Fighting for Friendship
In this world there is black and whites even brown and yellows.
We are different in many ways ,but it does not mean we should be treated different. This is a story of a black girl who becomes friends with a white girl. This is a story of how they keep it a secret until……………
The story begins in Waytown on Cockling street. Inside a two floor apartment lived a black girl named June with her mom Lisa ,who worked very hard to keep there home.
" June, June wake up girl," her mom yelled. " I need your help down here on earth."
" Coming mom. Hold on a second," June shouted down at her. "Man I wish some day I could become a artist then we would not have to work so hard," June whispered to her self closing her draw pad.
" June 1,2.….." Her mom yelled in rage.
"COMING MOM," June cried and rushed down stairs. "What?" June stood at the bottom of the stairs, rolling her eyes at yet another request from her mom that interrupted her drawing.
"I need you to go down to the store and buy some milk ,but be careful there are some people working down at the corner….." her mom paused.
"Mom, I can take of myself and those people are pretty harmless," June interrupted. Her mother was about to give her further warnings but June stated, "Ok I promise I will be careful," June said. She really was not paying attention to anything her mom was saying for she was thinking of her drawings up stairs.
"I am serious! Be careful!" Lisa said with angry look.
"Ok." June said sarcastically as she put on her jacket with money in hand and rushed out the door.
"Come right back." Lisa said before the door closed. "Bye."
"Bye." June said and then went off. On the way she came across a big house surrounded in a big fence. She wondered what they might be trying to keep out of there. Then she looked at a sign on the fence ….
House reserved for Whites.
Blacks stay out!!!!
It crushed her. "Why do whites get these nice big houses and we have to live in these small ones?" She whispered to herself. "Why?" She started walking again and noticed that she was getting close to the corner. She saw two men talking to five other white men. They where all white. She stopped for second and thought, "Should I keep going or should I go back? What if they hurt me? What if they don't even notice me?" She thought long and hard and finally she started walking forward. She walked until one of the men looked at her and walked toward her. She froze, stood there silently unable to move. " Hey kid where are you going?" The man said softly. He looked like he was about in his late thirties and was wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, and a vest.
"The store," she said so soft you could almost not hear her.
"Well here I will help you across ,there is a hole there so you can't walk over to the store." June looked nervously at the street and did see a huge hole in the middle of the road. "I am her to make sure kids like you don't hurt themselves crossing the hole," the man chuckled. " You are the first one that I got the pleasure to help over. What is your name?"
"Uh, Uh. June." she said nervously thinking he would hurt her if she didn't answer.
"Nice to meet you June .My name is Duke. Lets get you across." He took her hand and brought her to the hole. June was shocked that a white man was being so nice to her. Duke then lifted her up and plopped her on the other side. "There all safe."
"Thank you Mister ,I mean Duke," she said cheered up. She had thought all white men where mean ,but this one was nice; and was nice in front of all the other white men. She was grateful for the help but now confused about what she had thought and had been taught but now experienced this kindness from a white man.
" Your welcome. Good Bye Miss. June," he said walking away.
She hoped there where more people like him out there. People that did not care of color. She started walking once again to the store. After she got out of sight of the other six men she started running. She still was cautious of the others because she didn't know what they thought about black people. Finally she made it to the store. She walked to the refrigerated area and grabbed milk of the shelf, paid, and then rushed out the store. Heading back to the corner she saw Duke talking to a white girl in a red dress. The girl was giving him a basket.
" Hey if it isn't my friend June," Duke said to the girl. "June I would like you to meet my daughter, Autumn."
June looked at the little white girl wondering if she was as nice as her father.
" Nice to meet you," said Autumn
" Same here," June said happily. She was grateful that she was as nice as Duke.
"Let's be friends!" Autumn exclaimed. June was shocked that a white girl wanted to be her friend. Not thinking June said sure.
" How about you two go play. Don't worry about any white people, they can't yell at you because I am working on something they need and if they do I will stop the construction." He said giggling.
