Brown: Hello, my name is Autumn Brown.
I’m a researcher with Oklahoma State’s Oklahoma Oral History Research [Program]. For
our Activism in Education in the Civil Rights Movement oral history project, today,
March 9, 2020, I am meeting with Larry Sharp to discuss his experiences with school
desegregation in Oklahoma City. Mr. Sharp, thank you so much for talking with me
today. Let’s just begin by telling me about yourself. Where were you born?
Tell me a little bit about your family. Sharp:
Okay, first of all, I am from Houston,
Texas. I was not born in Oklahoma City. I was born in Houston, however my experiences growing up was
probably no different from any other Black youth in this United States. In Houston, Texas, things
were about just like they were anywhere else. Segregation at that time was the norm of the day. You didn’t question segregation
because that’s all you knew. You were born into segregation, you grew up in
segregation, so you didn’t know any difference. I wa
s an only child raised by an aunt and uncle. I
did not really get into a different type situation until I was eighteen years old and went
into the service. At the time I went in, the service had been desegregated by, I’m thinking
it was Dwight D. Eisenhower that desegregated it. It had not been long. When I went in, we
were desegregated, and for a lot of the kids, both Black and white, it was the very first
time that they had been together as a unit. Desegregation was new to practically eve
rybody,
however, being in the military, you knew that whatever the norm was or whatever the orders were,
as a military person you had to follow those. Whether we liked it or not, we were
desegregated and attempted to make do with how things were as a desegregation unit. There
were problems. There were name calling. There were fights. There were disturbances, but being
in the military, they were quickly dealt with, and they were dealt with in such a fashion that
you learned real quick to ab
ide by the rules. I traveled extensively and met people from
all over the country. I will have to say that even though I grew up under segregation, there
were places in the United States that were not segregated. I had an uncle and an aunt that lived
in Seattle, Washington, and I’m told that there, there were no segregation. However, later we
learned that there was a lot of segregation there. I guess just in their case it wasn’t because as
he drove me around the city, the first thing he sai
d was that you would not be able to tell who
lived where unless they happened to be out in their yard. It could be a white family or a Black
family; it really didn’t make any difference. That’s really about all that I can give you as
far as growing up and what have you. I’m thinking that the first pains, if you would, of
desegregation came along when Rosa Parks refused to move out of her seat in front of the
bus. As I understand it from reading history, she was not trying to desegregate any
thing. She
was just tired. I think that that’s when the efforts to desegregate the country really started.
I think the Montgomery boycott started there, and I think that when the Jim Crow
laws started to be challenged, it also challenged economics in the
communities in which they touched. When Black people stopped taking the bus, transit
authority, they realized how much money they were losing. When they started to not shop at stores,
they realized how much money they were losing. This tre
nd simply kind of started there,
but it spread real quick across the country. I was not in on any of the sit-ins,
the Clara Lupers, and all of that, but as I understand it, the economic impact of
the sit-ins and the marches is what really changed the laws and the customs of the country.
I think it had more to do with economics than it had to do with the hearts
and passions of the people in power. I don’t think—maybe in the Christian community,
maybe in some of the communities that might be
true, but it is in my opinion that
it had mostly to do with economics. Brown: Why do you think that’s
an important thing to understand? Sharp: Because they didn’t go willingly. They
didn’t embrace the idea just right away. It wasn’t until their economics started
hurting. The money stopped coming in, and I think that’s what brought about the change.
I don’t think it was brought about by pressure. I don’t think it was brought about
by any one person saying, “Well, this is not right. Let’s d
o this differently.” I
think if it had not been for the economic impact, it would not have happened. It might’ve happened
at some time or another, but what I’m feeling is that it happened because of economics more than
anything else. Now, in the military, however, I really can’t say or relate to what precipitated
the change. It wasn’t economics. It wasn’t like out in the civilian world where stores and grocery
stores and that sort of thing felt the impact. I’m thinking that probably it was
more
having to do with equality in the military. I think because it worked in the military,
that spilled over into civilian life. The schools, there’s no doubt that the schools were different. The white schools probably had
better equipment, better material, better books, better everything than we did, but
we didn’t know that. Our parents, when this all came about, was very,
very into being behind the children, being behind whatever they did. I have a cousin
that was going to college at th
e time. My uncle said that even though he did not know what was
going on, he was behind my cousin 100 percent. They kept a certain amount of money aside to go
downtown and bail her out of jail should she get arrested, because they were being arrested.
