Freedom Come Movement

I was born in 1942. My parents was Lewis and Thelma Woodmore. My Mother had four children at the time. I was the third child and we were little stair steppers in age. It was during World War II and a lot of people were moving from the South to other states in the North. We lived in Oklahoma territories, a little ol’ place call Kinda, OH. Kinda was so little they call it “The Country.” We were in in the Great Depression and my grandfather would tell me all time how blessed we were since we were in country, and not the cities. Like we had a choice, we could live off the land. We grew corn, peas, and my grandfather raised cattle pig chickens all those things. My grandfather would read the newspaper every morning. I was four years old and I felt “grownup” talking with grandfather every morning. I could skip chores like gathering eggs for my grandmother without a fuss. I asked all kind of questions. It was our time together. He told me about how money grows on trees in California. My grandfather was tall, big handsome man. My grandmother was a beautiful lady and a midwife. She delivered me and my siblings at home. My grandparents took care of me and siblings. At the time, it was me, my two sisters and older brother. My older sister Francis helped my grandmother with cooking. My job was to watched my little sister Vivian and gather the eggs every morning. We were little but had jobs around the farm. My grandfather worked the field and tend the cattle with my older brother Otis, who was eight at the time. My aunt Lorain told me that my grandparents were illiterate. She explained what that meant and how they could not read or write. Aunt Lorain was thirteen and Aunt Mary was Sixteen. We all lived in the house with my grandparents. As a child, I was very inquisitive around the house. And there, were any secrets mostly my grandmother because I was around her a lot. She had this thing about colorism. My grandfather did too but I was not around him a lot. From what I could understand, my little cousins would come over to my grandparents’ house. They would give my little cousins all the attention because of their hair and light skin. My grandparents would then push me and my younger sister away. When Aunt Mary and little cousins would leave, everything went back to normal and we would get all the attention again. Aunt Lorain said they act like that because my little cousins’ father was white and when they left we would go back to getting first class treatment again. But for a four year old child, it was devastating. There was a point where I did not want my little cousins coming over and it was not their fault. There is other ugly secrets in life at that time. My Grandmother would tell me to go to the field and pick some berries for her cobbler for dinner. I wondered out too far in field and I heard this little voice calling me. It was a girl around my age and she said she was my cousin. Everything when through my head but I wanted to have a friend to play with. But before I could reply to her, my grandmother yell at me to get away from her and hit me. I know it was bad because she never did that and told her get out of here, The little girl dropped the water and ran. This was weird for even me and she told me why she did that. I learned years later that she was actually my cousin and my grandmother was her grandmother too. It was all about family feud between her father and mother that lasted for years. My grandmother was a big part of that of that feud to. After that, my grandmother started letting us go to church and it was fun. The musical beats of men stomping their shoes all together on dirt floor and singing beautifully in tune was something I never heard before or again. I love it! The women of the church would cook alll kinds of food and sat the table. They call us by our names and we ate all the food that we wanted. People were coming in and out to get baptized in the river the river. My grandmother never kept us from being around my mother’s family again. I had two boy cousins and we would play together all the time. They were not twins but close in age. I don’t know whether they were placed there by my mother to help me or not. They had so much information about my mother. I was so glad they helped us get out of the house, especially when information about my mother came up. They never stopped until we were on the bus coming to California. These were two boys my age They were able to come to my grandmother’s house whenever they wanted to, something my cousin Sherry could not do (I’ll explain this later.)

