The World of Edward Givens: Volume I: Racism

By Dezarae DUNSMUIR

Edward Givens grows up on a farm and wants to be a doctor.  Upon submitting for University scholarships, Edward is denied due to Affirmative Action.  This intriguing story revolves around Edward's resulting racism and the psychological effects in the workplace and in his life.  He meets the love of his life and she influences

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dragon's Press
• Release date: Jul 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781949276060

Dezarae DUNSMUIR

Dezarae Dunsmuir is a celebrated author and poet. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, she was prolific even as a child. At age 8, as a ballerina, she danced on stage with Mikhail Baryshnikov. At age 9, she hosted a television series about science. She went on to be syndicated coast to coast on radio, interviewing celebrities and offering valuable insights on issues important in Canada.

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The World of Edward Givens

Prologue

He was born in the Midwest. His parents weren’t wealthy; they were barely eking out an existence on their farm. His name was Edward Givens and his parents were Julia and Bob Givens. The Givens family may not have had much in the way of money but the mother had a lot of love to give all her children.

Edward had two younger sisters and a little brother, Frederick – or Freddie as he was known – for siblings. The girls were Mona and Moana and they were inseparable. Edward was ten years older than Frederick, so they never played together or hung out much because the age difference was too great. The girls kept company with one another and basically ignored both of their brothers.

Julia was a kind woman whose face illuminated whatever she was thinking. It’s a good thing she wasn’t prone to lying because she was terrible at it; her eyes gave her away every time. She was not a particularly beautiful woman, either. Julia was stunning in the classical sense. She had auburn hair and eyes the color of dark chocolate. She was slight of build and her body didn’t look like she had borne four hearty children.

Bob was a lean, hard looking man. His face was weathered from too much time in the fields and his eyes were an electric blue. He wasn’t given to saying much unless he was angry; then he spoke volumes and it was usually at a high decibel level.

For Edward life was not unhappy in the least. He honestly didn’t mind helping out on the farm and accepted having to look out for his much younger siblings without resentment. He was the oldest, after all, so he fully expected to have chores to do and to look out for the younger children. Edward – or Eddie – as he was called by one and all was an extremely responsible young man. His parents, when discussing him, always said he was born old.

Edward always seemed like an adult from the moment he uttered his first word, which happened when he was nine months old. He said Mama, perfectly the first time and he hadn’t stopped talking since. Edward was a real chatterbox whom his father couldn’t stand but his mother liked it a lot. So, he limited his conversations to his mother mostly and only spoke to his father when he had addressed Edward directly. His father preferred it that way and – to be truthful – so did Eddie.

It wasn’t like Eddie didn’t love his father because he did. He just wasn’t on very friendly terms with him. Edward found his father’s long silences between his angry outbursts completely unfathomable. His father’s angry outbursts, usually about some item that was trifling in Edward’s opinion, didn’t make sense to Eddie, either. In short, his father was a complete mystery to his oldest child and – as far as that went – the oldest child was a complete mystery to its father.

Eddie’s childhood, despite this arm’s length separation from his father, was pretty much unmarred by trauma. His mother tried hard to make up for Bob’s virtual absence from his oldest child’s life.

There were times when Eddie really longed for a better relationship with his father. Whenever Eddie’s friends would talk about going fishing or just hanging out with their dads, his soul would ache with longing but it was not to be.

So, Eddie didn’t have any overt traumas in his childhood: his father didn’t beat him, for instance, but when it came to his father there was no real joy there, either.

As far as the man Eddie grew into, the only marked difference about him from most guys his age was his out and out dislike for black people. That and his war with God.

Where this came from all rests on Eddie and his life story.

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Edward’s World

Eddie get your ass out here, called Bob Givens to his son.

How often do I have to call you, boy, to feed these here chickens before you get yourself to school?

Bob, Eddie’s father, was very irritated with his oldest child right now. When Bob wanted something done in general, that meant now, with no hesitation or procrastination allowed.

Eddie was still getting ready for school. He was having one of those mornings when nothing seemed to go right. He’d been trying to get his cowlick to stay down on his head for the last few minutes. Despite how much he combed it and wet it down, his hair was refusing to cooperate and that was messing up his entire schedule, which was why he hadn’t fed the chickens yet.

