Twin: My Brothers and Me

By Carl Boyd

It is a true story of identical twin boys who are now deceased. This story takes place solely in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It is a story about brothers who grew up out of the tense and racially segregated times of the fifties through the seventies. They were born in a time when great changes were taking place. It was the year 1945, and the closing of that great and awful war. For some, it was a time of great joy. "Victory!" the headlines read, but for whom? It was a time of great abundance and plenty for some, but for others, there was a severe scarcity of even the basics such as jobs, food, clothing, housing, and healthcare. It was a time of "do or die." It was a time of "have and have-nots" and "by any means necessary." These were the times in which the twins came through. It is a story of their audacious boldness to survive in a time of scarcity. These are my recollections and reminiscence of the history of my brothers Leo and Leon Wright. It is also the reminiscing of their mother Olivia Boyd, their brother Ezell Wright, a host of relatives, and those few who considered them friends. All dates and instances are true to the best of our knowledge and of the people herein""all who had the pleasure or the horror of knowing "Twin."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781640799516

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Twin: My Brothers and Me

Carl H. Boyd

ISBN 978-1-64079-950-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64079-951-6 (Digital)

Copyright © 2018 by Carl H. Boyd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Acknowledgement

"To my wife, Sybil, for all her work, for her strong conviction that the book should be written and for her faith in me.

To my children, Carla Diane, Carl, Jr., Larry Cleo, and Lamar L.B. to leave an understanding of family history to be passed on for education and warning.

Dedications

I dedicate this book to my brothers Ezell, Leo and Leon. Thank you for your love and protection.

To my mother, Olivia Boyd, for her all her recollections and faith in me finishing the book.

To Ernestine and Kimberly, Leon’s wife and daughter, for their pictures and encouragement.

Chapter 1

The Early Days

It was a warm spring day in May, 1937. My mother was fourteen and lived at Sixteenth and Delmar on the north side of St. Louis. She was in the backyard shooting marbles with her brother Allen and some friends when this boy, who lived next door to them, came walking down the alley. He stopped to talk to Allen and asked if he would introduce him to my mother. He told her his name was John Henry, and he was originally from Illinois. He had just moved in with his auntie, Mary, next door to them. He was nineteen at the time. She liked John Henry right away. Not only was he a nice-looking man, but also soft spoken, polite, and well dressed. Mama said they saw and spoke to each other from time to time after that first encounter. John Henry never came to her in disrespect, and because of that, they were able to talk to each other more openly. Although there were several years’ difference in their ages, she felt quite comfortable with him. She thought this relationship could mature into something good. However, fate would have it another way.

After some time, it seemed she looked around and suddenly John Henry was gone. She asked her brothers if anyone had seen him. None of them had. When she asked John Henry’s aunt, she replied with a sorrowful, worried look. Baby, John Henry is gone.

With her eyes locked on hers, Mama screamed, What?

Oh no! No, his auntie hurriedly said. He’s not dead. But he did get hurt and got himself into some serious trouble and had to leave the city.

Knowing John Henry wasn’t dead dissolved the dread, but the sad reality that her best friend was gone had immediately taken its place. She found out he was not in jail, but he was sent out of the state. The trouble started in Illinois, so he couldn’t go back there. His auntie couldn’t say where he went; only that he’d be gone for a long time.

In the spring of 1939, my mother’s mama bought a house and restaurant at 1935 Carr Street. I vaguely remember my grandmother; except that she was short in stature and had a light brown complexion. We all called her Big Mama. Mama lived in the back of the restaurant. She was sixteen then and came from a large family. She had eight brothers and two sisters. My mother started high school at Washington Tech High School in 1940, which was located in the 1900 block of Washington Street, and graduated in 1943. She started her first real job at Terminal Railroad Company.

One day, she was sitting at a table in her mother’s restaurant talking to some friends and one of her cousins, Nathaniel Harrel. He introduced her to Joe Wright who would be her first husband. Thinking back through the years, Mama sighed and said, Lord, that was the start of all my troubles.

She described Joe Wright as a tall, dark, and well­built man. He was a sharp dresser and always drove a late-model car. He was an outgoing and a partying type of man. He was well-known and equally respected. It did not take long for her to fall in love with him, and they married in August 1943 when she was twenty years old. She remembered the date well because a female cousin got married the same day at the city hall courts in downtown St. Louis. She said as her cousin was coming out of city hall with her new husband, she was going in with Joe Wright. Their marriage started out really good, and the first year was very nice. Joe was sweet and attentive, and they lived in the back of her mother’s restaurant. It wasn’t until later that she began to notice a jealous side of him.

