This Book

I hopped a bus from downtown Omaha when I was sixteen, to the 24th St. Corridor. Actually, the same summer my dad, siblings, and I, hiked from the bottom to the top of Pikes Peak, via the Barr Trail. A long 13 mile hike, to an elevation of over 14,000 feet. It was a great hike, but a little more challenging once we were above timberline. The only thing nerve-wracking about it, was the drive down...on a paved road. I would have rather hiked down again, but we would have run out of daylight. Okay, back to my original subject.

No one knew where I was, because you just didn't tell your parents, "Well, I'll see you later. I'm going to catch a bus from downtown to the Near North Side, and see with my own eyes what's going on up there. I see it on the news, and read about it in the paper all the time, so it's time I see for myself. I'll definitely be home for dinner. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Yep.

It's a picture that comes to mind, now and then. Me, on the bus, sporting a look of confidence, with a  purse slung over my shoulder, and the attitude that I wanted to see for myself, the goings-on in this area. Segregation, discrimination, and busing...something my dad and I talked about, often. 

I abhor prejudice and discrimination. It's something I have no tolerance for...none..at all. I loved the school I attended, but there was no diversity, and I know it would have been good for all of us, if there had been. Also, I didn't know then, about the abhorrent practice of redlining...resulting in residential segregation, with conditions far from desirable, for minorities forced into this.

A subscription to the Omaha World Herald, is where I saw this book. I ordered it immediately...what a great, eye-opening read, and even though I was somewhat knowledgeable back in the day as a teen, there was still so much I didn't know. How can we all not struggle with the prejudice and inhumanity that exist in this world. Let's be better.