Why oh why is my stupid hair doing this? Today of all days! A day when father just has to see that I’m running behind. Why won’t it stay down, anyway? The chickens aren’t going to die if I’m a few minutes late feeding them but I don’t dare say that to father, he’d skin me alive if I did. Sass, that’s what he’d call it and Lord knows, sass isn’t tolerated in this house, he thought.

In frustration, Eddie gave up on his hair and ran outside, preparing to feed the chickens pronto. He raced past his father whose face showed his displeasure with his son, to the feed container in the barn. Eddie raced back to feed the chickens, muttering an apology for being late to his father.

On top of his irritation with his son for being late, Bob, who sported a brush cut, looked at his son’s hair and snorted with displeasure.

Is that why you’re late because you’ve been combing your precious hair, trying to get that cowlick down? he queried with annoyance.

We all know how you have to have your hair just so. You’re just like a girl about your hair, said Bob, his voice flat but still disgruntled.

If you had a sensible haircut like mine, that damn cowlick of yours wouldn’t be an issue, now would it?

His father snorted in disdain again. Eddie’s hair wasn’t long but his son’s obsession with his appearance, especially his hair, pretty much drove Bob to distraction on a daily basis.

Yes, sir. I was trying to get it to flatten out but this cowlick just won’t stay down, no matter what I do with it, murmured Eddie, in response to his father’s question.

He knew his father thought there was something wrong with him because his hair always had to be just right. He felt the same way about his clothes. In Bob’s estimation, his son was a preening peacock and life on the farm had no place for peacocks.

Chickens: good sturdy chickens, that’s what life on the farm needed. His son was in the peacock category and Bob just knew the farm wasn’t going to Eddie down the road. Eddie would be lighting out as soon as he could, there was no doubt about it.

I’m getting out of here as soon as I graduate from high school, thought Edward.

The day I graduate and get accepted to a university of my choice is my last day here and I can hardly wait. It can’t come soon enough for me, he thought for what must have been the thousandth time this past year.

So, Eddie skirted his father and his father’s ongoing disdain of him and hurriedly fed the chickens. He couldn’t miss the school bus because school was very important in his life. Edward knew education was his ticket away from the farm and there was no way on God’s green earth he was going to miss one day of it, unless he was deathly ill or some such.

School was where Eddie thrived. He loved learning and soaked up all his subjects like a proverbial sponge. There was no ridicule or disdain for him at school. School was where Edward went to get away from the dull and mundane life on the farm. Eddie wanted to study medicine at university. He was dead certain he was going to go, no matter what it took.

He knew there was no college fund for him: his family couldn’t afford that but Edward didn’t care. He was prepared to work and go to school at the same time. His marks were so exemplary, they were sure to get him at least one scholarship, if not more than one.

For Eddie, the thought of going to university was like a beacon lighting his way through an otherwise dreary life. There was no way he was going to let his marks drop and mess up his ticket to a happier existence. He studied slavishly. It was said by some of his classmates that he was obsessed with school.

They wouldn’t be wrong.

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It’s a weird thing about time, thought Edward as he looked around his homeroom classroom for the last time.

I graduate tomorrow and that will be the last time I set foot in this place. I don’t have so many happy memories of high school that I’ll be coming back for any reunions, either. No, school was just another hurdle I had to overcome so that I could get the hell out of here.

But the time thing is strange: day in, day out, the days seemed to drag and yet all of high school seems to have gone by in a flash. Well, that’s okay. I’ll soon be kicking the dust of the farm off my shoes and I’ll be making my way to university. I can hardly wait!

Edward took one last long look around the classroom. He knew he wouldn’t miss it, his classmates, or the farm and yet he still felt a twinge of sadness. He realized that his childhood - for what it was worth - was truly behind him and he was about to have to make his own way in the world.

University was beckoning and he was eagerly anticipating an acceptance letter. Edward had applied to several schools and he had also applied for quite a few scholarships. He knew his marks were good enough to get him into whichever school he chose. He had enough extracurricular, community-based activities to round his application out, too.

In short, he would be a prime asset for any school and a worthy candidate for any scholarship. Edward was quite confident that his life was about to take a major upswing for the better - and soon.

I’ll have to wait out getting my responses on the farm but that’s okay. I don’t mind helping out and I’m sure father will lighten up because he knows I’ll be leaving soon. At least I hope he’ll lighten up. I wish we had the kind of relationship where I could call him dad: all my friends call their fathers dad but I don’t and never will. There’s no point in fretting about something that will never change, something I have no control over.