In October 1944, she and Joe Wright moved to the 900 block of Ewing. There, she gave birth to my oldest brother, Ezell. A few months after she gave birth, he became extremely jealous.

He wouldn’t let her go anywhere without him, even to the restaurant to work and help out her mother. He began to accuse her of every man who looked at her in the restaurant. She believed it was only because he was playing around on her with every girl who gave him a wink. All during the pregnancy, she had different people tell her about this one and that one, but she never said much of anything to him. She learned early that if she did confront him on his infidelity, he would only deny it and become very violent. Several times, he pushed and slapped her. He would even threaten to kill her. Through all of the violence, she wasn’t afraid of him. After one such incident, she told him, I’m tired of your whoring around and putting your hands on me for something you are doing! She told him if he didn’t stop, she would leave him, and if he tried to stop her from leaving, she would hurt him. He didn’t take her seriously, so he continued to play around. One day, she came home from the café and caught him in the act.

Mama was furious and ran and tried to fight the woman, but Joe Wright came between them and separated the two. She grabbed her purse and coat and ran out the door to her mother’s place. She never told anyone in her family about Joe’s abusiveness, especially her brothers, but her mother knew. Her mother told her, Baby, ain’t no man worth your happiness, especially your life. She never forgot that. Later, she forgave Joe Wright and tried to put her marriage back together.

Joe soon got the message that she was serious. He began to straighten up his act. He stopped whoring around and gambling and became a lot more attentive like he was in the beginning. Mama had no idea how long it was going to last, but she just wanted her marriage to work.

In June of 1945, while she was pregnant with the twins, her first cousin Nathaniel Harrel was cornered in a tavern at Eighteenth Street and Franklin by three men with knives. It was said he pulled up in his car at the corner, not knowing he was being watched by the men hiding in a nearby doorway. They knew this corner was a favorite hangout for him, and it would be just a matter of time before he showed up. As her cousin got out of the car, the three men rushed him and began stabbing him. He fought back hard, and he ran into a tavern on the corner. They were on him relentlessly like a pack of wild dogs. Everyone said Nathaniel fought hard and courageously. However, being outnumbered and bleeding, he soon tired and was stabbed to his death. Mama said he had been warned of his fast living. She said his mother and her mother told him over and over again fast women, quick money, and drugs will be the death of him.

That same month, Mama said her marriage fell apart for the last time. Joe Wright wasn’t going to stop his foolishness. She said it was a very bad time for her. She had just had a very close relative meet a violent death, and she was about seven months pregnant with the twins. Joe Wright was giving her all the hell she could take. She took Ezell and moved back in with her mother where she filed for a divorce.

She said, You know, if it wasn’t for the reputation of my brothers, Joe Wright would’ve hurt me long ago. And if I had told my brothers the things he did to me, they would’ve killed him. My brothers were as mean and ruthless as him.

On August 17, 1945, she gave birth to twin boys. They were born healthy and sound. Identical they were in every way. Mama named them Leo and Leon. Leo was born first and preceded Leon by fifteen minutes. She said she remembered well how Leo, even as a baby, very seldom smiled and grew as a young boy with a mean and ornery disposition. Leon, however, kept a smile on his face and grew up with a friendlier personality. To see them both when neither was smiling, you couldn’t tell them apart, but because Leo wore a frown and Leon wore a smile, they were often referred to early in life as the mean one and the nice one.

Mama stayed there with her mother for two years and eventually got involved with a man she really cared for. The man had gotten himself into trouble with the law, signed himself into the army, and was sent to Korea. She never heard from him again, but from that union, she became pregnant.

In May 1947, she gave birth to my oldest sister, Barbara. In January 1948, after more than ten years, my mother met my father, John Henry Boyd, again. She recalled sitting in the restaurant, holding Barbara who was about eight months old at the time, when the man who would be my father walked in. Mama said she didn’t recognize him at first behind the shades and the wide-brim hat he was wearing, but he kept staring at her as he walked toward her. He smiled as he approached, took off his shades, and said, Hi, Olivia.

John Henry! she screamed. With the one hand she had free, she hugged John Henry, and he embraced both my mother and Barbara in between. She reintroduced him to her mother who was behind the grill. Mama said she stood there just staring at John Henry while he talked to her mother.

