#6: Coming of Age in the Ghetto
You can read the original text version of this story here.
Cleveland, Ohio | Aug. 5, 1955 | By MANSFIELD B. FRAZIER
“The bigger of the two cops came our way, and I was, as the saying goes, feeling trapped between a rock and a hard place; between my father who has told me not to move, and the cop, who is telling everyone to move. While I feared the cop, I respected my father, and respect won out over fear. I didn’t move.”
Mansfield B. Frazier is a former newspaper editor and columnist who resides in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife Brenda and their two dogs Gypsy and Ginger. Since his retirement he devotes his time to writing only what he is passionate about and interested in.
Music courtesy of Gonzo Gonzales (“Doo It,” Jamendo) and Robert Shumann (“From Foreign Lands and People,” performed by Ellen Polansky, Alan Rias, and Marshall Hughes).
Posted by Common Ties on Friday, September 21st, 2007 | Email This PostThis entry was posted on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 5:45 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
7 Responses to “#6: Coming of Age in the Ghetto”
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September 24th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Your voice resonates…and so does the story.Very powerful!
September 26th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Bravo! How beautiful to hear this moving and even funny tale in the author’s strong voice.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:01 am
A most inspirational story for any human being faced with hatred. My husband, a man of color raised on the streets of Brooklyn, a man raised by a strong father, doesn’t share your optimism. He harbors anger on behalf of the bigotry his father experienced–as a man, as a husband, as a father, and as a doctor who wasn’t permitted to treat whites. Perhaps your father did you honor as a boy coming of age by showing you how a man should behave, how a proud man could behave.
Thank you for sharing your story.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Listening to your story, I feel as though your father caused a healing to take place, by both the blacks and whites who were there.
The integration of Little Rock’s Central High School occurred 50 yrs ago this week. Because of that anniversary, I have been focusing more attention on the state of race relations in this country. For most of this week I have not felt hopeful for our future.
I wasn’t even born when your dad took the stand he took but hearing you quote him gave me a feeling of hope.
Thank you to both of you,
Sharon
The wounds carried by the ones within ear shot
October 1st, 2007 at 10:29 am
Your story has brought a tear to my eyes. I am not saying that lightly. I know this is a story that you have told to many people over your life, and that you will keep telling. When I say I am touched, it is because I am a father. And it is because my father had no stance on anything. This story needs to be played for all fathers and all men, having nothing to do with race, or class, or chosen profession. There is a vast insufficiency of men that are leaders in this fine country. I see people mortified to just speak the truth, speak thier minds, be real, take a stand. That is is how I am leading my life. So, devoid of role models ( I was also a typical white, only-child, without friends or relatives that moved neighborhoods frequently even though my mom had to work two jobs, leaving me at home in the evenings), though I am grateful for life’s every opportunity, this story takes the shape of that missing part of my life, that missing voice, opinion. You make life real for men, as things should be. This country in the same way needs more of that. Thank you.
October 28th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Mr.Frazier,Thank you for your story.We can learn a lot from our parents if we would let them.I think the current generation has lost that ability,and that is why there is so much violence amounst the kids now a days.It is sad to think that.Again thank you for your story,God Bless,Mike G.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:43 am
Probably the most powerful story I’ve ever heard in my entire life. What strength your father possessed. What dignity.