He realized that this was a different time, and that things were changing, and that it
would be the young people in this country that would bring those changes about. The
older generation of Black people sort of empathized with the young and s
upported them
in whatever they did because their time had passed and the future generation would be the
one to bring about change in this country. I think that that’s probably how the change came
about, is with the youngsters, with people who were in tune with that, like Clara Luper, Martin
Luther King, and those people, Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson. Those are the people who brought
this change about, but it was because of these steps that the young people took and refused to
go along wi
th the Jim Crow laws and the Separate but Equal. Then I think one of the presidents,
and I believe it might’ve been Lyndon Johnson that brought about a lot of changes from the
White House, from the government standpoint. Looking back, that’s my take on the beginning
and the middle and more or less the ending of segregation in the South. I would also like to
say that probably on this ninth day of March 2020 that there are still problems in this
country. There are still segregationists. There
’s still a lot of hatred, as
evidenced by things that’s going on. I think, also, that there are enough good people
that the good people will probably win out. We will certainly have to endure some
things. We will have to endure some pains because of our being Black. We will face
subtle discrimination. We will face people who do not like us simply because of the color of our
skin. Our children will suffer in schools still. But it’s isolated, and it’s not as blatant as
it was in 1950 or 1940
or 1930 or even 1960. We have made some progress. It’s not just a Black
and white thing because it’s a worldwide thing when you think about the Muslims, you think about
the Iranians, and you think about what’s happening in the Middle East, and you think about all of
the fighting that’s going on because of ethnic origins. It’s not just a color thing, but I
think segregation and discrimination is an inherent problem that just has to do with
difference in human beings. I’m different. You’re d
ifferent. You believe this, and I believe
that. Because of that, we can’t get along. Brown: Right. Sharp: In most cases, not all, but in most cases, people have
agreed to disagree and still live in unity. That’s not the case everywhere, as evidenced
by the news every morning of fighting that’s going on in other parts of the world. Fortunately,
here in the United States we’re not dealing with that kind of racism, but we’re still dealing with
racism. At least we’re not to the point of some of
our overseas neighbors are dealing with, simply
because of religions and because of beliefs, religion-wise. I think that’s mostly
the difference. Here in this country, it’s all about Black and white, and now
brown has entered into it. Brown people are facing some of the same problems
right now that Black people are facing. Those of us that are of age have adjusted to the
situation, and because of our past and because of our background, I think we have equipped ourselves
to deal with a sit
uation whenever it occurs. There are times when we probably
would not like to be faced with racial problems, but I think as long as we
live, we’re going to be faced with them at some point in time because that’s just the way
the world is. We’re all different. We all have our differences of opinion. We don’t always
all get along, even within our own community. As far as segregation goes, and
as far as discrimination goes, there is a difference of night and day
between today and the 1940s, ’
30s, ’50s, ’60s. As the song goes, we have come a long ways, but we
still have a long ways to go. Things are better, but they’re not the best. Sure, if you’ve got
the money, you can build a house anywhere. You can go into any restaurant. You can order the
same food that the people at the next table order. You can go in the same doors, and you can
drink out of the same water fountains. You can use the same restrooms. There are still
people, however, that that’s disdainful to, both Black and
white. I’m not going to say that we are
any different in some cases than everybody else. There are Black people that can’t stand white
people, and there are white people that can’t stand Black people. I think that’s human
nature. I will say that the difference today is much better than it was in the past. Brown: So you mentioned growing up, you
were segregated and it was just the norm. Why do you think the older generation kind of
shielded the younger generation from understanding that they
were actually separate and unequal, or do you think that that was just kind
of innate or inherent in that time? Sharp: I think at that time,
because it was the norm, that most parents simply tried to keep their
children safe. You grew up knowing already what the problems—I can’t even say there were problems.
You grew up knowing what to do and what not to do, so you did. It just wasn’t a question. It
didn’t become a question until the bus incident. Prior to then, you just knew. When you wen
t
into an establishment, you knew the rules. You didn’t question them. You just knew what to
do. You knew which fountain to drink out of. You knew which door to use. When you got on a bus or
public transportation, you knew to go to the back. There was no problems because you went
ahead and bowed to whatever the norm was in the establishment at that given time.