Mama stated he was dressed sharply and was looking so handsome. He was like a breath of fresh air she was so desperately looking for. They fell in love, and it was good from then on between them. However, she still worried about Joe Wright and what he might do.

But, from then on, whatever John Henry and she went through, they went through it together. Not once did John Henry ever raise his hand to hit her. With him, it was always baby this or baby that. She knew John Henry loved her, and that made all the difference.

It was a cold, brisk, and windy day on March 9, 1949, the day I was born. Mama brought me home to three older brothers and one older sister. She said Ezell and the twins loved me very much and were very protective over me. They didn’t want anyone other than family getting close to their baby brother. Mama said by the age of two, I had grown a head full of hair that reached down past my shoulders. For years, up to the age of five, she kept my hair cut to shoulder-length.

She said it was at that time she decided to nickname me Noody. She’s not sure why she nicknamed me that. She said it was a name that seemed to fit me. It has been a name that has stuck with me to this day.

June 1951, my mother gave birth to my sister Joyce. In the late summer of the same year, she was having trouble with the neighborhood kids who bullied Ezell and the twins every chance they got. She blamed their parents for the lack of discipline.

One day, while she was helping her mother in the restaurant, she let Ezell and the twins out to play for a while in the fenced-in backyard. About a half hour or so later, they came running in the restaurant crying because these bullies were shooting them with staples from slingshots. Mama went outside to see what was going on. She said, I saw these big heifers sitting on their back porch laughing along with their badass children. Well, I lost it. I started cursing them all out. I called them every foul name I could think of. We all were in the backyard raising a hell of a ruckus. I tried to get over the fence at one of those big heifers, but Big Mama stopped me. She and my youngest brother, Amos, pulled me down off the fence and held me until I calmed down. Mama and Amos took me into the house while those heifers went in their house, still laughing at me. I hated them for that.

The twins turned six in August of 1951 and had already started school. From the start, they grew in popularity. Oh, look at them, ain’t they cute was the most common exclamation used by the women teachers. Mama said they liked school and tested well above average.

She said as children, they got along with other children fairly well. She did recall having to jump-start them a few times to motivate them to stand and fight back. She recalls vividly the time when Ezell was about seven and the twins were about six.

She said, I looked out the window one day and saw Leon fighting with some kids in the backyard. I called Leo to the window and showed him Leon fighting. I then asked Leo, ‘Don’t you want to go and help your brother fight those boys?’ Leo replied, ‘No-o-o, Lordy!’ He made me laugh for a quick moment. I then said, ‘The hell if you ain’t!’ I turned from the window to get a belt, and before I could turn to Leo with the belt, he was outside helping Leon fight. I knew they had to learn to stand in order to keep from being picked on by the kids.

For the most part, they got along well with other kids, except for one particular family named Morris. The Morris family lived several houses down on the same street. There were three brothers a few years older than Ezell and the twins. These boys were the terror of the immediate neighborhood. They bullied every boy and girl they could. Every day, these three bullies would run Ezell and the twins home from school. Until, one day, my mother just happened to be standing on the front porch. She was just standing there to see if she could see her babies coming down the street.

Because of the rough, hard neighborhood, she always watched out for them. That’s when she saw those three bullies running her babies home and a large crowd of children running behind them. She also saw the rest of the Morris family watching and laughing from their front porch. After seeing this, and being the proud woman she was, she ran into the house and got an ironing cord belt. By that time, Leo had come through the door first. He was always the fastest among the three. Then came Ezell, followed by Leon.

She said, I caught Leo in the middle room and laid a good whack across his butt! Then I laid a good whack on Ezell. All the time I was screaming, ‘Get your asses back out there and fight them back. I mean, you better whip their ass too or I’m going to whoop your asses all night long!’ Before I could draw back to whack Leon, they were literally tearing the screen door off the hinges to get back out there! I ran right behind them, swinging that belt and hitting whichever one I caught up with, until Ezell and the twins were well ahead of me.

They met those bullies right there in front of their house. Ezell and the twins tore into the three brothers, and the fight was on. By this time, the Morris family came down off the porch and stood on the other side of the street, hollering at the three brothers to fight even harder. Mama said, There is one thing I can’t stand, and that’s someone doing evil to children, especially my babies. What those heifers were doing was evil. That’s why I wasn’t about to let them lose that fight! If I had to whip all three of them all night long, I would’ve.

