Dobie of South Carolina

You know how black people are a rainbow of colors? Well, we were a walking rainbow on that road. My sister Ruth was considered a ‘redbone,’ a very fair complexioned person. Pete was ‘jet black,’ startlingly dark complexioned. Martha was ‘burnt brown,’ about my complexion. Pete was crazy about Ruth, but she didn’t like him. It was probably because he talked too much. He always talked trash and kept some sort of mischief going at all times. I liked Martha but she thought I was too young for her. (She was only two years older than I.) Helen liked me but she was too bossy. She thought she should have her way at everything.

We walked to school and the white children rode the big yellow bus. On our way home, the bus would pass us. The driver would slow down to allow the white children to shout racial slurs at us. We shouted racial slurs right back at them . . . and threw rocks too. We threw rocks so hard that the bus driver stopped slowing down when he passed us.

Old Pete was tall and lanky and talked much trash all of the time. He was wild! Ruth on the other hand was quiet and reserved. She couldn’t deal with wild Pete. Helen liked me, but she was too bossy, besides I liked her sister Martha. Martha thought she was too old for me. We fussed and fought about these things and more on our way home. The Johnsons were private parents. They didn’t talk much. I hardly saw them when I went to visit their children. I remember going to see Helen, but I was thinking about Martha. Lying to Mrs. Johnson, I’d say that I was there to see the boys. She saw right through me and would say that Helen was in the living room if I wanted to see her. I’d smile and try to get along with Helen.