'I Felt No Hate or Malice'
Ms.
Clarissa
Parks,
Indianapolis,
Indiana
Around the tender age of nine or ten, my two younger brothers and I (Clarence, Jr., and Ronald) visited our grandparents, aunts, and uncle in Chattanooga, Tennessee. One day during our visit my brothers, Uncle Eric (now deceased), and I caught the city bus. My brothers and I got on the bus and set ourselves behind the bus driver so we could see all that we could see. This was something that we normally did at home in Detroit, Michigan.
Then my uncle advised us that we had to sit in the back of the bus. Naturally we asked why. I don't recall exactly what he said because the three of us were making so much noise in protest and disapproval. I heard someone on the bus say, "Must be from up north." I did not know what meant, but I do know the four of us left the bus. I don't remember if we were put off the bus or if my Uncle Eric took us off. I do remember, however, the somewhat placid look on his face. We were raised in a somewhat racially mixed neighborhood and had no idea as to what racism was all about. When I understood the full extent of what happened in Chattanooga, I felt no hate or malice. To me, it was a rude awakening to what life was about during that time.
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