Mama was on one side of the street screaming, the Morrises were on the other side screaming, and a bunch of neighborhood children were hollering and screaming all around. She said, I would whip one every time they looked like they were slowing down or starting to cry. I told them they could cry when it’s over, but right now, they are going to fight.

Ezell and twins fought and fought until they chased those bullies back down the street past their own house. I could see those heifers were embarrassed! My heart leaped for joy! I screamed ‘That’s it! That’s it! Tear they asses up!’

The Morris women were hollering, Come back here! But their brothers kept running, with Ezell, the twins, and this huge crowd of children right behind them, chasing them this time.

They were getting too far away where my mother couldn’t see them. That’s enough! she hollered out to them. The noise of the crowd was too loud–they couldn’t hear her. She started up the street after them, passing those heifers who instigated it all. She exchanged glances with them. I know they saw me shine. The glory was all over my face, she said.

Just moments later, Ezell and the twins, still with this large crowd of kids, had turned the corner on their way back home. The kids in the crowd were patting them on the back. Some of the bigger kids were picking them up as if they had just won their first title fight.

I was so proud of them I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to show no emotions out there in the street, but when we got in the house, I hugged and kissed them. I was so happy they had won. I even broke down and cried in front of them. I told them how proud they made me and to never run from a fight unless they have no choice.

Ezell and the twins had won. They had become victorious in their first taste of ghetto life. The children in the neighborhood immediately gave respect to the three little brothers who gave a good account of themselves and chased the three neighborhood bullies back down the street. Mama said she would never forget that time, and she felt somehow it was at that time she had driven fierceness and power in them.

She said, That whooping made them stand up and fight back. I had no choice. If I’d let that go, they would’ve been the targets of every bully out there. I’d rather see my boys strong and able to stand against any and everything that comes their way, than for them to come up weak.

Mama told her brothers what had happened. Her brothers thought it was time for Ezell and the twins to learn how to survive properly. They came and spent time over the next ten years with Ezell and the twins. They taught them to box and how to fight to win, using anything and everything around them at their disposal. They were taught how important the first punch is in a fight, and once you get your man down, make sure you hurt him enough where he won’t get back up. It’s too bad if he dies in the process. Just remember, better him than you. They were taught that once the fight is over, to always sneak up on their man without him knowing just to strike fear in him and let him know they are still in control. The most important things they were taught were to always stick together, never let your intention show in your face, and most of all, never tell a man what you are going to do to him because the most important thing in a fight is surprise. They took what they had learned and applied it to the streets, and in no time, they were masters to their peers in the art of fisticuffs and survival. From then on, they never ran from a fight nor have I ever known them to lose one.

To know them, you would say they were basically quiet and a little shy until they got to know if you were a friend or foe. As children, Ezell and the twins were very giving. Always ready to give or share anything they had. If you were considered friends, there was nothing they wouldn’t do for you, from sharing a Popsicle all the way to helping you fight your battles. There was no love for them stronger then the love of family. Mama always told them to stick together and stick up for one another. Our uncles always told them to disagree all they want inside the house, but when they stepped outside, they had to be together.

They sometimes had sibling rivalry. Leon fought with Leo and Ezell tried to break it up, or the twins fought with Ezell and he would eventually have to run for cover. It was always that way; never did Ezell fight one twin, or even argue, without the other one jumping in.

At the end of September of that year, my mother and father moved from my grandmother’s house to 2200 Biddle Street. My father was away most of the time, working wherever and whenever he could. The trouble he had gotten into early in his life had left serious internal damage. The damage was serious enough that he couldn’t hold anything in his right hand because of muscle damage and deterioration. His condition got bad enough to where he was sent to the hospital from work one day. After the doctor’s examination, it was determined he would never work again in any kind of a laborer job. And being a laborer was all my father knew. It was from then on that they had placed my father on full disability. The disability payments wouldn’t be enough for the size of the family he was providing for, but that didn’t that stop him from doing anything and all he could to make up for the difference.

In the early part of summer, of 1952, Ezell and the twin’s father, Joe Wright, came to get them to spend time with them. He always insisted that my mother make sure the twins were dressed just alike. This particular afternoon, Joe Wright took my brothers to Eighteenth and Biddle, where he took time out to indulge in a dice game. At that time, it was dangerous to be in that alley even in the daytime. However, Joe Wright was a familiar and well-respected man in the neighborhood.