The move to California was hard for my mother with four children. The bus was alright but the train was bad. My sister Vivian was a baby at the time and she would cry non-stop. We were on a segregated train and soldiers were coming back World War II. The train was very crowded with black bodies (women, men, young an old.) This young black soldier told my mother he would hold me and my mother was relieved. I think he liked my mother. My mother was good looking tall and dark-skinned a with good shape. I didn’t want my mother to get in trouble. I was glad when we got to our destination. When they said Oakland, Ca, my body was very happy. I was so happy to also see my father again. I wanted to see that if money really did grow on trees in California! I wanted to pick them and get rich. Soon the conductor yelled out “Oakland, Ca!” Everybody started getting out of their seats and getting their luggage. My mother pulled us back she said wait until everyone got off. The next thing I saw was my father waving at us, laughing and happy about our reunion. I was tired and my mother was proud she got us home. My father was proud of her too. We lived in a big apartment building. Two-bedroom house it was lot of children to play with in the building. My Father found a good job in Oakland at the shipping yard. Things were going fine for a while. When we got enrolled in school, I made friend and her name was Anna Rose. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a school teacher. We lived in the world of segregation. We knew no other world. She was their only child and she had all these dolls. Anna would beg me to stay and play with her. So, one day I stayed too long and got in trouble. My mother and her friend in the front apartment had a prayer group. She told my mother go and see where I was coming from. So my mother saw me coming out Anna house. My mother talk to Anna’s mother and my mother stopped me from going there. My mother said I didn’t have time to play and I had schoolwork to do. I never saw Anna Rose again and I didn’t go to that school again. My life changed shortly afterwards. I started getting sick and falling out fainting. I’d stayed home more and the worry look on my mother’s face told it all. I could go to the store with my mother. The secrets went on until I saw a hole in my mother colt, The store was filled with so many people I got sick You think that wouldn’t upset mother but it did. To make a long story short, I was on my way to Oakland County Hospital. My mother promised that we would never be separated again. After that long stay with my grandparents. She was crying and said you have to stay and its out of her hands. “You got to stay,” my mother said through tears. Well I learned early grown people can’t control everything. I was in that place for four years and they didn’t have school. It was for sick kids only. In that place some of the nurse were kind, but most where complacent. I was the youngest one in the ward of seven children and black. That by itself made a statement for disaster. Things started out nice. Me and another black girl was in the ward. She was older and told me not to have anything to do with them. At first, I listen but they would show little toys like dolls to steer me away. A gang in hospital all white girls some white younger boy. After I found what they were doing, I went back to by black friend but it was too late. Every night, this red head nurse would put in bed away, from other kids; The nurse had this long needle and she would threaten me with this long needle, then give me shot. She said “if did not do what they said she do it until I did.” She would call me little black nigga and other hurtful insults. Well, I believed I was going to die. I asked my mother please let me go home. My mother was dark skinned lady but I think she turned red-hot. Her and the day nurse was friendly, but that day things changed and she tore the nurses and hospital. My father was educated and he looked over a lot things my mother never did. My mother hated that hospital from then on. I know like the black friend had try to tell me… they tried to break your spirit. Me and my mother knew little black girl in Oakland County Hospital. Was not looked on has valuable. Well they found that nurse and the administration said they had fired her. They later removed me from that ward. They said I was too little to be there anyway. My mother try to beat up the red head nurse but father stopped her. My father made them get me out that ward. They put me in room by myself because I had been mentally and phyiscally abused. I really didn’t feel like talking to anyone, but this young nurse psychiatrist said was very sick and could die. Well didn’t want to die if I could help it. We stared going up to roof of the hospital looking at the trees. At first I said in my little mind this will never work. Then we started talking about my family, my sisters and brother. Then she stared talking about her family and her father. I was surprised a growup person talking to me a kid. On Tuesdays, my mother and father would visit for one hour. At first, I felt it was not going to work but little by little I am so amazed how my mind adjusted to this nurse. This went on for the next three years. Sometimes I tried hard to laugh not feeling good. So, she told me one day you don’t have to be happy all time, nobody is. She always told me to listen to her, especially when it was important. She told me about this black lady that kept her for her father. My nurse was Jewish nurse, She told me how kind the Black lady was to her at the age of twelve while her father study to become a doctor. She asked the black lady what she could do in return. Black lady told her to treat another black person like you were treated. She said some of the nurses didn’t like her and they would call her a negro lover. She said she didn’t care. Sometimes she would let me go with her. I would play while she made up the beds in wards. She would let me go to the patient wards. Some of the patients would let come in their rooms and others would not. They would say keep that little nigger out of here. I was a little black child and some people hated us, still do. She looked so sad when they would say mean things. When that red head nurse said I would die in here, I grew up fast. My nurse and I would walk down the hall. I was playing as usual but she started talking grown up talk and told me to pay attention. In that place, I was all alone and I consider her my friend but they hated her. My father said she was smart young lady and it took a lot to become a psychiatrist. He also said she was not too much older than my older sister. My father understood the medical terms and the condition of my illness. She told my father that I probably contacted Romadic Fever on the train when I was coming to Califoria from Okahoma on the train. Mother disliked my nurse a little but she liked talking to my father. My mother on the other hand other was usually quiet. One day, my nurse said “Lettie do you know what prejudice means?” I said no and at that time I just wanted to play. She took me by the hand and told me she wanted to show me something. She took me to this white curtains then she pulled them back. To my surprise, there were two little black boys with no clothings on crying. I was so troubled and I wanted to know what was wrong with them. She said they have cancer and their family have left them. When I looked, they remind me of my cousins in Oklahoma. One of the last things she told me was in life, you can A.B.C. your way out of anything and you will be all right. She told, “You will be going home soon and when you leave, don’t be upset if you can’t say goodbye to me. I understands.” The next time I saw my father, he told me “you don’t have Polio. You have a thing call Romaic fever.” Because I dealt with so much disappointment before, it was hard for me to believe I would really leave and I just be quiet when he told me that. Slowly time moved on a week then month. Then early one morning, they came to my bed to took me to the operating room to get my tonsils removed and my nurse’s father was there. I was happy to meet her father and he said to “can you count to one hundred?” I said yes. Then it was all over. They were my angels and I went home.

PSALM 34 – 7

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