The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

IT SEEMS THAT, UH, THIS LITTLE BOY NAMED BOOKER -- THIS LITTLE
COLORED BOY, A SLAVE BOY, IF NOT A SLAVE IT WAS JUST AFTER
SLAVE TIME. HIS STEPFATHER AN' HIS MOTHER WERE RIGHT PROUD
PEOPLE, AN' HARD-WORKIN', TOO, AN' THEY TAUGHT HIM TO THINK
WELL ENOUGH OF HIMSELF. HE ALWAYS WORKED WELL AN' HIS STEP-
FATHER WAS VERY, VERY FOND OF HIM. AN' HE ALWAYS WANTED TO
TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF--HE HELPED TAKE CARE OF HIS PARENTS,
TOO. THERE WAS A COLONEL, WHO WAS A SOUTHERN COLONEL, HAD
MARRIED A YANKEE, AN' THEY HAD COME TO THIS SOUTHERN
PLANTATION TO LIVE. SOMEBODY TOLD THE LITTLE BOY ABOUT THEM
WANTIN' A HOUSEBOY, WANTIN' A BOY TO WORK IN THE HOUSE.
AN' IT PAID BETTER THAN ANYTHING HE COULD MAKE--NOT TOO
MUCH, BUT A LITTLE. HE WAS JUST ANXIOUS TO TRY IT. AN' EVERY-
BODY THOUGHT THE YANKEE LADY WAS THE MEANEST THING EVER WAS,
SHE WAS JUST CRUEL. AN' THEY TALKED AGAINST IT, BUT HE WAS
WILLIN' TO TRY IT ANYWAY, FOR WHAT HE COULD GET OUT OF IT.
AN' SHE WAS SO STRICT WITH HIM THAT IT WAS PATHETIC, UH, WHEN
SHE ASKED FOR A FLOOR TO BE CLEANED, IT HAD TO BE CLEAN ENOUGH
TO EAT OFF OF IT. AND SHE TAUGHT HIM TO DO JUST A LITTLE MORE
THAN SHE JUST SAID IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT SHE ALSO SAW HIM
LOOKIN' AT BOOKS AN' SHE TAUGHT HIM TO READ--SHE LET HIM
LEARN TO READ. AND, UH, HE SAVED HIS MONEY TO GO AWAY TO
SCHOOL. HE HAD HEARD WHERE THEY COULD GO TO SCHOOL. HE
WANTED TO GO, AN' SHE SAW HE WAS QUITE CAPABLE. AN' SHE
DIDN'T DISCOURAGE HIS LEARNIN'--SHE MADE A POINT TO SEE THAT
ALL THE BOOKS HE MIGHT LIKE TO READ AND GET SOMETHIN' OUT OF
WERE PUT WHERE HE MIGHT GET AHOLD OF 'EM. WHEN HE HAD JUST
NEARLY ENOUGH MONEY SAVED, HE WAS FIXIN' TO GO AWAY TO WHERE-
EVER THIS SCHOOL WAS--SOMEWHERE--POSSIBLY IN BOSTON, POSSIBLY
IN NEW YORK, POSSIBLY IN MASSACHUSETTS--IT WAS SOMEWHERE FURTHER
NORTH THAN WHERE HE WAS. AN' HE SAW HIS STEPFATHER LEAVE THAT
MORNIN' TO TRY TO FIND WORK--THEY WERE JUST ACTUALLY ON THE
VERGE OF BEIN' HUNGRY AN' HE COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING TO DO. HE
SAW HOW DEJECTED HE LOOKED & HEARD HIM TELL HIS MOTHER THAT
THIS WAS THE LAST STRAW--IF HE COULDN'T FIND SOMETHIN' TO DO
THERE, Y'KNOW, THEY JUST ABSOLUTELY WOULD JUST BE HUNGRY--
THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING. AN', UH, HE WENT TO THE BIG HOUSE
WHERE HE'S BEEN WORKING--THAT'S WHAT THEY CALLED IT, THE BIG
HOUSE--AN' HE HAD HOARDED HIS MONEY--THE LITTLE BIT THAT HE'D
GOTTEN, HE HAD SAVED IT. AN', UH, HE WENT IN AN' HE TOLD HER
HE HAD TO HAVE, UH, THE BIG HORSE--THE GELDING--HE WANTED IT
RIGHT THEN AN' HE HAD TO HAVE IT, SOMETHIN' HAD COME UP. SHE
SAW HE WAS VERY DISTURBED, SO HE TOOK HIS MONEY & GOT ON THIS
BIG HORSE AN' RACED TO OVERTAKE HIS STEPATHER TO GIVE 'IM
THE MONEY HE HAD. AN' IT JUST BROKE HIS HEART, 'COS, HE
DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING LEFT AN' HIS TIME WAS GONE AN' HE HAD
LEARNED ENOUGH AN' HE THOUGHT HE COULD TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF
IN THIS SCHOOL. AND, UH, HE HAD HEARD THAT THIS WAS WHERE
