summer. We always rode coach, and we played in the aisles with the other kids on the train. I remember the conductor saying something to my grandmother after we had ridden a long time. She came and got us and told us to sit down. After that, we didn't play with the other kids anymore. The two kids were white. We were black. Years later, Grandma and I were talking about our trips to New Orleans when I was young. That's when she told me about crossing the Mason-Dixon Line. It was part of the Jim Crow laws.
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