Photo: Courtesy of First Baptist Church
(Top L-R): Andrew Heidelberg, Louis Cousins, Pat Godbolt,
Carol Wellington, Reginald Young, Freddie Gonsoulaud,
Eddie Jordan, Olivia Driver; (Bottom L-R): Betty Jean Reed,
Johnnie Rouse, Delores Brown, LaVera Forbes, James Turner,
Lolita Portis, Patricia Turner, Claudia Wellington, and
Geraldine Talley.
Louis Cousins was one of the Norfolk 17 who made a major impact on the Norfolk Public School System.
Picture of Pain ...And Promise
By Wil LaVeist
The photo is as sad as it is inspiring. Louis Cousins sitting in Maury High School’s auditorium filled with students, but he’s alone, as if he’s a pariah. The reason? The picture is clear. Cousins’ face is the only black one. From that defining moment in 1959, Cousins went on to graduate. He joined the military and served his country in Vietnam. He married, finished college, and raised a family. He’s a successful medical technologist in San Antonio and will retire soon. Still, he’s never forgotten that moment captured on film. He doesn’t want to forget it. The following are Cousins’ thoughts shared during a recent interview with MIX:
“My mother left me at the school door with the assistant principal and he escorted me to the auditorium. I decided I wanted to sit in the front and nobody wanted to sit near me. It was complete isolation. I was wondering, ‘Did I make a mistake.’ I was trying to survive in that school. The picture was taken and I was sitting there like that... I was on an Island by myself. I was thinking, ‘Why are you here.’ When you’re a young man like that you’re idealistic about the world. You don’t expect people to treat each other in that way. But your family is so proud of you and you don’t want to let them down. You don’t want to let anybody down.”
How He Coped:
“I had a very good strong support from the family. Then it’s the inner strength and faith that you have. You have to have determination, plus you have to be a little stubborn. I don’t like people telling me that I can’t do something. It makes me want to prove them wrong… You still have scars.
You’re going to always have scars. If you’re wise you learn to deal with it and use those scars as a means to progress forward. Education is the one true thing that people respect in this world. If you have the education and get your foot in the door, you can prove that you can do the job.
There are incidents among the 17 that were never published and are only known among us. Some of the others may choose to tell you. I was spat on at school. I had a cross burned on my yard.
I had police follow me back and forth to school for a period of time. My parents were promised finances for me for school, but it never materialized. After I graduated I went to Norfolk State for about a year and a half. My parents couldn’t really afford to keep me there and truthfully, my maturity really wasn’t there yet. So I went to the military.
The military was my way out. But I really wanted to go to ODU (Old Dominion University). I applied and qualified, but I was turned down. That same school that wouldn’t let me in the door because I was Black, they sent me a letter years later wanting to use some of my artifacts for their Black History Month program, as if it was OK It was not OK I shredded the letter.”
Regarding The City of Norfolk:
“The city and the history books are trying to say integration in Norfolk was so peaceful. That it was well received. That’s what I resent. I know that it was not well received and it was not without incident. Norfolk fought a political war. Norfolk was forced to do what they did.
They fought it all the way. They tested 151 (Black) students and out of the 151 only 17 were picked? Then they decided where the students would go. A lot of people don’t know that.
I’ve heard that people say I haven’t come back because it was too painful. That’s not the case. I’ve been back plenty of times, especially when I’m not contacted on too short of notice. If the city wants to pay to fly me in like they would a speaker, sure I’ll come.”
On The Significance of The Norfolk 17 For Today:
“It’s history. It happened. It should be an inspiration to people that they can do it. When I speak to people you can see that they’re really interested. But they really don’t want to believe it happened…It had a definite impact on me. It gave me the sense of the importance of education and the reason for it.
You need education to progress in this world. The pain, it hangs with you. You don’t forget it. lt made me a stronger individual, but, however, I wouldn’t want to repeat it. It was a very painful thing…There appears to be a missing generation.
The generation I came from stressed that education was the way to succeed and progress. The existing generation they seem to think it’s automatic. We and the people before me, we opened the doors. The problem now is that a lot of young people figure they can just show up and say, ‘I’m here. Hand it to me.’ You give them so much because you don’t want them to suffer.
I’m guilty of that too. But in the process they don’t realize what it’s like to have hard times. It serves them an injustice that they don’t realize they can’t have everything without hard work. Some kids think you’re obligated to give them a car when they graduate from high school. Imagine that?”
3 comments:
Lewis Cousins was one of my uncles that inspired me to become a engineer. If he reads this I want him to know how I've always been very proud of his accomplishments. I can only imagine what it took for him to break teh color line at Maury High. I've gone past the school many times and often reflect on the climate then vs now. I've heard some of the awful stories he endured, yet from what I've been told he did it with dignity and pride.
This was a geat story to read lil sis. Mike
I loved your post on the "Norfolk 17". It was very powerful. As a graduate of ODU, I am glad to see things have changed over the years. It is true that this new generation takes education for granted. They assume that education is a part of everyday affairs and not a privilege. As educators, we have the responsibility to share the history of the past to shed light on the qualities we would like our students to possess. Having a strong support system is always helpful when knocking down obstacles. However, Louis Cousins is right; it’s the inner strength and faith in one’s self that ultimately makes a difference. Determination and self reliance are the keys to success. I believe anything is possible, if you dare to dream. This story about the “Norfolk 17” may inspire students to appreciate their education even more. I'll be sure to share the link to your post with others.
As a teacher of history, I am always interested how my students will react when I begin to teach about the desegregation movement. While many think that it was only in the south that segregation had to take place. Topeka, KS is not what one would think of as a hotbed of racial tension.
I grew up in Sumner County, TN which is directly north of Nashville. We did not fully intergrate until 1970, the year before I started school. While I had the pleasant experience of going to school with people of different races, it is sad today that many minority students don't seem to care about the struggles that their parent's generation had to go through just so they can have the hope of a quality education today. One picture is worth a thousand words, and this one speaks unwritten volumes about where we were and how far we have come.
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