I was 14 years old, living at Gran's in Pittsburgh in early 1968 when my Mother told me not to hang out with my black friends any more. I was shocked and didn't understand what was happening. Me and my friends, we weren't mad at each other, so why did I have to stop seeing them? I remember going over to her house (I'm sorry I can't remember her name) and we would play board games and hop-scotch on the sidewalk in front of their house. I was friends with her brothers too.
I later found out it was because of the racial uprising in the late 60's in Pittsburgh and other cities like it. Right after that we moved to New Hampshire, I received a letter from a friend of mine in Pittsburgh, saying that there was a riot at our school and that another friend had gotten hit over the head with a chair, and that students were burning books and desks in the middle of the classroom. This was all very upsetting. Seems like we got out of there in the nick of time. I wish things could have been different. I never really got to say good-bye to my friends.
At that point in time, it's too bad the adults couldn't see past the color of someone's skin.
Our country has seen some bad times. We are likely to see more. How we handle it is up to us. I would like to see our country united, not divided. The so-called Hippie Movement of the 60's and 70's was all about love and peace. Too bad some of us have forgotten what those things mean.
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