NEGROES COULD GO--MAYBE THE YANKEE LADY HAD KIND OF
ENCOURAGED HIM A LITTLE, BUT HE TOLD HER THAT HE RESIGNED
ANYWAY BECAUSE HE WAS DETERMINED TO GO. HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY-
THING, NOW, BUT HE WAS DETERMINED TO GO. SO HE GOT ON THIS
TRAIN. IT WAS JUST PACKED, AN', UH, HE WAS THE ONLY COLORED
PERSON ON THERE, 'CEPT FOR THE ONES THAT WERE WORKIN' THERE,
AN' THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE A BERTH FOR HIM, Y'KNOW. SO THEY CAME
TO A PLACE WHERE THEY HAD TO STOP THAT NIGHT, AND, UH, IT WAS
COLD, AND RAINY--JUST REAL COLD AN' RAINY, AN', UH, HE WAS
TIRED AN' HUNGRY AN' WHEN HE WENT IN TO GET FOOD WITH THE
GROUP THEY THREW HIM OUT BODILY, WOULDN'T LET HIM BE IN THERE.
HE SLEPT ON THE OUTSIDE. BUT HE WAS DETERMINED TO GO SO HE STARTED
WALKIN' TO GET WHERE HE WAS GOIN'. IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER HE
GOT THERE. AN' WHEN HE DID HE HAD NO CREDENTIALS, YE MIGHT
SAY, AN' HE HAD NO MONEY! BUT HE TOLD THE, UH, -- SHE WAS
A WOMAN--THE HEADMISTRESS, OR DEAN, ANYWAY, THAT HE HAD COME
TO GO TO SCHOOL. SHE ASKED HIM FOR HIS CREDENTIALS. OF
COURSE, HE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING. AN' HE JUST THOUGHT, 'COS
HE WAS ALONE . . . SHE ASKED HIM HIS NAME, AN' HE TOLD HER
BOOKER, THIS WAS THE ONLY NAME HE HAD --HE DIDN'T HAVE A LAST
NAME. AN' SHE TOLD HIM SHE NEVER HEARD OF ANYBODY THAT JUST
HAD ONE NAME, WHAT WAS HIS LAST NAME? SO THE ONLY THING HE
COULD THINK OF WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON, SO HE SAYS, "BOOKER T.
WASHINGTON"--SOMEWHERE HE'S READ ABOUT THIS. AN', UH, SHE
TOLD HIM THAT . . . WELL, LET'S GO BACK TO THE YANKEE LADY--
SHE HAD TOLE HER HUSBAND THAT THIS YOUNGSTER WAS A PROMISING
YOUNGSTER, THAT HE HAD ALL IT TOOK BUT ONE THING, AN' SHE
WAS GIVIN' HIM THAT. AN' HE ASKED HER WHAT THAT WAS, AN'
SHE SAID, "GRIT. HE NEEDED YANKEE GRIT." THAT WAS WHY
SHE WAS SO HARD ON HIM. . . BUT ANYWAY NOW WE'LL GO BACK TO
THE SCHOOL. SO HE HAD NOWHERE TO GO. HE HAD NOWHERE TO
SLEEP, HE HAD NO FOOD. AND, UH, SHE SAW HOW DEJECTED HE WAS,
AN' HOW HE JUST HAD TO GO TO SCHOOL--HE HAD TO HAVE MORE
LEARNING. SHE KINDA MADE A LITTLE FUN OF HIM, BUT SHE TOLD
HIM, WHEN EVERYBODY'D LEFT BUT HIM, HE WAS STILL STANDIN'
THERE, AN' SHE TOLD HIM THAT THE LIBRARY NEEDED CLEANING'.
SWEEP THE FLOOR IS WHAT SHE TOLD HIM TO DO. HE'D DO THAT,
Y'KNOW, WHY SHE'D GIVE HIM A MEAL AN' HE COULD SLEEP THERE.
AN', UH, HE LOOKED AROUND, AND HE DIDN'T DO JUST WHAT SHE
TOLD HIM, HE WIPED THE BOARDS AN' CLEANED THE SHELVES, TOO.
HE DID MORE THAN HE WAS ASKED TO. AN' SHE CAME IN THE NEXT
MORNIN' AN' SAW WHAT HE'D DONE, AN' SHE ASKED HIM WHY HE
DID MORE THAN HE WAS SUPPOSED TO, AND HE TOLD HER THE YANKEE
LADY HAD ALWAYS TOLD HIM TO JUST DO MORE THAN HE WAS TOLD TO.
AN' THE LADY TOLD HIM HE WAS ENROLLED THAT MORNIN'.

Submitter comment: THE INFORMANT SAYS HER FATHER TOLD HER THIS STORY, BUT
IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT SHE GOT IT OUT OF A BOOK AS A
CHILD.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE

Date learned: 07-06-1973