Born to a single parent, during my preteen years I was blessed to be raised by 4 different family members who instilled in me dignity and self worth. They were my mother, my maternal grandmother and uncle on my mother’s side (same home), my grandmother and grandfather on my father’s side and father and stepmother.

My dad lived in Copiah County, Mississippi about ten miles from us. His family owned their land. My mother’s families were sharecroppers living in Lincoln County, near Caseyville, Mississippi. In the communities north and west of Caseyville, up to four miles, at least, 29 black families owned their land. The land beyond that to the county line were owned by white families and usually maintained by sharecroppers. I am still puzzled about why the Carter families did not own land.

After slavery ended in 1865 white farmers did not have workers for large farms and black Americans needed work to make a living. Sharecropper agreements were made between black Americans and farmers. A farmer or a merchant usually provided a place for the black family to live plus provide supplies, tools, and animals to work the land.

We were two cultures living in the same area, segregated, but not in isolation.

The confident expectation of good – Hope.