WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.759 I mean, how do I describe it? It's... Bold. A 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:10.199 light. Black. Unapologetically black. Very funny. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:14.380 Amusing. Caring. You give great advice from a 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:19.339 different perspective. Passionate. Free. Vulnerable. 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:25.719 A creative. Sexy. My girl is lit as fuck. I always 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:28.839 ready to twerk a lil' thump Genuine, very genuine 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:33.700 Resilient Like, six cents otherworldly If you 00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:42.439 know, you know It's so vibrant, baby! Hello, 00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:46.840 hello everyone and welcome in You are tuned in 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:51.280 to So Vibrant I'm your host The Wonderful Lady 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:56.240 AC When you think of the word resistance, what 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:59.939 often comes to your mind? Typically people think 00:00:59.939 --> 00:01:06.859 of marches, protests, song and chants, call and 00:01:06.859 --> 00:01:12.060 response, grassroot movements, lobbying, organizing. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:17.519 But solemnly do we think of the concepts of love, 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:23.390 fun, and joy. Today's episode will highlight 00:01:23.390 --> 00:01:26.629 a space that encapsulates all those aspects, 00:01:26.849 --> 00:01:30.469 proving history and knowledge never dies, but 00:01:30.469 --> 00:01:33.810 is simply waiting to be discovered and retold. 00:01:34.189 --> 00:01:38.750 This is Ode to Mac Miller Park, the Joyful Resistance. 00:01:39.530 --> 00:02:03.280 We'll be right back. 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.699 Great time in life back then. We just didn't 00:04:45.699 --> 00:04:48.500 realize it at the time. And they come from way 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:51.180 down South Jordan or something from Hamilton. 00:04:51.939 --> 00:04:54.519 They remember Mac Miller Park. Mac Miller Park 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:58.379 was just the place to be. Located half a mile 00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:01.620 north of Hamilton, Georgia, off of US Highway 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:05.379 27. Mac Miller Park opened its gates in the fall 00:05:05.379 --> 00:05:08.620 of 1954. My understanding it was built by Mr. 00:05:08.699 --> 00:05:12.139 Casey Calloway for the people, for the black 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:16.600 people. in this community which ended up being 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:21.160 not only black people in this community but it 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:23.579 was black people that came from all over Georgia 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:29.779 because after it opened it became a recreational 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:35.759 center really for all black people. The 40 -acre 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:39.000 development included a swimming pool with a bathhouse, 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:42.829 picnic and barbecue area, fishing pond, two swimming 00:05:42.829 --> 00:05:45.730 pools and a baseball field that hosted local 00:05:45.730 --> 00:05:48.810 and regional games. Do you remember what the 00:05:48.810 --> 00:05:53.829 price was? 50 cents or 75 cents. It wasn't a 00:05:53.829 --> 00:05:57.370 whole lot. When it first started it was just 00:05:57.370 --> 00:06:03.050 the summer and then I think later on it would 00:06:03.050 --> 00:06:06.290 open on some weekends maybe in early spring or 00:06:06.290 --> 00:06:10.370 in the fall. It was when it first started, it 00:06:10.370 --> 00:06:13.350 was just summer. It was worth coming to because 00:06:13.350 --> 00:06:16.290 it was so much freedom. And people would be sitting 00:06:16.290 --> 00:06:19.189 all around up on the hills and things like that 00:06:19.189 --> 00:06:20.529 because you've got the baseball field would be 00:06:20.529 --> 00:06:22.370 sitting down in the middle. And then you've got 00:06:22.370 --> 00:06:24.670 your dance floor in here. So a lot of people 00:06:24.670 --> 00:06:26.810 watching the dance floor. There are other people 00:06:26.810 --> 00:06:29.430 watching the baseball game. Then you've got everybody 00:06:29.430 --> 00:06:32.209 in the world in the booth. So you've got people. 00:06:32.250 --> 00:06:35.350 I mean, it was all around. It was the best thing. 00:06:35.689 --> 00:06:37.589 that I think would happen and happen to full 00:06:37.589 --> 00:06:40.230 black people. It was real nice. We thought it 00:06:40.230 --> 00:06:42.689 was real nice because they had a changing room, 00:06:43.209 --> 00:06:45.930 a great big old changing room for the boys, a 00:06:45.930 --> 00:06:49.790 great big changing room for the girls, and some 00:06:49.790 --> 00:06:53.889 of the best, the music sound better at the park 00:06:53.889 --> 00:06:57.629 than it did anywhere. Prior to its opening, Southern 00:06:57.629 --> 00:07:00.129 black folks didn't have much to look forward 00:07:00.129 --> 00:07:03.610 to outside of their homes, work, and church. 00:07:03.709 --> 00:07:06.670 We really didn't have anything to do as a community 00:07:06.670 --> 00:07:11.569 except go to church. And at that time, the church 00:07:11.569 --> 00:07:15.410 that I attended only was having service once 00:07:15.410 --> 00:07:19.550 a month. And then my grandmama was a member of 00:07:19.550 --> 00:07:21.129 the Methodist church. I would go to her church 00:07:21.129 --> 00:07:24.350 once a month. And I can't remember anything we 00:07:24.350 --> 00:07:28.230 really did up until that point because we mostly 00:07:28.230 --> 00:07:31.579 just... Played around the house and did the little 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:35.000 things that we do at home, but that's boys are 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:38.459 being entertained or having fun or anything There 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:41.699 was nothing there was nothing for us to do on 00:07:41.699 --> 00:07:45.139 the weekend. I don't think like head then would 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:48.180 like say they come to your house Yeah, and they 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:50.920 my daddy we have a big house sitting down there 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:54.579 in front of how we're talking to me, you know 00:07:54.579 --> 00:07:58.160 We are there could have Daddy couldn't have all 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:02.079 guys be rhyming and be selling liquor, you know? 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:04.220 Sold liquor, that's the way they had to make 00:08:04.220 --> 00:08:08.420 it. And then you make killer hogs and barbecue 00:08:08.420 --> 00:08:11.800 their hogs, you know, to raise money because 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:15.060 the black didn't have no good jobs. You see, 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:17.860 didn't have no good jobs and then you had to 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:23.449 raise your children and then all... Here, where 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:25.769 the house was there, all the way back there, 00:08:25.769 --> 00:08:27.889 going back there, where you could see nothing 00:08:27.889 --> 00:08:33.269 but corn and peas and cotton. It was rough to 00:08:33.269 --> 00:08:36.210 get by somebody. You get in your star. What people 00:08:36.210 --> 00:08:38.970 would do when they did with my dad, how we had 00:08:38.970 --> 00:08:42.250 four or five guys in the neighborhood help him 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:46.129 build a house. Come over there on Saturday, every 00:08:46.129 --> 00:08:48.549 Saturday, and they have work on it. So those 00:08:48.549 --> 00:08:49.850 people in the neighborhood, they'll come give 00:08:49.850 --> 00:09:16.220 you a hand. Some of them will... Like the rest 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:19.679 of the South, Georgia also believed. in the concept 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:22.220 of separate but equal. However, the southern 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:24.379 states were going through an interesting transition 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:28.700 as in 1952, Brown v. Board of Education was currently 00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:47.210 being deliberated in the Supreme Court. And it 00:09:47.210 --> 00:09:49.269 was that kind of thing, but it would never, you 00:09:49.269 --> 00:09:54.330 know, I never did experience any really bad racial 00:09:54.330 --> 00:09:57.169 stuff, but you knew it was there. But, you know, 00:09:57.450 --> 00:10:00.129 everybody that did what they needed to do. It 00:10:00.129 --> 00:10:03.389 was, you know, everybody, we kept to ourselves 00:10:03.389 --> 00:10:07.269 and they kept to themselves and they tried to 00:10:07.269 --> 00:10:12.509 make sure that we kept to ourselves. It wasn't, 00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:17.690 you know, as hard on me as it was on the ones 00:10:17.690 --> 00:10:20.649 before me and the ones who lived close into town 00:10:20.649 --> 00:10:23.149 because the ones who could go to stores every 00:10:23.149 --> 00:10:26.750 day, they really got, you know, they talked about 00:10:26.750 --> 00:10:30.730 how it was when you went into the store. On May 00:10:30.730 --> 00:10:35.210 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of 00:10:35.210 --> 00:10:38.779 Brown, declaring they United States law establishing 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:42.220 racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:45.379 Even if the segregated schools was otherwise 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:48.419 equal in quality, the Supreme Court's decision 00:10:48.419 --> 00:10:51.399 caused heavy reaction for all citizens of the 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:54.440 state. From radio topics, newspapers, and television 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.539 interviews, to the courts of public opinion and 00:10:57.539 --> 00:11:02.059 politics, segregation was the top issue and concern. 