Joe Wright let Ezell and the twins take turns kissing and throwing the dice for him. Joe Wright was on a winning streak when these two strangers came up and were about to join in the dice game. One of the men, who was drunk, noticed the twins. He walked over to them, stared, laughed, and said to the friend he had come with, Hey, man, look at these two black motherfuckers! His friend looked up and gave a quick laugh. Everyone else quickly looked at Joe Wright. They knew Joe Wright never accepted anything less than respect from anyone. Joe Wright never looked up but kept gambling.

The man was fixated on the twins and mesmerized at their likeness. He kept taunting and teasing them. He was trying to get them to box each other. He kept egging and verbally disrespecting the twins until he made them cry. The other man he came with told him, Come on, man. Shoot some damn dice, and leave those kids alone. He replied, I ain’t doing nothing to these little motherfuckers.

The man continued to tease the twins. At this time, Joe Wright had just finished his winning streak. He straightened up the money he had just won and dusted off his fine silk suit. He then walked over to the man.

Everyone else stopped gambling. They got up and watched Joe Wright. They knew something was about to happen.

It was said Joe Wright looked the stranger in the face, and with a quick sweep of his razor, he cut the man twice across the face. He cut the man all across the arms and back. The man stumbled a few times and fell to the ground, bleeding terribly. Ezell and the twins were watching this entire scene take place. Joe Wright turned and looked at the man who came with him. The man turned and looked at his friend and quickly looked back at Joe Wright and said No, sir. The man backed up from everyone else and left. Everyone else quickly walked away. Joe Wright brought Ezell and the twins back home, stained from where the man’s blood had landed on their clothes. After my mother heard what had happened, it was the last time Joe Wright was allowed to take Ezell and twins.

In February 1953, my mother gave birth to my sister, Chris.

Later in the early summer of that year, when Ezell was nine and the twins were about eight, mama recalled the day when the police brought them home for fighting and stealing. The officer who brought them home told my mother the three and about a dozen of other kids were out there on Eighteenth and Biddle fighting up a storm.

He said, My partner and I managed to get them all under control. We lined them all up against the wall. Chuckling, he continued, These three were the youngest of them all. They are tough little boys and I like that, but I don’t like anybody fighting on my beat. I don’t care if they are just kids. I asked these three what happened. Why were they fighting? Thinking because they were the youngest, they would be the first to spill the beans. However, they wouldn’t open their mouths. I had to find out from some of the older boys what had happened. The way I understand it is your three and two other brothers who are friends of theirs were stealing out of Mr. Moore’s confectionary store. In route, they ran into a gang of kids who tried to take what they had stolen. That’s when all hell broke loose. Now, ma’am, I’m not going to do anything to these three because they are so young. I’ll leave the chastising up to you. He then turned to Ezell and the twins and said, No more breaks, okay? They all chimed, Yes, sir.

After the officers had left, my mother sent Ezell and the twins to their room and told them to take off all their clothes. She said, I am going to whip you for stealing.

So Ezell and the twins were in their room taking off their clothes. Mama was on the other side of the door listening. She was trying to secretly gather any information she could before going in. When they had gotten down to their underwear, Ezell hesitated. Leon had already taken his underwear off and Leo, with his still on, asked Ezell, You going to take your underwear off, Ezell?

Nah, Ezell said, she might see my dingle ling!

She sho’ will! Leon said, putting back on his underwear.

Mama had to restrain herself from laughing and walked into the room with the belt. She stood over them as they sat on the edge of the bed, swinging the belt from side to side, as if waiting for a good moment to strike. They started crying. She asked them, Why were you stealing? Haven’t I told you over and over stealing is wrong?

Ezell pleaded, Mama, all we stole was some bread and some lunch meat. Donald and his brother stole the rest.

Why? Mama shouted. You have food here, and I know you weren’t hungry. I’m going to teach you not to let somebody tell you to steal.

She raised the belt to start on Ezell, and out of reflex, he jumped all the way across the bed. Leo butted in before she could swing the belt his way. Mama, we didn’t let them tell us to steal. We told them to do it.

Pausing for a moment, Mama said, I don’t believe you said that.

See, Mama, Donald and all his sisters and brothers were hungry, Leon said between his sniffles.

Ezell cried, It’s true, Mama. We were over to their house. They didn’t have any food in their icebox, and his baby brother and sister were crying because they were hungry.

Where were their mother and father? she asked.