There wasn’t anything else to think about. Brown: So how old were you when
you kind of became aware of civil rights activism and th
ings
of that nature taking place? Sharp: I went into the military at the age of
seventeen. My parents signed for me to go in because you couldn’t go in until eighteen, but
you could go in at seventeen with authorization from your parents. It wasn’t until 1954 when
I went into the military that I was faced with the difference, or faced with
desegregation, or faced with equality. Prior to that, I didn’t know any different. Brown: So you went into the
military the same year that Plessy [v. Fe
rguson] was essentially overturned. Sharp: Yes, 1954 was when I went into
the military. Prior to that, though, the military had been desegregated about
a year, maybe two years, before I went in. The military probably was where the first
desegregation occurred. I’m not sure of that, but all I know is that I went from
segregation to desegregation overnight. Brown: And what was that experience like for you? Sharp: It was just something that you had to
get used to. I can’t really put a—I can’t
put anything on what the experience was like
because you were in the military and you adapted quickly, right now. There was no time to
evaluate it. There wasn’t time to think about it. You couldn’t decide whether you
wanted to or didn’t want to. You were in the military. Whatever the rules
were, you followed them because if you didn’t, there were consequences to pay that nobody wanted
to pay. Whatever you were told to do or whatever you were supposed to do, you did it. There
was no questio
ns. To say how it affected me, I can’t because I was military. One day I was
a civilian living in a segregated society. The very next morning when I woke up, I was
in a desegregated society in the military. Brown: Wow. Sharp: Now, while I was desegregated in the
military, however, my family and everybody back home was still going through the same thing. I
don’t remember when the Montgomery boycott or when Rosa Parks, I don’t remember when that happened.
Until that happened, and while that w
as happening, we were watching it on TV in the military. It was
hurtful to see things that were going on, to see people being abused with water hoses and being
beaten and thrown in jail and all that. That all hurt, but that had to take place in order to get
people to where they are today. The early people who went through those things, we should
never forget them. We should always hold them in very high regards because of the
sacrifices that they made, the lynchings, the rapes, the murders,
the
burnings, all of those things. There were some gruesome things happened, things
that most of the older people who have gone on know more about it than I do. Those are the things
that had to be suffered for us to be where we are now, to have the jobs that we have, to have the
income that we have, to drive the automobiles that we drive, to live in the houses that we
live in. Those are the people who made that possible by the sacrifices that they did. Even
though it is a heinous past, ev
en though it’s a past that nobody is proud of, it’s still the past.
We, because of the past, can always appreciate the present, but we still have to be very careful
because things, even though they’re different, in a lot of ways they’re still the same. Brown: That’s beautiful. That whole
quote I can just imagine being at the very, like, finishing up. I love how you—this
entire project is about remembering the past and celebrating the people who made
such sacrifices for people like me. Sharp
: Exactly. Brown: I just feel like when we live in
this era, we forget about our ancestors. Sharp: Most definitely. Brown: I feel so strongly that we can learn
from their works because, like you said, even though it’s different, it’s a lot of the
same. So if we can remember them and celebrate and learn from them, maybe we can figure out
how we can continue that change and making those differences. Maybe one day I can sit across
a table to another young researcher and say, “It is different.
