Lot of people always ask me what is was like to be raised in a racist southern society. A good question but not one I can answer completely. My dad and mom never made race a big deal in or house. Racism was alive and well at the time but it wasn't a major issue. The different schools and restaurant policies were in affect. Everyone got along well although there was no great mingling of the races. Racism was actually a national problem even though the south usually got the most blame.

Walker county had a long history of being a "Freeman" area. Not a single slave was owned by anyone before the Civil War. None of the residents were quick to take up arms to defend slavery when called upon to do so.

I bring all of this up so I can tell you about my uncle Ben. Ben wasn't really my uncle. His last name was Waters and he was a black man. Ben and my grandpa Henry had been friends for most of their lives. Ben's wife had looked after me when I was a baby. Her name was Lucy. She and Ben lived on the outskirts of Carbon Hill. Lucy's family had been in Walker county for three generations. Ben's family had been slaves in south Alabama.

There's no doubt in my mind that Ben and Lucy Waters had a lot to do with my feelings on race. I never really gave race any consideration until we moved to Michigan.  

Race has no real need to be an issue in my writings but someone will ask. It seems that anyone with a southern background has to run a gauntlet of racial and social questions.