They don’t know, Mama, Ezell said. They haven’t seen their mother since yesterday. We were bringing the food back to their house when this gang of kids tried to take it from us, and we started fighting. Then the police came.

Mama, we know what it’s like to be hungry, Leo said. All we wanted to do was help our friends because they helped us one day.

What, stealing? Mama asked.

No, ma’am, they all replied! They helped us fight these gang of kids.

What gang? When? Why didn’t you tell me about this? she yelled.

They all hunched their shoulders and said, I don’t know.

By this time, my mother’s heart was softening because the loyalty and empathy they had for their friends. I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you three! she said. Hesitating for a moment, she finished, I’m not going to whip you all this time. Somehow, I think you meant well. Next time, you come and tell me, and I’ll get with some of the mothers on the block and we’ll get them some help. I don’t want you out there stealing no more, you understand me?

They all replied Yes, ma’am with a sign of relief that they weren’t going to get a whipping that time.

Mama taught them to never be a snitch and always keep their loyalty first with their family then with their friends. And after a good hearty dinner, usually of neck bones, cornbread, and either beans or potatoes, Ezell and the twins would teach my older sister Barbara and I how to box. At that time, I was about four and Barbara was about six.

Boxing was all they ever did. In the streets, they set their standards and measured their value and respect for one another by boxing (fighting). It seemed as though the first law of the ghetto was to eliminate the weak so that the strong would surface and rule. Ezell and the twins proved to their peers that not only were they worthy of respect, but also dangerous to reckon with. Their uncles, who were grown and seasoned men, trained them. The training they received was equal to professional training to their peers. Leo was labeled as the mean one. It was mainly because once he got his man down, he would kick and stomp them mercilessly until someone stopped him or he tired himself out. It was not clear how he became so vicious. Maybe he feared that his enemy would get back up, and in his own way, he was just making sure he didn’t. Ezell and Leon at times were just as vicious as Leo, except Leo was like that all the time. It seemed to be his nature. It was during this time that they received the reputation of being thorough in battle and an unbeatable foe against their peers. Mama said she tried to put the word of the Lord in them, hoping it would deter them from the path they seemed to be taking. She recalls parents constantly coming to the door, telling her and complaining about what the twins had done. It was either about beating up their child or some mischief they had done. She said each time she would whip them and punished them, but after a while, it didn’t seem to do any good. After the whipping, she would read to them from the Bible. It got to the point that they could quote the Bible, but once they got back out in the streets, the Word seemed to elude them. Still, she would not give up. She tried hard to give them what they needed to get their little minds geared toward school or sports. She knew education was the only way for them to rise up out of the ghetto.

You see, the area where we lived had become old and dilapidated. It was a neighborhood of condemned buildings and empty, overgrown lots. Every third or fourth house in the neighborhood was vacant or should have been vacant. This was the heart of the poorest people in the city of St. Louis. It is needless to say, but nevertheless, I will say it anyway. Ninety-nine per cent of these were African-Americans. Out of that 99 percent, less than 50 percent worked. And out of that 50 percent, 100 percent of them had menial jobs. The average monthly income for our area was about $250. And this is for a family of four to thirteen or more.

For the first time in its history, the city of St. Louis was shown for its deep-rooted and wicked racism of African-Americans. The plight of our neighborhood was a situation desperately crying out for a solution. It was like a cancer that the city could no longer ignore, so those people who were in power and authority decided something had to be done, and soon. The wickedness they had created and allowed to fester was showing the nation St. Louis’ inhuman treatment of the poor. Those were the living conditions we came up in.

And those days were hard for us. We did without lots of things. In the winter, we were cold and hungry. In the summer, we were hot and hungry. Somehow, in spite of the condition, we managed to cling together as a family. We made our own good times. As children, we entertained ourselves at night in our four-room apartment. We did hilarious things just to make each other laugh to temporarily distract the pains of hunger and cold. Mama would be the master of ceremony. We then would take turns singing, dancing, or whatever we wanted to do. We would pass the night away laughing and giggling until one by one we would drop off to sleep.

The United States Housing Act of 1949 provided federal monies for a solution to the crisis at hand. The city of St. Louis, Missouri took the money and built what they thought to be a solution to the problem: the Pruitt-Igoe housing project. This would turn out to be like a Band-Aid to the cancer the city fathers created.

Mama soon got a letter from the Public Housing Administration. It stated she had to move because of the Pruitt-Igoe project that was coming. The letter also came with an application for a lease. The letter included the boundaries for the future project.