00:11:03.779 --> 00:11:06.120 Since I didn't live right in the city, you know, 00:11:06.179 --> 00:11:08.139 we lived kind of out in the country. We knew 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:10.960 it was segregated, but we didn't feel it as much 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:13.080 as the ones who lived right in town and who could 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:16.659 go to stores every day because very seldom do 00:11:16.659 --> 00:11:19.440 we even go to the stores. But when we used to 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:23.940 ride bus to Columbus, there was a bathroom over 00:11:23.940 --> 00:11:26.889 in the courthouse. that people had to go they 00:11:26.889 --> 00:11:29.110 could go in the courthouse and use it and then 00:11:29.110 --> 00:11:32.549 they find the open one it was a round back under 00:11:32.549 --> 00:11:35.789 in the basement counter that had colored on it 00:11:35.789 --> 00:11:38.690 and we could go use that if we needed to and 00:11:38.690 --> 00:11:41.629 I know the water fountains were marked colored 00:11:41.629 --> 00:11:44.350 or white and I never could understand that because 00:11:44.350 --> 00:11:46.149 the same water was coming out. State of Georgia 00:11:46.149 --> 00:11:49.649 was determined to maintain its stance on segregation. 00:11:50.110 --> 00:11:52.779 According to the Harris County Journal Just three 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:54.779 days after the Supreme Court's decision, the 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:57.419 then Lieutenant Governor Mavis Griffin was reported 00:11:57.419 --> 00:12:00.639 saying, as long as I am your public servant, 00:12:00.940 --> 00:12:04.179 I will maintain segregation in the schools of 00:12:04.179 --> 00:12:07.919 this state. And the races will not mix, come 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:12.519 hell or high water. And we couldn't vote. You 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:17.639 couldn't vote, and then the clinic, they just 00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:21.919 tore the clinic down with a two day rule. Yeah, 00:12:21.940 --> 00:12:24.220 and you remember to have a thing on the right 00:12:24.220 --> 00:12:26.759 side thing on the left side right on the left 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:31.080 side And on the right side there were the blacks 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:34.120 going in it a different off you go in sit Yeah, 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:36.940 you see and everything and my mama they live 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:39.379 with babies there all through the fifth and early 00:12:39.379 --> 00:12:42.620 sixties My mama live with babies and and you 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:45.100 could go in there She's little baby. They're 00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:46.940 saying about to come in because I'm a you and 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:49.740 the baby you go home My mama doing all the work 00:12:50.059 --> 00:12:52.620 According to the Harris County Journal, in August 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:57.100 19, 1954, the Callaway Foundation, in partnership 00:12:57.100 --> 00:13:00.419 with the Negro Betterment Association, invested 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:05.320 $27 ,000 to fund the building of a Negro Park 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:08.159 in Harris County, Georgia. After a series of 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:11.799 discussions, negotiations, planning, money, and 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:15.279 investments, this park later became Mac Miller 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:22.899 Park. was really over that part of the property 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:29.320 area was a white man named Skinny William. That 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:34.559 was responsible for the property from my understanding. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:39.779 I think that would mainly open up Mac Miller 00:13:39.779 --> 00:13:44.860 Park for the black people won't go. and mixed 00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:47.220 with the white people. Because during that time, 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:51.960 Calloway Gardens was a big thing. It wasn't enough 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:55.019 for black people to go. And so in order to keep 00:13:55.019 --> 00:13:59.539 them from going up there, eventually, if they 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:03.299 haven't put a park down for black, then they 00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:05.100 were going to get in there. It was going to be 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:07.340 too much trouble trying to keep them out. So 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:11.820 that's when they created a park for us. And everybody, 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:14.320 you know... And then you couldn't afford to go 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:16.899 because the prices were high. Back then, you 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:18.799 didn't have that kind of money to go. They had 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:20.620 a high enough where you couldn't pay your way 00:14:20.620 --> 00:14:23.779 in there. One person might could, but you got 00:14:23.779 --> 00:14:26.000 a whole family. All y 'all can't pay all that 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:28.019 money. We wasn't making that much money back 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:32.620 then. Some buses would come and mistake that 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:36.740 place for Matt Miller Park and would try to go 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:41.110 in there. Once they saw that you were black, 00:14:41.149 --> 00:14:44.210 they would turn away. They turned away all black 00:14:44.210 --> 00:14:47.090 from you. Once you got to the gate, they would 00:14:47.090 --> 00:14:50.129 not let you go in. When the park came, we thought 00:14:50.129 --> 00:14:54.529 we had arrived because people from all over were 00:14:54.529 --> 00:14:57.669 coming to Magnum Park. We used to have school 00:14:57.669 --> 00:15:02.129 days called May Day. All the kids from different 00:15:02.129 --> 00:15:08.269 schools, from Tarleton, all around, even Muscogee 00:15:08.269 --> 00:15:12.200 County. kids came up there on that particular 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:41.399 Saturday. And he also taught Sunday school at 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:45.039 Friendship at one time. And he was an educator. 00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:48.679 I believe he was a principal at Thomas Elementary 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:51.980 in Cotala. Mr. Barnes was a principal. He was 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:54.000 my principal in Cotala at Thomas Elementary. 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:58.159 We had to build five schools in 1953. Six schools. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:03.419 Four I'm still standing. Carver, Miller School, 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:05.740 the original Carver, over there where I graduated. 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:09.460 One in Wiesland. One in Pine Mound, one in Gatoa, 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:11.919 one in Waverly Hall. But they told them one down 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:14.000 in Waverly Hall, they got a park down there now. 00:16:14.139 --> 00:16:17.580 It's a Lainey Park. His house was right there 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:21.600 at the park. He lived on the premises. Yeah. 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:23.740 Because they had a house up there for him. Somebody 00:16:23.740 --> 00:16:26.059 told me it was like a brown house, like this, 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:32.519 kind of off. OK. It's set up on the hill, right 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:36.960 above where the park was. was laid out at. He 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:38.879 lived in that house. Him and his family lived 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:43.419 there for many years. I don't know exactly how 00:16:43.419 --> 00:16:45.600 many years, but they lived there for many years 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:50.039 until he was no longer... I think when he left, 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:52.000 there was no other manager. I think they were 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.659 getting ready to close it up. And his wife was 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:57.820 also an educator, and they had two children. 