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The
year was 1962, and Grade 1 was finally over for the summer.
I was no longer under the clutches of the evil Mrs.
Appelaize. I was so excited. When we walked into the
classroom that last day of school there was going to be an
end of year party and we would get our report cards. It was
only then that we would know who's class we would be in next
year. Though I was happy to be away from room 10 and Mrs.
Appelaize, I didn't want it to be in room 9 either. Mrs.
Moffat was worst than Mrs. Appelaize. She was younger but
she was even meaner. Every kid was afraid of her even the
ones that had never entered her classroom.
I
whined to my grandmother constantly that last month of
school that I didn't want to be in Mrs. Moffat's class. I
wanted to be in the other teacher's class. My grandmother
hardly sympathized with me on this one and said "your father
and your aunt had Mrs. Moffat and they lived through it. If
you have her so will you. As long as your good and do your
work like you are supposed to do she will be all right with
you too".
Well
those words of wisdom did not convince me one bit. Even
Renee who had the nice grade one teacher was apprehensive as
well. Consequently, that last day of class, we both were
afraid of the outcome. We were far less concerned about how
we did on our report card in terms of our academic standing
than we were about which teacher we would be assigned to for
the next school year.
Finally the infamous moment had arrived; the bomb dropped. I
opened up my report card and guess what I was assigned to
room 9. I waited for Renee at her classroom door once we
were dismissed. She too looked forlorn because she was also
assigned to room 9 for her grade two year as well.
What
did we two little girls do to deserve such punishment I
thought. My only consolation was that at least this time
Renee was not going to get the nice teacher, she was going
to be in the same classroom as me! Actually, I have to thank
my grandmother for reminding me about that because in my
state of panic I had forgotten all about the fact that I
would be in the same classroom this new year coming up with
my only friend.
All
summer Renee and I played together and now and then the
topic of the dreaded Mrs. Moffat would come up. However,
Renee was less concerned about it then I was and she said to
me "let's not talk about this now I want to enjoy my
summer".
Before we knew it the summer was over and we marched to
school like two brave little souls, ready to take what life
would dish out for us. Up the stairs and into room 9 we
went, holding hands all the way.
To
our surprise Mrs. Moffat was no longer there. In her place
was a beautiful young teacher named Miss Lovett Miss Lovett
told us that she would be our new teacher for the year, that
she was 17 years old and this was her first teaching
assignment. We did not find out what happened to Mrs. Moffat
but I can tell you were were 33 happy campers
that
day.
Miss
Lovett, was young, she was beautiful, she was kind, she was
fun, and she was intelligent. I guess it is obvious by now
that I idolized her. She made learning fun. Renee and I both
enjoyed being in her classroom.
But
something happened in that classroom one day that changed
everything forever for two little seven year olds - one
being black, and the other one white.
You
see Renee was the black girl, and I being only seven years
old at the time, didn't realize that being black was a
totally different experience than being white. Heck, at
seven years old I did not understand what racism or
prejudice was all about. All I knew was that Renee was my
friend, and I didn't think of her any differently than
anybody else.
The
incident in question that had changed both our lives forever
occurred when Miss Lovett chose a game to play which
required a team leader. She would decide who the team leader
would be by playing the childhood game that we all know and
remember as eeny, meanie, miney, moe.
Thus
she commenced, "eeny, meanie, miney, moe catch a Nig-- by
the tow if he hollers let him go eeny, meanie, miney, moe".
For those of you who remember the rhyme, you will remember
that everyone stretches out their fist and when the last
word is called that person whose fist was touched last would
be eliminated from the game.
We
all gathered around waiting for Miss Lovett to finish the
rhyme. As luck would have it Renee was would be the last one
and therefore the one eliminated. But something really funny
happened, when Miss Lovett said the N word. Renee who was
never disobedient in her life, suddenly jerked her fist away
and refused to play the game. I could not understand why nor
could Miss Lovett when she questioned her about it. All
Renee would say was that she didn't want to play the game
anymore. Renee sat back down and was sullen the rest of the
afternoon. She did not say a word then, nor did she speak to
me as we walked home from school. I really did not
understand what was happening.
Later that evening Renee's mother came over to our house to
specifically ask me what was the game we played that day in
class and exactly what did Miss Lovett say. I told her.
Renee's mother then asked me if I found anything wrong with
what Miss Lovett said. I had to admit that no I didn't. She
then asked me if I knew what a nigger was, " I don't know" I
said. I was feeling very uncomfortable being on the hotseat.
"What do
you
think it means" she queried, and again I responded "I don't
know, maybe it means monkey or something like that". After
all I reasoned to myself, that is what we always say when we
play that game. Renee's mother quit interrogating me and
concluded that I was far too young to understand that
implications of what had gone on that day.
This
was 1962, the USA was at the height of their civil rights
movement. One of Renee's mother's favorite civil rights
activists was Malcolm X. She followed his political career
and she felt strongly that this movement should come to
Canada as well.
Briefly, Renee's mother explained to me that calling
somebody a nigger is a very bad thing to do. It means you
hate the person your calling that to" she explained to me.
"Am I a nigger I asked", because I felt that I was hated by
the kids in school too. No she said to me, "you are white.
"People only call black people that nasty word" (at this
point in
time
she refused to be called coloured anymore).
She
told Renee and I to go play and she spoke with my
grandmother in private. After that she and Renee went home.
That
was the last day that Renee went to our school. Renee's
mother pulled her out of the school and sent her elsewhere.
When I asked my grandmother why, she said that my teacher
had said a very bad thing that hurt Renee deeply and she
could never go back to that school again.
I
was left with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I loved Miss
Lovett and thought the world of her, but on the other hand I
loved Renee too and thought the world of her as well. How
could the teacher I love do something so bad to my best
friend? How do I come to terms with that?
I
never really resolved the issue how could any seven year old
do that. I still liked Miss Lovett but I didn't look at her
in quite the same way anymore. That year I learned a
valuable lesson not taught in our classrooms. I learned what
racism was all about and how it could surface it's ugly head
even when playing a game at school.
?©
2003 Carol Roach
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Blessings to you. Have a great day.
Bob Johnston
Minneapolis
Starfish @ Ripplemaker.com
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