Let’s face it, he admonished himself, father thinks I might as well be from Mars and I feel the same way about him. We just don’t make sense to one another.

Now Freddie, he’s a real farmer, through and through. Father will be leaving him the farm and more power to him. I certainly don’t want it. I have an entirely different life in store for me and that’s the truth.

Edward picked up the bag that contained the last things from his locker and left the classroom.

He didn’t look back, not even once.

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The graduation ceremony went off without a hitch. Edward received an award for his academic achievements. It came with a modest five hundred dollar scholarship, which he accepted with gratitude: every little bit helped. He had plans for the money: he was going to use it to pay for his transportation to get to school. University, imagine that.

Even though he didn’t have a lot of schooling, Edward’s father still held book learning in high regard. He was extremely proud of his oldest child at the graduation ceremony. His mother was just as proud of him, if not more so.

Truth be told, both of his parents knew Edward would be taking his leave as soon as he got an acceptance letter from one of the schools he had applied to. This caused both of them, even his father, a lot of sadness. They would miss their serious son but there was nothing they could do about it.

Julia and Bob knew Edward was bound and determined to leave. They knew nothing could keep him with them, down on the farm. All Edward talked about was how excited he was to be going to school: on and on he chattered about it. It would have been inhumane to try and keep him at home.

Eddie was not the stuff good farmers are made of: he was a scholar, through and through.

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The summer days dragged on, long, hot and hazy. Every day, Edward would run to the mailbox to see if there was an acceptance letter waiting for him. There never was until one day at the beginning of August. He saw the return address on the envelope and tore it open, expecting to read good news; there was no good news to be had.

It was a rejection letter from the university that was his first choice. It stated that although his marks were wonderful and he was obviously a well-rounded candidate, their acceptance policies had changed during the past school year. The school was now giving preference to ethnic minority students, even if their grades weren’t as good as his.

The letter stated that this was a new federal initiative that universities had to function under, called Affirmative Action. They were very sorry because they thought Edward would have been a definite asset to their academic community but the law was the law. The letter closed wishing Edward good luck in all his future endeavors.

Upon reading this, Edward felt faint and like he was going to throw up.

How can this be? How can all my dreams be shattered by some new federal law that gives priority to people whose marks aren’t as good as mine? How can people who aren’t as good candidates as I am possibly be given a seat that’s rightfully mine at the university? How can all my years of hard work at school come down to nothing?

These thoughts, firmly anchored in a sense of disbelief, kept reeling through Edward’s brain.

A dejected young man walked back to the house. His mother instantly saw something was seriously wrong with her son.

What’s the matter? What’s wrong? she asked, voice uncertain with fear.

Edward just stuck out a trembling hand holding the letter to her. He didn’t dare try to speak He was afraid he would break down in tears if he did. He remembered all the times his father told him only sissy boys cried. According to his father, real men never cried, so Eddie didn’t. He just thrust the letter at his mother in silence.

His mother took the letter and read it. She was shaking her head in disbelief, so she read it again. Julia still couldn’t believe her eyes.

They’ve rejected you in favor of less qualified candidates because of this new law? she asked even though the proof was in her hand.

Edward finally found his voice. It was little more than a squeak, however.

Th-that’s right, he stuttered, clearing his throat.

Apparently, it wouldn’t matter how good my marks and all the rest were. It seems I’ve got the wrong color skin to get into the school I really wanted to go to, Mom, he answered.

This just doesn’t make any sense, Eddie. What are you going to do now? Julia queried of her son.

I don’t know, Mom. Just wait and see what the other schools and the scholarships say, I guess. What else can I do?

His voice cracked and he rushed to his mother, tears falling regardless of how unbidden they were.

Julia took her son in her arms and held him in a strong hug.

It will be okay, she reassured him.

It will be okay, she reiterated.

If only that was true.

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After that first letter, the letters all came pouring in and the story was always the same. Yes, Edward’s marks were wonderful, yes, he was a superb candidate and no, his rightful place was going to some minority person who probably didn’t have as good credentials as he did. It was the new federal law.

In those hot and hazy days of late summer, Edward saw all of his hopes and dreams drifting away because of some faceless bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. In those days he came to loathe, despise and detest the words affirmative action.

