I'd really like to have some "face time" to discuss this with you guys, but this will have to do for now. I
As a reformed segregationist, I want to say where I stand today on prejudice, etc. and why I think it's a good, Christian and moral stance.
One of my best friends as a 10 year old was Sam. Sam was black and lived next door in one room attached to the neighbors garage. He worked for the neighbor as a general handy man, and he was handy with stuff. Sam had never been to school and yet he was extremely wise -- at least to me. Sam and I would visit across the back fence or in the alley or just sitting on the grass. I helped him some but mostly just admired and loved him. He returned that affection. Sam had another ability that I admired. He could spit. He chewed tobacco and he could lean on the picket fence and knock a grasshopper off the fence at three feet. That was impressive to this 10 year old.
In a segregated high school, I played some basketball. There were seven of us who were not on the high school team in our sophomore year for a variety of reasons. One New York all-stater, four really talented and the last two who helped -- and I was a helper. We played 5 nights each week in several different city and church leagues. First in one league and second in a couple of others. The point here is that after our games were over, we would go to a black high school gym and watch those guys play ball because we knew they were better than we were. We talked to them and I know that we all enjoyed our visits. We were the only white people in the gym and they all knew why we came --- respect for their ability. It was as normal as it could be under the circumstances.
Later, I found some groups of blacks (colored, at the time) were really offensive and uncontrollable. For a bit, I sided with the segregationists in believing the best solution was "apartheid". Then I discovered that being a mainstream segregationist was only an excuse to abuse people, black people in particular. It seems that the folks wanting separateness also wanted the destruction of all who disagreed with their plan, black or white. Meanness was the main characteristic of these people who advocated segregation. Uncaring, angry and vindictive. I left that ideology.
As a student in the USAF electronics school in Biloxi MS, I was put in a WWII barracks along with 79 other young guys who came from all over the USA. After a bit of unpacking, it became apparent that we had a problem in our barracks. We had one black guy and no one would bunk with him. We had the typical military double bunks, one stacked on top of the other. Obviously, the bottom bunk was the premium bunk.
Phillip, the black guy, was mild mannered, smart, tough and optimistic. His father was an electrical engineer in Philadelphia. Easy to like and easy to laugh with.
For some reason I had become one of the barracks leaders and I was aware of my status. Trouble was rising so I went to Phillip and offered him my lower bunk spot meaning that I would take the less desirable upper bunk. Phillip accepted the offer on the condition that he get the top bunk and we moved his stuff to my bunk space. A few guys sneered at me but they didn't have the balls to challenge me or go to the barracks sergeant. Some nasty notes and shouts about "nigger lover" etc, went unanswered by me. So I became the only guy in our 80 man barracks that would bunk with Phillip. However, I should note that I was not alone in supporting Phillip, I was just the only one who did anything. So, the guys who hated me knew that a physical attack would bring out the reinforcements, not just me alone. Therefore I was not the "white knight" who was risking his safety.
Phillip never made a big deal about our friendship - he never taunted anyone or tried to make an issue about his mistreatment. We would go to town together, although he rarely went to town because he didn't feel safe there. With 40,000 airmen on the base, Biloxi didn't like any of us, much less the blacks. The dislike of us by the folks of Biloxi got so bad that on one payday the Air Force paid most of the base in $2 bills so that the local merchants would see where their income was coming from. Obviously we were paid in cash.