It has changed, and I’m
happy, but we have to keep the baton going.” Sharp: One of the most noticeable
changes that I see is in our churches. We have, right now, many churches across the
country that have very mixed congregations. At one time, I was a member of a white church. The overwhelming majority of the members of
that church embraced me as just another brother, another man, another Christian. There
were probably one or two or three people in there who kept their distance and did
not
approve of it but went along with it. I am, probably because of my age and because of
my experience, very comfortable in any situation. I can fit into any crowd. I can speak the language
of any conversation that’s going on simply because of my age, my background, and my experiences. I
feel that because of that, I am probably better able to adjust than a lot of people who do not
have that. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the whole world. I’ve been in many foreign
countries, up and down
the United States, so I’ve got just a little bit of an edge on
the person that has not done those things. I had to work very hard to get along with people who had not been military. I know
that’s difficult and hard to understand, but as an ex-military person,
I have so much information retained from the things that I’ve
done, the places that I’ve been, the groups that I’ve been a part of, the things
that I’ve seen, the experiences that I have, that the other person doesn’t have. It’s hard
to
tell a person how it feels to be in the middle of the ocean in the water if they’ve never
been in the middle of the ocean in the water. If you’ve never been burned by fire, it’s hard
to imagine how it feels to be burned by fire. If you’ve never had a heartache, it’s hard to get the other person to understand
what it feels like to have a heartache. If you’ve never lost a loved one through death,
it’s hard to explain to a person that hasn’t. Inner experiences has a lot to do with where
yo
u are right now in life. My experiences differs from the person who has
not experienced what I have. We have to learn to accept each other as we are, rather than me looking down on him or him
looking down on me. Sometimes that’s difficult, even with our own community. It’s
difficult for the elite in our community to identify with those who are not and who hasn’t.
I have relatives who have never experienced any type of segregation or discrimination,
so whenever they are confronted with it, t
hey don’t handle it very well. You see what I’m
saying? I thank God, really, for where I’ve been, where I’ve gone, where I’ve come from, and
where I am in that I can sit here and relate intelligently to you about my history and
where I’ve been and where I’ve come from. Brown: So what brought you to
Oklahoma? How’d you land here? Sharp: Okay, I was discharged at Fort
Sill, Oklahoma, in Lawton in 1964, maybe, somewhere in there. Came to
Oklahoma City on my way to Houston. Stayed with a frien
d for a week. Turned
into two. Met a lady. Rest my case. Brown: That’s a good reason to stay. So
when you ended up settling in Oklahoma, what was the economic climate like, I mean,
’64, where schools aren’t even desegregated yet. Sharp: To give you an idea of what the climate was
like, there was a variety store called Spartan’s that was located on Lincoln Boulevard. I
think the voting people are in that building now. It sits back a ways. It’s between 50th and
36th. It’s over on the west si
de of the street. That business, Spartan, which was like our
present-day Wal-Mart on a smaller scale, was the first job that I had in Oklahoma City.
I was the second Black person to work there as a store clerk. Previously in that kind of
business, the only jobs that we could have was that of a janitor, dish washer. Many times in 1964, ’65, ’64, many times older
Black people would come by and smile and say, “I’m so glad to see you here.” Well, that was
then. That’s nothing now. We’re everywh
ere. I went from there to going back to school,
obtaining some accounting experiences and what have you, and I went to work for a very large oil
company here in Oklahoma City called Kerr-McGee. When I went to Kerr-McGee, I was maybe the
fourth Black person to be hired by the company. When I went into an accounting
position in an office, I went in making more money
than I ever thought possible. Also when I started, (like I said I
was about the fourth person) every day you would see differen
t Black faces. From what
I’m told, the EEOC from Washington, DC, came down and told Kerr-McGee Corporation that they needed
to hire some Black people, some Indian people, some Chinese people, some Mexican people.
In other words, they had to integrate, they more or less told them, so they did that.
They went about hiring, specifically, minorities. Within a year’s time, there were
minorities all over the place. It started there, and this was in about ’64
or ’65. Let’s see. My son was born in
’66, so it was 1970, maybe, when I
went to work for Kerr-McGee. Brown: Did you know anyone
by the name of Winard Brown? Sharp: Who? Brown: Winard Brown. Sharp: Perhaps. Brown: Or Mr. Bell, I can’t
think of his [first] name. Sharp: DeSota Bell. Brown: Yes. Sharp: Yes. Brown: Oh, we talked together
at Douglass. Oh, he’s awesome. Sharp: DeSota came to work at Kerr-McGee
in the computer industry. He was a teacher, so yes, he was in that first group. Brown: Okay. Sharp: Fred…I can’t think of hi
s last name now. He was an
attorney, but yes, those were some of the early…. Brown: Right, yeah. Sharp: Artheda Jones. Maxine…Washington is her
name now. Novalene Bryant. I could just go on and on and name because these were the first. We were
the first hired there. Because we were the first, and because we were the only ones, we kind
of formed a little clique, a little group, because we were fortunate enough to be
working for this big oil company making the kind of money that…. Even then,
I later
found out, that as much money as I was making, I wasn’t making the money that the person
sitting next to me was making. I started out at the very bottom. I kept getting
raises, and I didn’t understand why. About every month, every other month, the
boss was calling me in, saying, “We’re going to give you a raise. Give you a raise. Give
you a raise.” Well, what I later found out is that when I started, I was on trial
to find out how I was going to do. After I proved myself, then I st
arted
getting the same benefits as the next person, but the white person that came in hired
at the same time I came in as a hire, came in at a different salary than I did. I didn’t
know that. I was in payroll, and being in payroll, I was a payroll accountant. Being in payroll, it
enabled me to see all of this at a later date, but it didn’t matter because I was there.