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:03.230 He also helped start that nursing home. He was 00:17:03.230 --> 00:17:05.349 also well -known in the community, so it just 00:17:05.349 --> 00:17:08.509 made a great choice for him to be in that park 00:17:08.509 --> 00:17:12.329 and invest in it. He always seemed to be a nice 00:17:12.329 --> 00:17:15.390 person. Did he patrol a lot, or was it just kind 00:17:15.390 --> 00:17:17.650 of like observing, make sure, you know, if things 00:17:17.650 --> 00:17:20.069 weren't moving? He would come through and, you 00:17:20.069 --> 00:17:23.089 know, he'd go in all areas, just walking through, 00:17:23.109 --> 00:17:25.490 and then a lot of times he'd just sit and talk 00:17:25.490 --> 00:17:28.789 with the other men who were there. We did get 00:17:28.789 --> 00:17:30.690 in trouble with Mr. Vaughn. He always handled 00:17:30.690 --> 00:17:35.730 it. Right. He knew he was good enough or strong 00:17:35.730 --> 00:17:42.329 enough to handle any kind of miscommunications 00:17:42.329 --> 00:17:46.230 or misunderstanding between people. And he kept 00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:49.789 us in line. Right. Because if we went in there, 00:17:50.450 --> 00:17:54.269 we knew how we were going to have to act. So 00:17:54.269 --> 00:17:57.849 he was a friendly man. So that was just like 00:17:57.849 --> 00:18:01.980 going to Hollywood. because we didn't have any 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:04.519 other recreation or any other activity besides 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:08.299 being at school at a basketball game, and it 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:11.819 was predominantly black. So going over there 00:18:11.819 --> 00:18:14.420 and meeting a whole lot of different people from 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:16.740 a whole lot of different areas, so it was just 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:22.240 like a hometown. It actually was the best thing 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:24.819 that was going around. I had a good time. That's 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:29.099 why I learned how to swim. Really? Swim at Macmillan 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:32.220 Park. The lifeguards that were there when they 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:35.519 first opened it, they started out giving swimming 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:39.660 lessons. And a lot of us young boys that were 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:42.380 around here in this area, we took swimming lessons. 00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:44.460 That's how we learned how to swim. We didn't 00:18:44.460 --> 00:18:47.460 have a car at that time, so we had to walk. We 00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:51.029 had to come out to the highway. and walk. And 00:18:51.029 --> 00:18:54.829 we lived about a mile from coming to the highway. 00:18:55.109 --> 00:18:57.769 You walk that mile and then have a turn and go 00:18:57.769 --> 00:19:01.190 back to the park. Caught the bus and got off 00:19:01.190 --> 00:19:05.390 at the park. Picked up paper. The park opened 00:19:05.390 --> 00:19:08.029 at 10. We picked up paper that got out of all 00:19:08.029 --> 00:19:12.589 the trash and we made five dollars. So you don't 00:19:12.589 --> 00:19:15.970 suppose to get back in the water after you eat. 00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:18.920 We did it all day long. Ate the whole five dollars 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:22.059 up. And like they had to walk back up with every 00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:25.180 easy one. We didn't have no car. We hitchhiked. 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:27.619 Walked the 208. Somebody pick you up. Either 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:31.299 caught a ride to 208. Then walked from 208, took 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:35.819 a taller. A lot of time. There was a lot of stuff 00:19:35.819 --> 00:19:39.440 going on over there. To me, it was exciting because 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:44.640 it was so many. different things that you were 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.819 able to do while you were there. It was just 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:51.859 certain enjoyment to go to watch the ball game. 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:55.579 They were so competitive. We enjoyed, you know, 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:59.559 the sports and the swimming, the concession stand, 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:02.420 you know, the picnic area. It was a wonderful 00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:06.099 place to go. It wasn't boring or anything like 00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:09.019 that because there was something always to do. 00:20:09.210 --> 00:20:12.490 Just as intriguing as the history of the park's 00:20:12.490 --> 00:20:15.670 creation, so is the individual that the park 00:20:15.670 --> 00:20:36.579 is named after. black men in the county. The 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:39.819 reason they named the park after him is because 00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:42.700 he was one of the first black businessmen here 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:46.380 in Hamilton. Mac Charles Miller was born to formerly 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:50.279 enslaved farmers on September 14th, 1886. It 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:53.359 was in farming that Miller learned self -efficiency, 00:20:53.819 --> 00:20:57.539 community, and importance of ownership. From 00:20:57.539 --> 00:20:59.819 what my mama told me he had a mind for business 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:04.420 and he was able to work. Due to his light complexion, 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:07.359 Miller took advantage of the opportunities to 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:11.039 educate himself in business communications and 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.559 management. He was a deacon at Friendship and 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:18.680 he helped design those rainbow steps at Friendship. 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:21.960 Heavily involved in the church, Miller believed 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:24.619 that faith could get him through anything and 00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:26.940 that God did not design the Negro to be second 00:21:26.940 --> 00:21:31.059 class, but be just as successful as anyone. On 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:34.640 that same street, he had his home house, and 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:37.759 then two rental houses that he had. Well, the 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:40.180 house we bought, your Auntie Leah May bought, 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:44.880 the lumber. When we tore the old part out of 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:47.059 the house and remodeled it, inside the walls, 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:51.039 back then, if you took some trees to the sawmill, 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.279 you'd have sawed them into lumber. And they had 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:56.519 four, two by four, four, two by eight, four, 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:59.160 two by ten, and they put your name on their lumber. 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:02.700 Mac Miller Lane was inside the lumber on the 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:05.660 house we stayed in. Miller understood the importance 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:09.059 of community and helping his people by stating 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:13.180 there's a specific duty God created in you to 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:16.599 fulfill his will and the greatest disservice 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:21.880 is not doing so. He built and operated the Hamilton 00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:48.620 funeral home on Miller Lane. They named the Even 00:22:48.620 --> 00:22:51.700 as he sold insurance, he would help others who 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:54.940 couldn't read or write or legally understand 00:22:54.940 --> 00:22:58.730 the obligations and ensured the power in their 00:22:58.730 --> 00:23:01.170 ownership and their property. He spoke up for 00:23:01.170 --> 00:23:07.750 the black people to try to get them better educated 00:23:07.750 --> 00:23:16.410 and a better life here in Hamilton which was 00:23:16.410 --> 00:23:21.029 hard at that time because if you didn't own more 00:23:21.029 --> 00:23:23.369 property here you didn't have really no rights 00:23:23.369 --> 00:23:27.140 here. Mac Miller Park provided a sense of normalcy 00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:30.579 in the separated but equal state. Well, I worked 00:23:30.579 --> 00:23:34.400 there in a number of capacities. I worked there, 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:37.920 I first worked there in the concession stand. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:41.960 Yeah, but they used to have some good food. I 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:44.700 remember everybody loved their ice cream. I used 00:23:44.700 --> 00:23:46.740 to go up to their little booth and ask for some 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:56.119 ice cream. You remember the banana split? Now 00:23:56.119 --> 00:23:59.480 that was good. Nah. The banana split was good. 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:03.319 The banana split. The banana split. Yeah, they 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:07.359 were good. The chair on top of... Okay, I can't 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:11.500 remember that. I was waking up that thing. I 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:14.700 never had no other good, that good split. Growing 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:16.740 up, I used to hear him talking about them milkshakes. 