JazzyJan's Fotobabble

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"Reading the book The Help has inspired me to go back home to Virginia to spend time with my Mom, age 81, to capture her life story. I recall some of her stories about working for families in Washington DC and her story about being left with family members while her Mom worked for families in the DC area. My father spent over 20 years in the military but when he signed up for Viet Nam our world changed. We moved "home" to Virginia and it was an eye opening experience for me - one I didn't really understand for years. For the first and only time in my life, I was living and going to school with only Black students. The schools were segregated. I can recall watching movies from the balcony. However, the truth of the matter was I didn't understand or really comprehend these experiences. When my father returned from war we went back to the comfort of living on an Air Force Base - the comfort of being in an intergrated society. My father retired and we moved back to Virginia. The civil rights movement had turned the Jim Crow South upside down. Desegration was going on and I began to realize how so many had lived a separate but unequal life. I returned to the same elementary/middle school and finally we had new books and improved study materials. Many students were forced to repeat grades because the new teachers indicated that they were "behind" in their studies. The Help reminded me of some of the old wounds inflicted by racial prejudice. This book made me thankful for the strength of my ancestors and for the positive changes that have occured in our country."