Because of that, it didn’t bother me. Brown: Is there anything else about Oklahoma,
especially during this time of segregati
on or desegregation efforts, that stands out to
you? Because my thing with Oklahoma, it’s like there was a lot of social activism
taking place in this state, so is there anything about that time that
stands out to you that was occurring? Sharp: The biggest thing that I can
think of, now that you mention it, is the garbage strike. I was an employee at
Kerr-McGee when the garbage strike took place. We were asked by the leadership to stay home that
day from our jobs to support the garbage wor
kers. One of our workers at
Kerr-McGee did so and was fired, terminated. We stood in our offices
and looked down the street at the workers as they marched past, those
of us that continued to go to work. My situation was, I could not afford to not go to
work. Even though my heart was with the workers, I could not take off. That was the same situation
the other people there was in. We supported them. We supported them. We went to the churches. We
went to the activities in the evenings that l
ed up to that and was subsequent to that, but that
was the climate. If you did not come to work, that would be a termination. I do know of
one person that did not come to work and was terminated. The rest of us, we came to work
because we more or less had to economic-wise, but it did a lot of good in the workplace. As
things took place, like the garbage strike, it made things better for the rest of the industry
as far as working and working conditions go. Brown: What was the internal strugg
le like
for you, your heart to be with the movement but knowing, “I’m in this position where I can’t
even participate in the movement if I wanted to”? Sharp: That’s hard to say. I think in my
particular department, I had a wonderful boss, a wonderful boss. His name was Mr. Price,
Alton Price. He called me in his office. I had a ton of work to do out there, but he
called me in his office, said he was curious about this whole thing because all of his life
had been dedicated to working and ge
tting ahead, and he really had not given
any thought to the problem. He questioned me at length. We spent a
couple of hours in there talking about the problems that we faced as Blacks, colored,
Negroes, whatever the term was used at that time. There were people, white people, Caucasian,
that was very sympathetic to our cause and implemented policies and what have you to
make things better, to make things more equal. I find that on the other side of the fence that there were those people who
, just
like on our side of the fence, that just went along with everything because that’s
the way it was. They didn’t want to make waves. They didn’t want to change anything. They
just—that’s the way it was. As things changed, they changed with it readily, saying, “Okay, this
is the way things should’ve been to start with, so I’m okay with it.” Most of the people that
were in power, in upper echelon positions, were, I think, fairly okay with things changing
and had a feeling that they shou
ld’ve been that way all along. Now, there were one or two that
didn’t. I’m thinking as I look back. You’re causing me to dig down into recesses of my mind to
bring these things back, but as I look back on it, I think there were a lot of those people who were
happy to see change. You see what I’m saying? Brown: Yes. Sharp: There were those few that
abhor change, that didn’t want change, wanted things to stay the same. We still had the
same problems with police and the way they treated people
and so forth. Then there were also good
people, and it was because of the good people that things progressed the way they did. Brown: I have to agree because you talked about
that earlier in your interview about good people outweighing the bad. Even in today’s economic and
political climate, we focus so heavily on what’s happening and the bad things that are occurring,
things like that, but it’s interesting to look at the good things that are happening. Even
when the recent elections happe
ned and all of these things with immigration were taking place,
it’s interesting to see how the ACLU, which is the American Civil Liberties Union, how their
donations just doubled. You know? That’s just a sign of how many good people believe in what’s
right and just a sign that good is taking place. Maybe we should focus on the good rather than
always harping on the bad because there is good. Sharp: We have to move. Sometimes it’s
uncomfortable, but in order to progress, we have to move. We
also have to give a lot of credence and give a lot of thanks to those people
in the early days that started all of this, the H. Rap Browns, the Stokely
Carmichaels, the…. What’s the lady’s name? Brown: Angela Davis. Sharp: Angela Davis. We have to. Even Malcom X.