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:20.619 Yeah, they have ice cream though. They have some 00:24:20.619 --> 00:24:22.279 great food. That's a good food. They have some 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:25.740 hamburgers. The ice cream corn was just, it was 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:28.839 that, you know, we don't go anywhere. And this 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:30.779 is the only place you can get this at. Right. 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:35.039 It was just like, oh, we're gonna step up a little 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:37.420 bit, you know. And the food was really good. 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:40.319 They had good hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:43.240 they had milkshakes. And they made, oh, the milkshake 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:47.039 was so good. They have a good stone down there. 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:51.059 We used to have to grind all the ice for the 00:24:51.059 --> 00:24:54.319 concession stand. Yeah. Because we couldn't really 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:58.000 buy ice. You can't say that. So ice would come 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:02.420 then in blocks. Yeah. And we had to chip that 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:06.619 block up to a quarter. You know, you'd get a 00:25:06.619 --> 00:25:09.440 hundred pound block and you'd chip that block 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:12.960 off. You'd chip a quarter square off of it and 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:17.339 put it in there. a grinder. And then you had 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:21.099 to grind that. You had to grind that ice. That's 00:25:21.099 --> 00:25:39.700 where all the concession ice came from. She used 00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:45.920 to walk up that she had a dog, but that she used 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:48.299 to walk all the way down to all the way up there. 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:50.640 I'm not mad at that. I mean, it wasn't a great 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.740 day to let her walk up there. That's a long walk. 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:58.180 But she taught me, she taught me about it now 00:25:58.180 --> 00:25:59.940 that she used to walk up there because she had 00:25:59.940 --> 00:26:09.480 a dog. Then I later went on to be one of the 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:12.480 assistant lifeguards, really. Probably in about 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:16.460 two summers. It was a lot to learn just being 00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:19.420 a lifeguard. We would go through the lifeguard 00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:24.259 training. You had to become a... get to be an 00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:26.099 immediate swimmer you had to go through two three 00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:29.140 stages most of it you had to swim laps in the 00:26:29.140 --> 00:26:31.940 pool you had to be able to stay in the pool so 00:26:31.940 --> 00:26:34.019 long you had to be able to tread water so long 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:37.319 you had to know how to get people out of the 00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:40.140 water if they were drowning you had to because 00:26:40.140 --> 00:26:41.920 if you didn't know how to do that they could 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:45.200 drown you as well as you trying to get them out 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:48.549 so you had to learn how to do all of that You 00:26:48.549 --> 00:26:51.730 were either a junior lifeguard, or a senior lifeguard, 00:26:51.750 --> 00:26:58.390 or an instructor. We got patches at that time 00:26:58.390 --> 00:27:03.349 that you wore on your trunks that said what you 00:27:03.349 --> 00:27:08.890 was. Back then, we had four lifeguards that came 00:27:08.890 --> 00:27:13.309 out of LaGrange. One was Gwen Page, and he was 00:27:13.309 --> 00:27:16.160 the head lifeguard there. And we had one lifeguard, 00:27:16.279 --> 00:27:17.900 Clay Michael Lumb, they called him Big Bird. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:21.279 And he had his brothers and two more guys that 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:25.099 were lifeguards. What they did, with the young 00:27:25.099 --> 00:27:26.759 folks down there, we had like a swimming meet. 00:27:27.940 --> 00:27:31.359 He would practice and train us to swim, and we 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:34.559 would go to La Grange at a swim meet. And then 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:37.160 they would come there. It was just like a regular 00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:40.900 field day. And so, yeah, we did that. Well, they 00:27:40.900 --> 00:27:44.289 actually had three areas to dance. floor and 00:27:44.289 --> 00:27:47.589 a dance stand on one side of the pool, and then 00:27:47.589 --> 00:27:49.329 they had another one on the other side of the 00:27:49.329 --> 00:27:53.190 pool, and they all had, both had jukeboxes. So 00:27:53.190 --> 00:27:55.609 we used to dance to the music on the jukebox. 00:27:55.910 --> 00:27:59.789 They later had a jukebox down in the wooded area, 00:27:59.950 --> 00:28:02.049 when you first went into the wooded area, down 00:28:02.049 --> 00:28:07.130 by the concession stand. And on busy day, people 00:28:07.130 --> 00:28:09.630 would fill up both of those, all three of those 00:28:09.630 --> 00:28:14.029 places, just dancing. Just dancing and having 00:28:14.029 --> 00:28:16.829 a good time. Oh, I call it back in the day. Yeah. 00:28:18.630 --> 00:28:22.430 The music was like really a swing dance, you 00:28:22.430 --> 00:28:25.269 know, like back then. It was all similar to the 00:28:25.269 --> 00:28:28.849 same dance we do now, but it was just slower. 00:28:30.289 --> 00:28:35.650 And we did like the stroll. They got the line 00:28:35.650 --> 00:28:38.170 dance now. We call it the stroll back in the 00:28:38.170 --> 00:28:41.960 day. And so it was just a... kick thing, walk 00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:44.960 back, you know, it's the same thing, it was just 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.940 on different levels. They would have had to ride 00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:50.099 your pony, something like Soul Train. If you 00:28:50.099 --> 00:28:51.920 could dance, you didn't have to dance, you just 00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:53.940 follow the lead and walk around the whole, the 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:55.900 dance floor was longer than the house in Wilder, 00:28:55.900 --> 00:28:58.940 too. I had jukebox to get down all the time. 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:02.900 Your mother and father can tell you about it 00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:13.460 all the time. That was some good music. They 00:29:13.460 --> 00:29:18.599 play soul music. Not this stuff y 'all listen 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:26.420 to nowadays. It was music that had meaning. We 00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:33.160 had like Johnny Taylor music and we had... like 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:37.039 BB King and all and it was just the temptations 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:41.500 and uh it was just a variety of old school music 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:44.660 back in the day music yeah mostly blues you know. 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:48.400 Those that didn't dance they swam? Well I couldn't 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:53.140 swim okay and I really couldn't dance but I enjoyed 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:56.859 the music. We knew so many of the people that 00:29:56.859 --> 00:29:59.799 was there but some we didn't know so that was 00:29:59.799 --> 00:30:05.500 good too. We got to mingle with people that we 00:30:05.500 --> 00:30:10.619 didn't know, and that was a good thing. Cousins 00:30:10.619 --> 00:30:13.480 that we hadn't seen all week, especially in the 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:16.500 summer. Some of the friends from school we hadn't 00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:20.099 seen all week. We'd meet at the park on the weekend. 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:25.160 Some events, they have like a horseback ride. 00:30:27.660 --> 00:30:29.680 bring the horses over there and they'd pay, I 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:30.920 don't know, I forgot how much, it was a little 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:33.220 or nothing to ride the horses. Yeah. But they 00:30:33.220 --> 00:30:36.380 had it down in a section down in the woods and 00:30:36.380 --> 00:30:40.779 they had all kinds of picnic tables where you, 00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:43.559 and then they had grills where you could cook 00:30:43.559 --> 00:30:45.599 out if you want to and it was a lot of families 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:47.759 that, you know, that came because really that 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:49.319 was the only place we had to go but we had people 00:30:49.319 --> 00:30:51.839 coming from everywhere. It was just a fellowship. 