|
|
|
Phil Smith talked of both fond memories and tough challenges ahead as featured speaker for the Douglass all-school reunion banquet Saturday evening, July 3, 2010, at the Quality Inn and Suites.
Smith, who earned the prestigious honor of class valedictorian when graduating from Douglass, credits the extended family environment at the all-black school for his motivation to learn.
“Douglass was built to separate people by the color of their
skin, but it was the best thing that may have happened to me,” he said. He was
born in 1936, during depression years. His family moved to Hannibal in 1941,
“because there were good-paying factory jobs.” His father worked two full-time
jobs, and his mother took in washing and ironing during the day. Ultimately,
the family moved next door to the girl he would later marry, Minnie Morrison.
“Market Street was filled with black children,” he said, and
they all walked to Douglass School, located nearby at Hope and Willow. In the
winter, “we didn’t notice the cold at first,” he said, because of the warm
greetings from all the other children. But during the second half of the walk
to school, his fingers and toes would get very cold.
Once at school, “we heated up by the radiator,” he said.
“We all know some (students) are more gifted than others,”
he said, “but at Douglass, camaraderie abounded. Peer pressure was there to
out-do your classmates for better grades.”
Noting that Douglass students used hand-me-down books from
other Hannibal schools, he said that was no obstacle to success. “Our teachers
taught better with old books than others did when the books were brand new.”
In music and sports, Douglass ranked high. “I haven’t heard
a better high school band or chorus, with limited or no facilities.” He bemoaned
the fact that no recordings of these musical performances exist today.
“We had no baseball field or track. “We had to run around
the city streets,” he said.
Yet, despite the obstacles, the school “produced good
citizens.
“What injustice? Love and patience prevailed, and
masterpieces were extracted.”
“So many pressing issues exist in our society today. Many
children today lack grounding and there are wasted lives from cradle to grave.
It is a generation of African American brothers and sisters dying on the vine.”
“What has changed? The more things change, the more they
stay the same.”
Phil Smith talked of both fond memories and tough challenges ahead as featured speaker for the Douglass all-school reunion banquet Saturday evening, July 3, 2010, at the Quality Inn and Suites.
Smith, who earned the prestigious honor of class valedictorian when graduating from Douglass, credits the extended family environment at the all-black school for his motivation to learn.
“Douglass was built to separate people by the color of their
skin, but it was the best thing that may have happened to me,” he said. He was
born in 1936, during depression years. His family moved to Hannibal in 1941,
“because there were good-paying factory jobs.” His father worked two full-time
jobs, and his mother took in washing and ironing during the day. Ultimately,
the family moved next door to the girl he would later marry, Minnie Morrison.
“Market Street was filled with black children,” he said, and
they all walked to Douglass School, located nearby at Hope and Willow. In the
winter, “we didn’t notice the cold at first,” he said, because of the warm
greetings from all the other children. But during the second half of the walk
to school, his fingers and toes would get very cold.
Once at school, “we heated up by the radiator,” he said.
“We all know some (students) are more gifted than others,”
he said, “but at Douglass, camaraderie abounded. Peer pressure was there to
out-do your classmates for better grades.”
Noting that Douglass students used hand-me-down books from
other Hannibal schools, he said that was no obstacle to success. “Our teachers
taught better with old books than others did when the books were brand new.”
In music and sports, Douglass ranked high. “I haven’t heard
a better high school band or chorus, with limited or no facilities.” He bemoaned
the fact that no recordings of these musical performances exist today.
“We had no baseball field or track. “We had to run around
the city streets,” he said.
Yet, despite the obstacles, the school “produced good
citizens.
“What injustice? Love and patience prevailed, and
masterpieces were extracted.”
“So many pressing issues exist in our society today. Many
children today lack grounding and there are wasted lives from cradle to grave.
It is a generation of African American brothers and sisters dying on the vine.”
“What has changed? The more things change, the more they
stay the same.”