"Ok. Lets go to your house I would like to meet your parents." Autumn said cheerfully. "I know it's not normal ,but I would like to talk to them. We are friends."
" All right I guess that is ok," she said not so sure. Whites and blacks are not to be together, let alone play together. Someone could hurt her. " Ok ,but lets stay out of site." After they got past the hole they did just that, each of them walking on the opposite side of the street so no one would see them together. When they got to the house a commotion began. Not even though the door Lisa started to scream and yell.
" What, you brought a white girl home!?" Lisa said furiously.
"Mom this is Autumn. Autumn this is my mom," June said. Then Autumn picked up from there.
" Mrs. I am June's friend." Autumn said politely.
"You can't be her friend - you are white she is black!… I am sorry it is just we could get in big trouble if "they" find you here." June's mom said calming herself down.
" Ya but we are friends and ….. Shh.. I am a part of the dividing rights.. Ummm.. Club. We help break the lines of color. If I am friends with June they can't do any thing I am a official of the U.S. government thanks to my dad. I am a model child." Autumn explained the rest carefully and patently waited after for us to absorb all of it.
" Fine. But if you dare get us in trouble you better hide girl." Lisa finished an went into the kitchen to make some snacks. June and Autumn went upstairs to play and talk. Autumn looked over and saw June's drawing pad and started to flip through the pages.
"Wow! Those drawings are very good. So realistic ,too. Did you ever think of being a artist when you grow up!" Said Autumn rummaging though the pages.
"That is what I was planning on being. What are you planning to be when you grow up?" June said.
"I plan to be a singer! I can sing very good, so my Dad says," she says then sings a few lines of a song. June was amazed at how well Autumn could sing.
"Wow. Your Dad was 100% right! You would be excellent as a singer!"
"You think so?"
"Of course I think so!"
"Well, thanks. Maybe together we can accomplish our dreams!"
"Okay, it's a deal!" Autumn looked at the clock and realized that she needed to start heading home. June offered to bring her home. So the two of them walked down the road on opposite sides. Then when they got to the house June noticed that her house was the house she spot earlier. "You live here! The sign! That retched sign! How dare you have that on your fence!"
"June calm down." Autumn says waving her arms. Then around the corner came two men in uniforms.
"You! How dare you talk to white like that!"
"Get her!" They toke June and started to beat her.
"Stop it or my Daddy will stop construction," but the men kept beating her. Autumn yelled and screamed as she watched her friend being beaten.
"Ow." June was crying. Feeling waves of pain with each punch she closed her eyes hoping it would all go away.
"STOP!" Autumn yelled once more tugging on one of the men's arms.
"What's going on here?" Duke was standing on the steps.
"This black was back sassing this girl!"
"Get off of my property both of you! I will deal with her!" Duke sounded mad. The two men got up and walked off. June was still laying on the ground bleeding out of her mouth. Bruises on her arms legs. She was shaking wildly with tears pouring out of her eyes. She was reminded how cruel whites could be to blacks a lesson that made her scared to be friends with Autumn and scared to step outside ever again. Duke picked her up and brought her inside. "You okay?"
"No! Why would you put a sign on your fence?" June stated angrily.
"It is to confuse those police to think were like everyone else. Before we jump them." Duke said winking at her. June finally understood what the sign was for.
After cleaning up she went home and told her mom what happened. Not long after she became apart of the battle between segregation. Every day Autumn visited June's house thinking about what they would do.
Three months later-
June walks to the door to let in Autumn. "Hi!"
"Hurry I got an Idea!" They rush up stairs. "I got a perfect plan! Listen. We are going to march into the lawn of the head office manager and tell him to stop the madness with the officers! And that's just the start! Then we will stop going to stores the make Blacks pay double. Then we will march around the city we will show them that Blacks and Whites can work together!" Autumn was jumping out of her seat.