00:30:53.799 --> 00:30:57.400 And it wasn't just for children. A lot of adults 00:30:57.400 --> 00:31:01.299 went. They would go and, you know, sit in the 00:31:01.299 --> 00:31:04.339 shade and watch the children play and watch children 00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:07.480 in the swimming pool. They'd come and watch the 00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:12.220 baseball games. So a lot of grown -ups enjoyed 00:31:12.220 --> 00:31:18.900 it too. They came to the swim. And those that 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:21.240 didn't swim on the weekend, they would watch 00:31:21.240 --> 00:31:25.940 the ball game. baseball team. So was the baseball 00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:29.380 team part of the park or was it like for like 00:31:29.380 --> 00:31:33.059 the local area? It was part of the park. Okay, 00:31:33.420 --> 00:31:37.160 because they played for that team. I can't remember 00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:40.500 exactly what the team was named, but it was strictly 00:31:40.500 --> 00:31:44.099 for the park. They had kind of a connection with 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:48.019 some of the black baseball teams in the area. 00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:51.440 They had a baseball team in, Columbus All Stars. 00:31:52.139 --> 00:31:56.220 out of Columbus. Hamilton had a team too. Mr. 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:00.940 Bowen, the man ran the park. He saw more interest 00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:02.819 in the people out of Columbus because they got 00:32:02.819 --> 00:32:05.599 them some uniforms. They made the first step. 00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:07.480 But the ones from Hamilton, they didn't want 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:09.700 to buy nothing. That man out of Columbus, Richard 00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:12.500 Street, came up there and presented his team 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:16.160 to Mr. Bowen. He accepted them. So that was their 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:18.880 home team. Then you had the invaders out of Phoenix 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:22.309 City. A couple of them guys could have went pro. 00:32:22.869 --> 00:32:28.809 And the baseball stadium would be jam -packed 00:32:28.809 --> 00:32:32.430 with grown folks and everything. I was a baseball 00:32:32.430 --> 00:32:35.029 player that played several games at Mac Miller 00:32:35.029 --> 00:32:38.009 Park. Can't remember the name of the team right 00:32:38.009 --> 00:32:42.150 now, but it was something. All those people packing 00:32:42.150 --> 00:32:45.029 and cheering and hollering, good times. Playing 00:32:45.029 --> 00:32:48.880 -wise, I did all right. It was more about the 00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:52.519 sport than the points for me. Played with some 00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:56.000 good men, almost like a brotherhood, just laughing 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:59.160 and showing off our skills. Hell, some of my 00:32:59.160 --> 00:33:01.799 teammates could have went pro until life got 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:05.720 a hold of them. But yeah, that was a game for 00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:10.180 everybody. I even remember this girl I was courting 00:33:10.180 --> 00:33:13.460 playing on the softball team there. Most of us 00:33:13.460 --> 00:33:16.819 players. were hard working men. I mean, we worked 00:33:16.819 --> 00:33:21.380 in the plants, mills, farms, and as such. Baseball 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:24.500 kept our dream alive. For a colored man, Negro, 00:33:25.019 --> 00:33:27.680 what have you, weren't many things that gave 00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:30.940 you hope or a chance to dream. Playing on the 00:33:30.940 --> 00:33:34.819 field gave us something. It was fun. It was freedom, 00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:38.720 like a child. Yeah, I played baseball. You played 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:40.799 a little bit? Uh huh. Yeah. I played baseball. 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:43.539 So was it like on teams or like... Yeah, uh huh. 00:33:43.779 --> 00:33:45.799 Leagues? Like with folks on the... But they didn't 00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:47.660 get, they weren't getting paid for it. Oh, okay. 00:33:47.660 --> 00:33:49.200 They didn't go on no deal. Uh huh. They played 00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:52.420 baseball. When people come from Alabama, a different 00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:55.059 part of Georgia, then they have a baseball team 00:33:55.059 --> 00:33:58.160 come in and play against a different team, you 00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:01.220 see, and whatnot. But now they had some guys 00:34:01.220 --> 00:34:03.900 back then that had been like this. Now here's 00:34:03.900 --> 00:34:05.819 a lot of folks who come out of that kind of... 00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:10.420 You see go ahead one guy in Catawba with named 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:14.420 Benny Greig and Allen Greig. Flaunt lead nobody. 00:34:14.920 --> 00:34:18.679 Benny Greig, Allen Greig, and Tom, what's that? 00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:22.460 Bill Howard. He was three guys. And them guys 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:24.860 could be out there and one in left field, one 00:34:24.860 --> 00:34:27.500 in right field, one in center. And they'd be 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:29.260 up back in the little park playing baseball. 00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:33.239 And you knock a ball coming out. So center field 00:34:33.239 --> 00:34:35.519 or right field, the guy over on the left, he 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:37.360 was so fast, he'd come on through there and pick 00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:40.559 it up. They'd get that fast and that good. And 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:43.579 one of the guys from Catawla, Alan Green, he 00:34:43.579 --> 00:34:49.280 had won a, he was going for championship, played 00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:51.900 baseball, and he had it there, got his paper 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:54.219 and everything. And he got to drink a milk and 00:34:54.219 --> 00:34:56.820 walk around on First Avenue showing his paper, 00:34:57.119 --> 00:35:06.809 and they went on to get inspired on him. There 00:35:06.809 --> 00:35:09.010 were other black teams that would come up and 00:35:09.010 --> 00:35:11.789 play on Sunday and then they had, sometimes they 00:35:11.789 --> 00:35:14.190 played themselves. It was an energized place 00:35:14.190 --> 00:35:16.949 to go. You just go and sit. If you didn't want 00:35:16.949 --> 00:35:19.489 them to sit down up under the stand where they 00:35:19.489 --> 00:35:21.699 were dancing and you could sit. They had rocking 00:35:21.699 --> 00:35:24.940 chairs and everything. You could sit down and 00:35:24.940 --> 00:35:27.440 watch the dance, or you could sit on the other 00:35:27.440 --> 00:35:29.760 side and watch the game. But the game was down 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:33.320 there. It was just a play, a piece. And it wasn't 00:35:33.320 --> 00:35:35.599 really rowdy or anything. We didn't do all that, 00:35:35.659 --> 00:35:39.119 but they did. They might have had a few people 00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:40.960 might have got a little agitated, might have 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:42.739 got a little drunk, but otherwise it wasn't nothing 00:35:42.739 --> 00:35:47.260 but a big one. And they were quickly hooked up, 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:50.619 and they would stop. Nobody throwin' no rocks 00:35:50.619 --> 00:35:52.519 or nobody pullin' no good or none of that never 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:54.519 happened over there. But then my brother found 00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:59.239 a shortcut to the park going that way and that 00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:01.639 was where your grandmama and them Leah would 00:36:01.639 --> 00:36:03.639 come through the woods and just come on in and 00:36:03.639 --> 00:36:07.940 start playing. Back of our houses here, there 00:36:07.940 --> 00:36:13.360 was a pan that we had made over the years that 00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:17.480 went straight into the back of the park. We went 00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:20.599 through that path. Especially when we didn't 00:36:20.599 --> 00:36:24.039 have no money. Right, right. Yeah. And we didn't 00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:27.900 have the money to pay to get in. And that's the 00:36:27.900 --> 00:36:31.059 way we went in. There ain't one man walking around 00:36:31.059 --> 00:36:33.219 trying to catch you coming in. Frank Sherman. 00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:35.300 Mr. Frank Sherman from the tall. He was working 00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:37.400 on that full security. He couldn't be everywhere. 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:40.820 Same place, same time. Watch him be easy and 00:36:40.820 --> 00:36:43.900 then walk around. They had lights down in the 00:36:43.900 --> 00:36:46.679 woods. You stay over there, the dog. Your grandma 00:36:46.679 --> 00:36:51.219 and bunch of us used to walk through from Park 00:36:51.219 --> 00:36:53.760 Elementary School, that road going back through 00:36:53.760 --> 00:37:00.320 there. We used to have a fence down there and 00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:01.820 everything. You had to go in through the front 00:37:01.820 --> 00:37:03.940 to get in and pay to come in. But we used to 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:06.039 slip in through that way. You see, we could walk 00:37:06.039 --> 00:37:08.739 back through there, into Bicarbonate School. 