As sharecroppers it was our responsibility to take care of the crops from tilling the fields to harvesting them. That included planting, keeping the weeds out, and protecting the crops from insects. Often the landlord hired outside help to get all the work done. The major crop was cotton, but corn and watermelons were also […]
As written in previous blogs, my mother’s family were sharecroppers owning nothing but personal belongings. In contrast, my dad’s family, living only eight miles away, owned their land. My mother’s family hired themselves out to other farmers to make money. My dad’s family sold their crops, kept the money and also hired themselves out to […]
Two cultures living in the same area, segregated, but not in isolation. After slavery ended in 1865, white land owners did not have workers to work their farms. African Americans without farm land had to make sharecropper agreements with White farmers to make a living. Cotton was the major crop. The agreement was for the […]
I was born and raised in Lincoln County, Mississippi near a rural community with 2 general stores called Caseyville. My mother was a single parent. My family was sharecroppers who lived in a house on the owners farm. The Lamar Smith family was neighbors. The Smiths own their land as most blacks did in the […]
There are many occurrences in my 78 years when I was the object of racism. There are at least two occurrences that could have cost me my life if I had followed through. I am a quiet, educated, confident black man blessed of God, therefore hard to provoke. I live with dignity and self worth. […]