Even though there were no black people where he lived, Eddie came to harbor a great resentment against them. All Edward knew was that they were responsible for crushing his dreams and making a mockery of all his years of hard work through school. All he knew was that black people were responsible for keeping his future at bay and keeping him down on the farm he so desperately wanted to escape.

The farm made him feel like he was suffocating and now - all that lay stretched before him - was years of misery living on the farm. The farm he felt he had to flee or he would surely die a slow death, one painful day at a time.

As if to add insult to injury, even the scholarships were turning Edward down, all in favor of minority applicants. He couldn’t believe all of this was true. How could things have become so topsy-turvy? Why was his hard work and academic achievement scorned?

All of his life, Edward’s parents told him to work hard at school so he could improve his lot in life and he had done just that, aiming to improve things for himself. Now, he just didn’t know what to think.

Edward came to hate that summer; he came to start hating black people even more.

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Life carried on for Edward after that horrendous time. His marks got him into the local community college but that was a small compensation. He had shot for a top ranking university, Ivy League no less and the local community college was hardly what he had dreamed of.

Eddie had planned to study to be a doctor. He was fascinated by the world of medicine but now he thought better of it. He drifted through some arts and sciences classes at the college with no particular goal in sight.

It seemed as if he had been cast adrift on the sea of life and was just floating along aimlessly. Without the dreams that had sustained him for so many years, Edward became a lost soul.

Little did he know there were others in society who had been dealt the same blow, all due to this new law across the land.

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As Edward drifted, he went through the motions of being part of his family and helping out on the farm. For whatever reason, after his son was dealt this shattering blow, Bob went easier on him than he had during the entire life of his child.

Edward still did all his chores and tried hard to seem interested in all things agrarian that his father cared about. It wasn’t a good fit. Eddie just wasn’t meant to be a farmer and he certainly wasn’t making any headway toward his dream of becoming a doctor, either.

Freddie, Edward’s younger brother thrived on the farm and absolutely loved the world of agriculture. He was the one who belonged on the land, the farm that to Edward was a prison and a symbol of his shattered dreams.

Bob honestly didn’t know what he could do for his son. He truthfully wanted to help but he had absolutely no idea of what he could do. He hated seeing his son’s spirit crushed. Bob hated seeing Edward just drifting through life with no goals and no spark of interest in much of anything.

There seemed to be nothing that ever brought a smile to his face these days. When Bob stopped and thought about it, he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his son smile. It had obviously been far too long if he couldn’t recall when.

Julia felt equally as helpless as her son and her husband. She was at a complete loss for ideas on how to help Eddie. She knew she appreciated Bob’s easing up on their oldest but that didn’t help solve this massive problem they had encountered as a stumbling block in Edward’s life. Julia wished she had the answers to this quandary. All three were seeking answers where none were forthcoming.

Neither Bob nor Julia was a racist. Truth be told, there were no black people where they lived, so there was no opportunity for racism to rear its head. But neither of them was a racist just on principle. It was against all of the Christian values they had been brought up with and had instilled in their children.

As if Edward being adrift on the sea of life wasn’t bad enough, Bob and Julia found the comments he had started making more and more frequently were most disturbing. He was making racist comments about black people and they didn’t like it one bit. They told him so, time and time again but he paid them no heed. There seemed to be nothing they could do to stop him.

In Edward’s mind, all his misery was because of black people, plain and simple. It didn’t matter that the new law was probably the brainchild of some white people in Washington, D.C. All Edward knew was that blacks who hadn’t worked as hard in school as he did were getting his place at the universities and even getting the scholarships he’d applied for.

If it wouldn’t have been for black people, in his estimation, his life would have been humming along quite nicely but it wasn’t. It was all the nameless, faceless, black people in America’s fault he was trapped in this nothing existence that had become his life.

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Eventually, Edward did graduate from the local community college. He had an Associate’s Degree in Accounting, which was a far cry from the world of medicine he had hoped to dwell in. Accounting was as dull as dishwater to him but he thought that it might come in handy keeping the books for the farm.

The farm may not have been a roaring success but it was still a business, so to him it made sense to get the accounting degree. The instructors at the college told him he was a natural accountant and that he should pursue this interest further but accounting held no allure for him. Just like everything else in his life, Edward was only going through the motions of living: his heart wasn’t really in it at all.

Bob and Julia welcomed the accounting assistance Edward offered. Julia never liked keeping the books for the farm and Bob didn’t really have much time to do them because he was busy keeping the place running. He