00:37:08.739 --> 00:37:11.739 You know, where the gym is back there now. We 00:37:11.739 --> 00:37:13.760 used to walk right on through there all the time, 00:37:14.059 --> 00:37:17.210 you see. But yeah, it's like my brother and me 00:37:17.210 --> 00:37:19.250 were slipping. They slipped that lip in there 00:37:19.250 --> 00:37:21.429 and sailed that lip and stuff. And then there 00:37:21.429 --> 00:37:24.469 was somebody that'd be walking and going chilling 00:37:24.469 --> 00:37:27.550 on them. You know, and the police come in. And 00:37:27.550 --> 00:37:29.210 me and my brother, we'd be sitting there watching 00:37:29.210 --> 00:37:31.269 baseball. We weren't playing baseball. We'd be 00:37:31.269 --> 00:37:34.730 watching. And see the police come in. We'd let 00:37:34.730 --> 00:37:37.750 my brother and them know that the police coming 00:37:37.750 --> 00:37:41.250 in. Everybody was there. Y 'all were lookouts. 00:37:41.550 --> 00:37:44.179 Yeah, we were lookouts. for everybody who was 00:37:44.179 --> 00:37:47.139 together back then. But a lot of times, the man 00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:49.800 who was at the gate would come walk down through 00:37:49.800 --> 00:37:51.659 the building and he said, y 'all didn't come 00:37:51.659 --> 00:37:53.219 through the gate, y 'all got to come up here 00:37:53.219 --> 00:37:56.340 and pay. And he'd line us all up and march us 00:37:56.340 --> 00:37:58.679 up to the highway, to that little booth, and 00:37:58.679 --> 00:38:00.780 make us pay at what, it probably was about a 00:38:00.780 --> 00:38:03.039 quarter, 50 cent or something. But he'd march 00:38:03.039 --> 00:38:05.239 us up there and make us pay. We thought we had 00:38:05.239 --> 00:38:06.920 gotten away with something. But either way, that 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:10.460 didn't stop you from enjoying it. We enjoyed 00:38:10.460 --> 00:38:14.230 being there. And across the creek, you go up 00:38:14.230 --> 00:38:43.920 a hill that was called Blueberry Hill. My cousin, 00:38:43.980 --> 00:38:45.960 you know, Sarita was older than me. I had a cousin, 00:38:46.179 --> 00:38:48.500 Linda Pitt. You know Linda Pitt? Mm -hmm. And 00:38:48.500 --> 00:38:50.880 I would be with Linda Pitt down there. I'd see 00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:54.039 them going up the hill. Would they let me? I'd 00:38:54.039 --> 00:38:57.380 go halfway up there. I remember that ditch. Oh, 00:38:57.400 --> 00:39:00.860 didn't you? Going up the hill. I remember one 00:39:00.860 --> 00:39:03.099 time we were there. Linda Pitt. I was with Linda. 00:39:03.500 --> 00:39:05.280 Linda went up the hill. I went up here and called, 00:39:05.420 --> 00:39:08.119 Linda! Let me look, let me get back down the 00:39:08.119 --> 00:39:12.460 hill. Get back, get back. And if they wasn't 00:39:12.460 --> 00:39:15.139 up there hill, it used to be a swing way over 00:39:15.139 --> 00:39:18.739 there in the back. In the bushes. That's where 00:39:18.739 --> 00:39:21.900 they'll be at too. It's a swing way back there 00:39:21.900 --> 00:39:24.579 in them bushes. I remember when I got my first 00:39:24.579 --> 00:39:29.699 kiss at Mac Miller Park. Chy, I was messing with 00:39:29.699 --> 00:39:32.900 some little boy I shouldn't have, but I thought 00:39:32.900 --> 00:39:37.030 I was in love, girl. We went on up to Blueberry 00:39:37.030 --> 00:39:40.409 Hill and Followed the little lights they had 00:39:40.409 --> 00:39:42.750 you know strung up there in the middle of the 00:39:42.750 --> 00:39:46.409 park near a jukebox he brought me up near a pole 00:39:46.409 --> 00:39:50.389 or some another and Stroke my face then leaned 00:39:50.389 --> 00:39:54.150 in all kinds of thoughts ran through my head 00:39:54.150 --> 00:39:59.489 Mostly hoping my rouge wasn't too much then Felt 00:39:59.489 --> 00:40:04.980 the lips touch his and whoo -chai I felt like 00:40:04.980 --> 00:40:09.559 a woman. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't 00:40:09.559 --> 00:40:12.260 have gave that joker much credit. But at the 00:40:12.260 --> 00:40:16.079 time, that kiss meant everything to me. Still 00:40:16.079 --> 00:40:31.230 does, hell. You're sneaking off to be with your 00:40:31.230 --> 00:40:34.570 boyfriend. OK. That's exactly what it was. OK. 00:40:35.170 --> 00:40:37.389 And you know, you see a lot of couples go there. 00:40:37.489 --> 00:40:39.550 They stay sitting and talk. You know, you get 00:40:39.550 --> 00:40:42.469 time to spend time with your friends. Right. 00:40:42.949 --> 00:40:45.949 And they call it Blueberry Hill because everybody 00:40:45.949 --> 00:40:50.070 spread it out like blueberries. You know, you 00:40:50.070 --> 00:40:52.409 got a couple here and a couple there. And then 00:40:52.409 --> 00:40:55.630 sometimes people just up there sitting. Sometimes 00:40:55.630 --> 00:40:57.809 they have the picnic, you know, up in there, 00:40:58.090 --> 00:41:00.789 but most of the time it was like a couple bags, 00:41:00.789 --> 00:41:04.789 you know. That's where a lot of older kids went 00:41:04.789 --> 00:41:08.389 and made out. They said they're dead bodies. 00:41:09.530 --> 00:41:12.969 And why y 'all couldn't go up the hill? I hope 00:41:12.969 --> 00:41:15.809 they won't let us go up there and see them pankages. 00:41:17.230 --> 00:41:19.469 And we wasn't going up. Y 'all going up there 00:41:19.469 --> 00:41:25.239 and dead folk. Yeah, that's how they scared us 00:41:25.239 --> 00:41:27.760 from going up. Like the little kids? Mm -hmm. 00:41:28.280 --> 00:41:31.599 I think my age, I remember being younger. Okay. 00:41:31.599 --> 00:41:34.920 Mm -hmm. Back in the day, your folks didn't allow 00:41:34.920 --> 00:41:37.380 you to be with no guys, no boys, you know, like 00:41:37.380 --> 00:41:39.800 they are now. Right. You had to almost sneak 00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:43.099 and talk to these guys and make sure you got 00:41:43.099 --> 00:41:45.480 your mom. Now, they ain't watching you up on 00:41:45.480 --> 00:41:48.159 Blue Bear Hill. you're supposed to be somewhere 00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:51.639 else but you're up there talking to this boy 00:41:51.639 --> 00:41:53.980 you know right he gets you and do a lot you know 00:41:53.980 --> 00:42:00.440 it was quite interesting as the park grew in 00:42:00.440 --> 00:42:05.119 popularity it began to attract celebrity attention 00:42:05.119 --> 00:42:09.300 such as rudy rutherford of rocking with the deuce 00:42:09.300 --> 00:42:12.059 rutherford was the first african -american in 00:42:12.059 --> 00:42:15.090 the south to host a television show which aired 00:42:15.090 --> 00:42:47.329 on WTVM in 1958. songs. So he did a lot of that 00:42:47.329 --> 00:42:52.030 and he'd start off the evening show by saying, 00:42:53.210 --> 00:42:56.389 we got a bail of mail. And then he goes down 00:42:56.389 --> 00:42:58.929 the list of the different people who wrote to 00:42:58.929 --> 00:43:01.809 him and asked for different songs. He would come 00:43:01.809 --> 00:43:03.489 up there on Saturday about one or two o 'clock 00:43:03.489 --> 00:43:06.840 and DJ that too. It was on the air Monday through 00:43:06.840 --> 00:43:11.579 Friday. And on Saturday, he had a group of young 00:43:11.579 --> 00:43:15.679 fellas called Rockin' with the Deuce, the Deuce 00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:18.719 Dancers. They would be some guys who used to 00:43:18.719 --> 00:43:22.519 dance. One of them was named Curtis Jackson, 00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:27.360 Herman Jacobs. he was a real tall guy. And they 00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:30.500 all got together and they used to go and do record 00:43:30.500 --> 00:43:33.019 hops back in those days. And then they used to 00:43:33.019 --> 00:43:35.739 go down to different places and a record hop 00:43:35.739 --> 00:43:42.659 is, as you know, is you take your PA system and 00:43:42.659 --> 00:43:46.440 your records and you go down to the school and 00:43:46.440 --> 00:43:49.760 have a good time with the kids and they dance 00:43:49.760 --> 00:43:54.780 and just enjoy it and have a good time. He had 00:43:54.780 --> 00:43:56.380 a, what do you call it, a deuce dancer. He'd 00:43:56.380 --> 00:43:57.820 go to Columbus there and say it in the morning 00:43:57.820 --> 00:44:01.860 and dance on TV. The common nickname I heard 00:44:01.860 --> 00:44:03.679 growing up was, you know, they were the Black 00:44:03.679 --> 00:44:08.280 American Bandstands. It was, it was. Way before 00:44:08.280 --> 00:44:13.179 American Bandstands started. Yeah. Or Soul Train. 00:44:32.460 --> 00:44:35.039 Rocking with the Deuce was a Saturday morning 00:44:35.039 --> 00:44:39.420 program that came on from nine until ten o 'clock 00:44:39.420 --> 00:44:42.920 on Saturday morning on, back in the day it was 00:44:42.920 --> 00:44:46.500 Channel 28 or when they eventually changed it 00:44:46.500 --> 00:44:53.400 to Channel 9. It was on WTBM and the Deuce, Rudy 00:44:53.400 --> 00:44:58.119 Rutherford, was the MC of Rocking with the Deuce. 00:44:58.539 --> 00:45:01.849 And what he would do, he would... He was a celebrity 00:45:01.849 --> 00:45:08.090 with us. He used to be on from three until six 00:45:08.090 --> 00:45:11.789 in the afternoon sometimes. He'd come on and 00:45:11.789 --> 00:45:16.369 he'd look -a -poo and how you do and lay together, 00:45:16.610 --> 00:45:20.449 gotta split, gotta go, yay, yay, and those kind 00:45:20.449 --> 00:45:24.530 of raps he brought to the city back in those 00:45:24.530 --> 00:45:28.010 days. Most of the dancing we did that was... 00:45:28.460 --> 00:45:33.800 from that TV show. And those guys, they had a 00:45:33.800 --> 00:45:36.780 bunch of guys that would have a group of dancers 00:45:36.780 --> 00:45:41.539 that danced on TV every Saturday morning. And 00:45:41.539 --> 00:45:45.159 there were times that they would come up to Matt 00:45:45.159 --> 00:45:47.380 Miller Park and they would dance. We would go 00:45:47.380 --> 00:45:51.519 out and pull guys or girls or whatever to the 00:45:51.519 --> 00:45:56.500 stage and... You know, we sing to them and stuff. 