"But just the three of us wont do much." Said June doubtful.
"It's not just us it will be all the Blacks in town and some life risking Whites!" Autumn tried to reassure June.
"I don't know. You risk your life just seeing me everyday. Now to put yourself in public helping us?" June was worried her friend would get hurt. She could end up in jail or worse!
"I am fine with it. I'm fighting for rights, for fare treatment. Wouldn't be great to be friends not just in your room?" Autumn looked like she was in another world. June thought she was thinking about another world ,too.
"Alright ,but please be careful."
"Your coming too. Right?"
" Uh…Yeah." Not so sure it was the right choice. The next day they put the first part of their plan into action. They decided to stop using the stores first thinking how easier it was. Then the marching into the manager's lawn was a bit difficult. I took three tries just to get on the side walk of the street he was on with out getting sprayed at by a hose. The real tricky part was the street marching. On June 12, 1958 there was a big rally preparing for the march.
" This is it the main event!" Autumn had a candle for it was going to be dark when the walk ,too.
"I'm scared." June admitted.
"I'm scared ,too. No one in their right mind would be scared ,too. Just remember what we are fighting for. Okay." Autumn said so confidently. June remembered that she was fighting for the right to be friends with Autumn. "Listen I have to go there is a group of Whites gather over there to take role. See you."
"See you!" June felt isolated. She had to be here though! She had to fight. She waited. Then they stated. One after another there feet pounded on the ground to show that they wanted to be safe. Safe from the whites once and for all. Then the officers came out. Despite the lawn protest they were not going to let this event go by without punishment. They started spraying fire hoses at them. June felt pain and dizziness as the fire hose spit at her. They brought out the dogs next. They barked and growled. Then they were let go on some of them. June bleed from the bite mark on her ankle ,but she walked on.
"I will not give up." June protested to the officers. Then they could not stand it anymore. They brought out the guns. The fired at the Blacks. Some to scar, some to kill. Then June couldn't take it anymore, she ran. Ran away before she was killed. Though she was caught when she turned the corner. "Let go!" said June as the officers tightened there grip. Then out of no where Autumn came and jumped on the officer.
"Let go of my friend!" Autumn struggled to hold on to the man. June ,freed, tried to help ,but Autumn told her to run home. So she did just that.
The next Day-
June waited at the door waiting for Autumn.
"Maybe she got a cold from yesterday." Lisa tried to make June feel better ,but June wasn't convinced.
"I'm going to got to her house then." June went to get her jacket.
"Okay be back by supper." Lisa answered.
"Okay!" June ran out the door. June ran down the street and stopped at the gate. It was open for the first time. She ran to the door and knocked on the door. No answer. Again. No answer. She wiggled the door knob. It was open! She went inside. "Hello anyone home?" June was surprised usually there was maids dusting ,but there was no one. Then there was a creek from the living room. "Hello?" She went through the ark to the living room.
"Oh it is you June. Come, sit down." It was Duke ,but he sounded sad.
" Okay. What's wrong?"
"The president is giving you rights."
"That's great! What's wrong with that! Does Autumn know? "
"Well you see Autumn is gone."
"Where did she go?"
"No June. She's… dead." June was quite. She realized that what was gotten from the fight was the biggest lost she ever had. " The officers found out you two where friends and killed her."
"No! This is my fault! She died protecting me! Why couldn't it be me!"
"No, it wasn't your fault. She died for what she believed in, she would have wanted to go down fighting. You must remember. She fought to bring us a better future and you must never forget it."
June went home and cried. Telling her mother didn't make it any better. She lied upstairs in bed for days until… Until she realized that Autumn would not be sitting up here soaping. She got her drawing note book and started drawing the scenes of the fight between the boundaries of color. All of them with Autumn in it.
June became a professional artist drawing pictures of the fight and Autumn. To this day she visit's Autumn's grave which stats.
A good friend, a good daughter.
A person who believed in the future.
A girl who died fighting
The End