Halls of History—Whites Only

I grew up in South Texas in the ’60s in the little farming and ranching community of Kingsville. To say that Kingsville was a little behind the times might be an understatement. I remember my wise old grandmother taking me to see The Sound of Music when it finally came to our movie theater. That was 1968, three years after the film was released.

I remember downtown Kingsville being segregated in 1968. The donut shop, which was owned by my maternal grandfather, and the ice cream bar at the drugstore next door were Whites Only.

Even though I didn’t know the term racism, I obviously understood what it was because I never went to the drugstore for ice cream, and I didn’t go to my grandfather’s donut shop even though I could get free donuts.

Something about them just didn’t feel right to me.

Here I am 52 years later, and there’s still something in society that just doesn’t feel right to me.