00:45:57.039 --> 00:45:59.619 You know, like Out of Sight with James Brown 00:45:59.619 --> 00:46:04.900 and Try Me with James Brown. Papa's Got a Brand 00:46:04.900 --> 00:46:10.500 New Bag, I Feel Good, all those songs that were 00:46:10.500 --> 00:46:13.760 historic songs back in those days. They'll make 00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:15.840 you get up and dance. What was the crowd like? 00:46:17.380 --> 00:46:23.030 Packed. Real packed. then we would play the hit 00:46:23.030 --> 00:46:31.389 songs back in the day like in the 60s. The Monkey 00:46:31.389 --> 00:46:38.829 Time by Major Lance. We did The Impressions. 00:46:41.929 --> 00:46:47.090 Impressions is, well I'm just a real winner, 00:46:47.469 --> 00:46:50.329 real winner back in those days. Keep on pushing. 00:46:50.730 --> 00:46:53.969 the impressions uh for your precious love jerry 00:46:53.969 --> 00:46:56.989 butler and we did a lot of those those kind of 00:46:56.989 --> 00:47:00.289 songs we did a lot of hip hop songs hit the hit 00:47:00.289 --> 00:47:04.230 songs was back they're like johnny taylor okay 00:47:04.230 --> 00:47:07.170 uh who's making love to your old lady while you 00:47:07.170 --> 00:47:11.570 out making love uh jordy got your girl and gone 00:47:11.570 --> 00:47:14.829 endless is going on go home take on your love 00:47:14.829 --> 00:47:21.699 bones and uh a lot of those songs that were 60s 00:47:21.699 --> 00:47:26.780 going into the early 70s with those smooth, smooth 00:47:26.780 --> 00:47:30.679 soul songs that you can't get anymore now. But 00:47:30.679 --> 00:47:34.179 just as it grew in popularity, the park also 00:47:34.179 --> 00:47:38.639 created a stir controversy as well. In 1964, 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:48.639 the blights decided not the local blights. from 00:47:48.639 --> 00:47:52.059 Atlanta and everything decided they wanted to 00:47:52.059 --> 00:47:55.440 go to Callaway Gorge. They wanted to go to the 00:47:55.440 --> 00:47:58.980 beach at Callaway Gorge. Girl, it ain't never 00:47:58.980 --> 00:48:04.480 been that many helicopters with state patrol 00:48:04.480 --> 00:48:08.099 there to meet the blights that was trying to 00:48:08.099 --> 00:48:13.440 get in. And nobody talk about it, though. But 00:48:13.440 --> 00:48:16.760 it happened. I imagine it happened more than 00:48:16.760 --> 00:48:19.019 once, not just once, but I imagine it happened 00:48:19.019 --> 00:48:21.539 because there were some buses that came out of 00:48:21.539 --> 00:48:25.219 Atlanta. They probably really didn't know the 00:48:25.219 --> 00:48:29.699 area and stopped at the first place that they 00:48:29.699 --> 00:48:34.579 saw people and a big, you know, big recreation 00:48:34.579 --> 00:48:37.880 area. But yeah, you were turned away. There was 00:48:37.880 --> 00:48:40.679 no doubt about that. If you tried to end it, 00:48:40.679 --> 00:48:44.599 you was going to be turned away. Yeah. And we're 00:48:44.599 --> 00:48:47.920 not going to let you in now. Like that at all. 00:48:48.300 --> 00:48:52.380 We got where a lot of the white people wanted 00:48:52.380 --> 00:48:54.059 were going to start coming over there, because 00:48:54.059 --> 00:48:56.559 they didn't use any. They liked the pool, and 00:48:56.559 --> 00:48:58.440 it had a lot of room for them to stretch out 00:48:58.440 --> 00:49:01.079 on that, to be hot, because then, like we got 00:49:01.079 --> 00:49:04.440 up there where we had the parking lot at, that 00:49:04.440 --> 00:49:07.659 hill there was like run from all the way down 00:49:07.659 --> 00:49:09.989 from the pool all the way up to the road. It 00:49:09.989 --> 00:49:12.670 was like a bank. And you could lay on that bank 00:49:12.670 --> 00:49:14.170 up there all the way around. I mean, you could 00:49:14.170 --> 00:49:17.949 do it all the way around the ball field. And 00:49:17.949 --> 00:49:20.789 you could really just sit up there and think 00:49:20.789 --> 00:49:24.050 they're going to get blown up, you know. I mean, 00:49:24.130 --> 00:49:26.550 that's what they did, you know, they got her. 00:49:26.650 --> 00:49:28.610 I guess they figured they'd keep all of them 00:49:28.610 --> 00:49:30.969 from starting because some of them couldn't really 00:49:30.969 --> 00:49:34.949 afford to go up there. The mission to Matt Miller 00:49:34.949 --> 00:49:39.690 Park during the week was a dime. And on Saturday 00:49:39.690 --> 00:49:44.949 and Sunday, it was a quarter of 50 and 50 cents, 00:49:45.449 --> 00:49:50.010 depending on your age. The price was $3 or $4 00:49:50.010 --> 00:49:56.070 higher at Calloway at the beach. And that was 00:49:56.070 --> 00:49:59.510 the reason they closed it, because the white 00:49:59.510 --> 00:50:03.230 kids started coming out. Matt Miller Park was 00:50:03.230 --> 00:50:06.989 to keep them separated, the whites from the blacks. 00:50:07.340 --> 00:50:10.699 Occurrences like these prove that integration 00:50:10.699 --> 00:50:14.579 was inevitable. And towards the 1970s, Calloway 00:50:14.579 --> 00:50:37.929 Gardens officially integrated. And that was much 00:50:37.929 --> 00:50:42.070 more going on, you know, because by going to 00:50:42.070 --> 00:50:44.929 the beach, you had access to the whole garden. 00:50:45.389 --> 00:50:47.530 You know, people got excited about being able 00:50:47.530 --> 00:50:50.489 to go to Callaway. And even though it was more 00:50:50.489 --> 00:50:53.050 expensive to get in, it was just the thought 00:50:53.050 --> 00:50:55.289 that, you know, black people were finally able 00:50:55.289 --> 00:50:58.789 to go into Callaway. We had this access. Kind 00:50:58.789 --> 00:51:02.230 of neglected McMillan Park, and it just finally 00:51:02.230 --> 00:51:07.730 closed. As a result, by 1978, MacMiller Park 00:51:07.730 --> 00:51:10.289 officially closed. How did you feel when you 00:51:10.289 --> 00:51:12.070 found out the park was closed or it closed? Oh, 00:51:12.130 --> 00:51:17.550 I was devastated, you know. And I was so devastated 00:51:17.550 --> 00:51:21.150 until you, you know, to the point, you know, 00:51:21.230 --> 00:51:23.349 I never did go to Calloway Garden. I never have 00:51:23.349 --> 00:51:27.250 been there, you know. And you know, I just, you 00:51:27.250 --> 00:51:30.139 know. I felt like that had a lot to do with it. 00:51:30.539 --> 00:51:33.539 You know, we could have gone up there, but I 00:51:33.539 --> 00:51:36.940 enjoyed that a lot more, you know, McMillip Park. 00:51:37.639 --> 00:51:43.260 It was kind of, well, bittersweet, I guess. It 00:51:43.260 --> 00:51:45.320 closed up, but then you had the opportunity to 00:51:45.320 --> 00:51:49.900 go to the beach. They hated it because they still 00:51:49.900 --> 00:51:53.119 couldn't afford to go to Callaway Garden. That's 00:51:53.119 --> 00:51:55.380 the purpose of the Callaway damn building, McMillip 00:51:55.380 --> 00:51:58.980 Park. The blacks could afford to go up there. 00:51:59.199 --> 00:52:00.619 They started to try to build a wall with their 00:52:00.619 --> 00:52:02.460 wifes, but they didn't go nowhere. They can't 00:52:02.460 --> 00:52:04.699 get off the ground. The black man tried to put 00:52:04.699 --> 00:52:06.900 one out there. That's the only reason that one 00:52:06.900 --> 00:52:08.880 got there, the only kind of counterweight. I 00:52:08.880 --> 00:52:12.440 really hated it, because it was always a liar 00:52:12.440 --> 00:52:16.179 place to go to without any trouble. It was just, 00:52:16.840 --> 00:52:19.000 you could sit and be in the cool. You could get 00:52:19.000 --> 00:52:20.280 yourself something to drink. You could get yourself 00:52:20.280 --> 00:52:22.179 something to eat. You could watch a good ball 00:52:22.179 --> 00:52:23.900 game. I mean, they had some good games over there. 00:52:24.110 --> 00:52:25.909 And they had a lot of different, you get a chance 00:52:25.909 --> 00:52:27.489 to meet a lot of different people. Because there 00:52:27.489 --> 00:52:29.829 was a lot of soldiers from Fort Benning was up 00:52:29.829 --> 00:52:32.570 there. And they had baseball teams, they do. 00:52:32.769 --> 00:52:34.150 So they would come there. You get a chance to 00:52:34.150 --> 00:52:37.010 meet all kind of different people. Because they 00:52:37.010 --> 00:52:40.250 were like Puerto Ricans and people from everywhere 00:52:40.250 --> 00:52:43.389 that were there in Fort Benning. And you got 00:52:43.389 --> 00:52:45.949 a chance to meet different. You know, because 00:52:45.949 --> 00:52:48.389 it's only black people. You got to meet all kind 00:52:48.389 --> 00:52:51.730 of people. Well, I was kind of sad because I 00:52:51.730 --> 00:52:54.570 would have liked for my children. to experience 00:52:54.570 --> 00:52:58.489 it. But, unfortunately, they didn't get a chance 00:52:58.489 --> 00:53:01.469 to do that. Well, those of us who really connected 00:53:01.469 --> 00:53:06.289 to it, hated that it closed, because at that 00:53:06.289 --> 00:53:08.690 time they needed a school, a place to build a 00:53:08.690 --> 00:53:13.710 school. And by the 1980s, Park Elementary, that 00:53:13.710 --> 00:53:17.449 once was Macmillan Park, open to all students 00:53:17.449 --> 00:53:20.829 of the area. Most of the land is still there. 00:53:21.389 --> 00:53:24.889 Yeah. because where they built the school from 00:53:24.889 --> 00:53:26.730 the front of the school to where the back of 00:53:26.730 --> 00:53:30.730 the school is was only about half of that front 00:53:30.730 --> 00:53:33.630 property there because if you go in there now 00:53:33.630 --> 00:53:36.170 you can still see what the baseball field was 00:53:36.170 --> 00:53:39.010 right and you can still see where the pool area 00:53:39.010 --> 00:53:43.230 was only they covered it in but that building 00:53:43.230 --> 00:53:45.809 over there was the bath house that's still there. 