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Back then: My Grandfather and Me

By Calvin Felton Jr.
Ebony Expressions

Working in the fields from dusk 'til dawn,
The tired expressions, the worn faces and smiles,
My father, my brother, my grandfather, my uncle,
We all know what it must have meant to be a black man back then.

We hear the stories, we see the pictures, the sharecropper, the cotton picker,
No one ever asked them what it must have taken to run a fortune 500 company.
Their problems were many, but they met hardship face on,
No shrugging responsibilities for these negroes of old.
They worried about tending fields and feeding their families.
They didn't drive fancy cars or wear Tommy, and the only weed they knew were the ones in the cotton fields.

They put food on the table, they sat and they talked.
Everybody knew when granddaddy was due in,
For his days were long and hard.
His attire wasn't an Armani suit; rather overalls dusted with southern dirt.
No FUBU was known and a smile always creased his ebony face,
His teeth as ivory and white as the new fallen snow.
And whether he had a dollar or a penny, all of his kids loved him,
Because they all knew how tough life was back then.

He stood with his head above the clouds, not bowing to others.
A prince among men, fathering 11 children, only one out of wedlock,
He loved and took care of them all,
and all loved him in return.

It always amazes me when I hear someone complain about a papercut,
Or how much paperwork they have to do,
Because thinking back, my grandfather would have loved to suffer those minimal problems.

This man was great - his loafers were work boots, his overalls was his suit.
Oh, how he would have laughed at some of the black youth of today,
Walking with their pants half down their rears headed to the back of the bus.
No one can demoralize you, he would have said,
Only you can do that.
No racial barriers can make you lose pride in yourself, he would have said,
Only you can do that.

So from my grandfather and me, to you and yours, the next time you, my brother, call in your secretary to bring you a cup of cofee or get a papercut and say, "Damn,"
Remember that your headaches and back-breaking work is nothing compared to what life must have been like for my grandfather.

Calving Felton Jr. is a junior majoring in journalism.

E-mail Calvin

Jan. 2000