A Few More Miles to Walk

My grandmother always, always began her responses to the requests of her three grandchildren with, “We got a few more miles to walk before we come that bridge.” It didn’t matter if we were talking about a birthday a few weeks away or Christmas months into the future, the answer was always the same. A few more miles…

I have to tell you that it irritated the Hell out of me. Give me an answer yes or no. Am I getting the bike or not?

Oh, but how prophetic her words were.

As an adult in this new age, I have come to a new understanding. The future is the hands of the child with strongest grip on the flip book. Does he/she turn to the pages of endless class and racial wars or does she/he flip to that page of the book in which we all are equal?

In 2013, the students of Wilcox County, Georgia (not the parents, not the school board, not the governing commission of their community) picked their page and held the first interracial prom in the history of the county since desegregation.

Readers, talk to your children. It’ll make the rest of the walk easier.

In 2014, the school board officially sanctioned an segregated prom.