00:53:45.809 --> 00:53:49.929 I think that it should have been some kind of 00:53:49.929 --> 00:53:53.269 recognition somewhere to say about Mac Miller 00:53:53.269 --> 00:53:57.449 Park and the history of Mac Miller Park, it should 00:53:57.449 --> 00:54:00.550 have been some kind of thing put somewhere, you 00:54:00.550 --> 00:54:04.550 know, like they do all these historic things. 00:54:04.789 --> 00:54:06.650 So then I think it should have been a historic 00:54:06.650 --> 00:54:10.530 thing done for Mac Miller Park because it was 00:54:10.530 --> 00:54:13.329 set for the black people. And that's history. 00:54:14.389 --> 00:54:19.730 Don't you think? Oh no, I think you agree completely. 00:54:20.079 --> 00:54:24.059 Time has passed since the times of Mac Miller 00:54:24.059 --> 00:54:28.539 Park but patrons reflect on the legacy and the 00:54:28.539 --> 00:54:32.360 importance and history that the park leaves behind 00:54:32.360 --> 00:54:35.480 in their hearts as well as the land of the county. 00:54:36.119 --> 00:54:45.239 It was a good place for blights and uh you had 00:54:45.239 --> 00:54:51.460 to be there you had to be there. Yeah. To really 00:54:51.460 --> 00:54:56.260 get how that felt. How it felt. Our whole life 00:54:56.260 --> 00:55:00.619 was light up when we started talking about it 00:55:00.619 --> 00:55:04.840 because we were there together. It had a big 00:55:04.840 --> 00:55:12.380 influence on us. Well, it was like something 00:55:12.380 --> 00:55:15.219 of ours, you know. It was something, you know, 00:55:15.400 --> 00:55:18.940 that I could relate to so much better, you know. 00:55:20.820 --> 00:55:24.820 But I guess it was okay up there too, but I just 00:55:24.820 --> 00:55:28.139 enjoyed that because it was just like history, 00:55:28.139 --> 00:55:38.050 you know, that was a part of us. I guess we took 00:55:38.050 --> 00:55:40.289 all my frustrations out of that little park, 00:55:41.190 --> 00:55:45.070 jumping in the pool or whatever, but it saved 00:55:45.070 --> 00:55:50.409 us and it gave us something to do. Well, a lot 00:55:50.409 --> 00:55:52.650 of these kids now, they're walking the streets, 00:55:52.730 --> 00:55:55.909 they ain't got nothing to do. But we had something 00:55:55.909 --> 00:56:01.250 to do, and it was all in that little park. I 00:56:01.250 --> 00:56:03.869 wish it hadn't ever closed. because it was a 00:56:03.869 --> 00:56:05.889 place that I would always want to go and I mean 00:56:05.889 --> 00:56:08.989 everybody just seemed to enjoy it. They had something, 00:56:09.230 --> 00:56:11.170 a little something for everybody. It represented 00:56:11.170 --> 00:56:15.610 to me family time. Okay. Family time and getting 00:56:15.610 --> 00:56:18.570 away from the house and the family as a group 00:56:18.570 --> 00:56:21.530 as a whole going to the park and I remember seeing 00:56:21.530 --> 00:56:24.389 the smiles and the laughter and the dancing and 00:56:24.389 --> 00:56:28.269 it was just a good time. That's history. It's 00:56:28.269 --> 00:56:31.090 good black history. Well so little is known about 00:56:31.090 --> 00:56:34.420 black history in Harris County. I mean, nobody 00:56:34.420 --> 00:56:37.800 seemed to have recorded anything. And if any 00:56:37.800 --> 00:56:41.820 pictures were taken, they magically disappeared. 00:56:42.340 --> 00:56:44.940 And even at the courthouse where records are 00:56:44.940 --> 00:56:46.900 supposed to be kept, I don't think there are 00:56:46.900 --> 00:56:50.079 any records about the opening of the park or 00:56:50.079 --> 00:56:53.099 the closing. So it just didn't seem like it was 00:56:53.099 --> 00:56:56.139 important then, but I think it's important for 00:56:56.139 --> 00:56:58.880 young people to know that we did have something 00:56:58.880 --> 00:57:02.199 to do way back then. A lot of that stuff goes 00:57:02.199 --> 00:57:08.539 unnoticed, and it's very important that we know 00:57:08.539 --> 00:57:14.219 what our ancestors forefathers have done. you 00:57:14.219 --> 00:57:18.239 know before us you know and so we can pass it 00:57:18.239 --> 00:57:21.360 on to the younger generation because there's 00:57:21.360 --> 00:57:24.679 a lot of history has gone on that you know we 00:57:24.679 --> 00:57:27.420 know very little about. It was a new outlet for 00:57:27.420 --> 00:57:32.699 us to show the skills and and the different ideas 00:57:32.699 --> 00:57:38.619 that we had back in those days. That allows you 00:57:38.619 --> 00:57:43.599 to express yourself with your creative ability, 00:57:44.380 --> 00:57:49.159 but they also had style with it. We had emotions, 00:57:49.840 --> 00:57:52.320 but we never let our emotions get to the point 00:57:52.320 --> 00:57:55.639 where we would shame ourselves or our family 00:57:55.639 --> 00:57:59.159 or what we were doing at the time. We just wanted 00:57:59.159 --> 00:58:02.760 to have fun. That's what it was all about. It's 00:58:02.760 --> 00:58:05.139 happy. I'm fortunate, like, you know, to have 00:58:05.139 --> 00:58:07.840 grandma and them talk about it a lot. you know 00:58:07.840 --> 00:58:10.039 their experience of like I grew up hearing about 00:58:10.039 --> 00:58:12.280 it, but what do you think stopped like a lot 00:58:12.280 --> 00:58:15.880 of people from sharing that and keeping it or 00:58:15.880 --> 00:58:19.920 documenting about the part? Well, like I said, 00:58:20.519 --> 00:58:23.780 nobody probably didn't think it would ever come 00:58:23.780 --> 00:58:26.639 up in history. Like a lot of our history, a lot 00:58:26.639 --> 00:58:29.699 of our black history, very little of it ever 00:58:29.699 --> 00:58:33.400 get told because nobody kept up with it, even 00:58:33.400 --> 00:58:42.840 in our family. It needs to be told. It needs 00:58:42.840 --> 00:58:46.860 to be told. The older blacks don't talk about 00:58:46.860 --> 00:58:51.559 this because they just kept it up under the rug. 00:58:53.000 --> 00:58:56.599 Why do you think that is? They just kept it. 00:58:56.800 --> 00:59:01.119 It's just like now. It's right now. Y 'all don't 00:59:01.119 --> 00:59:06.659 go to the meeting. Nobody goes to the council 00:59:06.659 --> 00:59:09.679 meeting. No blacks go to the council meeting. 00:59:10.360 --> 00:59:13.940 And it's all because when they did try to go, 00:59:14.300 --> 00:59:17.659 they were told that their word didn't mean a 00:59:17.659 --> 00:59:20.840 damn thing. So now they don't even bother about 00:59:20.840 --> 00:59:25.159 it. Once you know your history, you won't repeat 00:59:25.159 --> 00:59:31.239 it, let it happen again. Nobody is born prejudiced. 00:59:32.680 --> 00:59:37.639 Nobody else. Right. This is learned. This is 00:59:37.639 --> 00:59:42.559 stuff that we learned. We learned this from our 00:59:42.559 --> 00:59:46.500 pole pair. And it's time for us to get out. It's 00:59:46.500 --> 00:59:50.179 time for us to break away from tradition. Even 00:59:50.179 --> 00:59:53.760 before the park became what it was, Mac Miller 00:59:53.760 --> 00:59:57.119 had passed away. But in your opinion, if he had 00:59:57.119 --> 01:00:00.019 lived to see the park, what do you think he would 01:00:00.019 --> 01:00:02.429 have thought of it? I believe he would have did 01:00:02.429 --> 01:00:05.670 something that kept it up. Even if they built 01:00:05.670 --> 01:00:07.949 the school there, you couldn't still kept the 01:00:07.949 --> 01:00:11.510 baseball field, the picnic area. You got what 01:00:11.510 --> 01:00:13.909 I'm saying? And they had a nice set of stands 01:00:13.909 --> 01:00:19.369 there. So you find a place like that and keep 01:00:19.369 --> 01:00:24.909 it alive. Keep it going and let it grow. I think 01:00:24.909 --> 01:00:27.550 he would have been proud of the park because 01:00:27.550 --> 01:00:31.699 it represented... mostly him as a black man. 01:00:32.219 --> 01:00:36.480 And then all of his people, you know, he was 01:00:36.480 --> 01:00:39.099 kin to a lot of people and they were using their 01:00:39.099 --> 01:00:42.840 power. And so that was the thing that gave some 01:00:42.840 --> 01:00:46.260 people, you know, that was coming to the park, 01:00:46.400 --> 01:00:48.400 ideas about what kind of life they might want 01:00:48.400 --> 01:00:52.460 to be. He loved to see black people do anything 01:00:52.460 --> 01:01:00.530 in this town. He tried so hard, from my understanding 01:01:00.530 --> 01:01:04.989 of what Mamalyn said, he tried so hard to do 01:01:04.989 --> 01:01:07.570 stuff for the black people. With his influence 01:01:07.570 --> 01:01:09.750 and his finances, he probably would have made 01:01:09.750 --> 01:01:12.650 it even better than it was. Because, you know, 01:01:12.750 --> 01:01:17.289 for us, it was a big thing to have concession 01:01:17.289 --> 01:01:21.769 stands and a swimming pool and a pavilion and 01:01:21.769 --> 01:01:23.909 fields to play sports. He probably would have 01:01:23.909 --> 01:01:27.610 made it even greater than that. I can truly say 01:01:27.610 --> 01:01:32.349 that I think everyone that went there had a great 01:01:32.349 --> 01:01:37.150 experience there. One that, you know, that they 01:01:37.150 --> 01:01:40.730 will remember forever. You know, the memories 01:01:40.730 --> 01:01:43.190 that they had got when they were going there 01:01:43.190 --> 01:01:46.590 is something that, you know, they will remember 01:01:46.590 --> 01:04:43.039 forever My genuine hope is that by the end of 01:04:43.039 --> 01:04:46.900 this episode you leave with not only the knowledge 01:04:46.900 --> 01:04:49.679 of knowing this history and understanding its 01:04:49.679 --> 01:04:52.739 importance but also how important and beneficial 01:04:52.739 --> 01:04:57.960 it is for us to pass down this information which 01:04:57.960 --> 01:05:02.960 ultimately empowers us, motivates us, and instills 01:05:02.960 --> 01:05:06.820 in us the greatness to persevere. within not 01:05:06.820 --> 01:05:10.199 only ourselves, our communities, but in the world 01:05:10.199 --> 01:05:12.800 at large. If you would like to connect with me 01:05:12.800 --> 01:05:17.159 on Facebook .com, it is Queen Lady AC. On Instagram, 01:05:17.619 --> 01:05:22.440 it is underscore I am Lady AC. And on Twitter 01:05:22.440 --> 01:05:30.679 or X and TikTok, it is I am Lady AC. Until next 01:05:30.679 --> 01:05:32.860 week, y 'all. Signing off.