We have to give them credit because if it had not been for them, if it had not been for their
radicalisms and their willingness to go to jail, their willingness to take all of the things that
they took, we would not have what we h
ave now. It took all of that, and we should never forget them.
We should never ever, ever, ever forget them. Some of us have. Some of us, unfortunately,
don’t even know about those people. I’ve got probably kids and grandkids probably
that has never heard of Stokely Carmichael. Brown: Yeah, Angela Davis. Sharp: Yeah. You see? Brown: Yeah. Sharp: I think we’re falling down as a people that
we are not keeping those names in the forefront. Our Black history should be taught in such a way
that
people know about the Stokely Carmichaels and the H. Rap Browns. Regardless as to whether or
not you agree to disagree with their ideology, at least they did something. At least they sparked
some kind of emotion in the hearts and minds of our country to bring us to where we are. Had
it not been for that, we wouldn’t be here. Brown: And that’s kind of what this is doing, as
far as…. You spoke on, like, a national scale, definitely giving credence and celebration, but
just even on the local s
cale with Oklahoma. Clara Luper, Ada Fisher, and Nancy Davis, these are
giants. Yes, and they’re giants. When we think of Oklahoma history, we have to include these women
and what they did for democracy in this state. Sharp: Very, very, very true. Yes,
I did not mean to overlook them. Brown: No, no, no, I didn’t think that you did,
but it’s important. Even taking away from these women in Oklahoma, we have gotten so far away
from teaching our youth about, like, Rosa Parks and…. I mean, we te
ach about Rosa Parks and Martin
Luther King, but there are so many other radical…. Sharp: Local people. Brown: Yes. I mean even just teaching about
the Black Panther movement and Fred Hampton and Angela Davis and Assata Shakur and
all of these who are still alive. I mean, Angela Davis is still alive. She
was at OU just a few weeks ago. I definitely think history’s very
important, and we have to celebrate. Sharp: We are probably one of the worst races
of people when it comes to teaching our
kids about our history. Orientals do a fantastic job
of teaching their kids about their ancestors, and they grow up knowing about who did
what and when and all that. We don’t. Brown: Which is why oral history is so important,
because I’m just wondering how many people don’t know. My dad, he grew up—he had Clara Luper as
a teacher, so he was always talking to me about Clara Luper and Nancy Davis and Ada Fisher and
segregation. I got a lot of that history from him, but I just wonder how many
folks who
don’t transmit that oral history down…. Sharp: There is a lot. You just—there’s a ton. Brown: Yeah, and then we just don’t know.
Well, is there anything else you want to add? Sharp: Well, I don’t know that I can. I’ve
tried to give you as much information as I could on my thoughts and where I am. I am, to say,
very happy being where I am and am always appreciative of those people who came along
before me that made all of this possible. It’s a shame that our youth do not know abou
t
it. Most of our youth who are right now heavily involved in an integrated society don’t
know, except for the month of February when we do the Black History thing. That’s the only
time some of these names and events come up. I’m just as guilty as anybody else because
the times that I have, to tell my grandkids and what have you about things, I don’t.
I focus on other things. I focus on today, and I focus on getting them from where they
are to the next level in wherever they are. I am at f
ault as much as anybody for
not teaching our kids about our history, and I’m leaving it up to you and the teachers
and the principals and the educators. I noticed even at my church we have several ladies
who are so dedicated to working with the youth. I’m not a youth worker. I was thinking
about that today. I am not a youth worker. There have been times when we, as men,
have been asked to come to the high schools to just be present, don’t do anything, just be in
the hallway, sit in the cla
ssroom. I did it one time. As a male, many of our educators have wanted
us to just come there so that they can see you. I couldn’t do it. My temperament would not
allow me because kids today, young people today, are very different. I knew that faced with certain
situations, I would not handle it very good. Knowing this about myself, probably was best that
I do what I did, and I stayed home. (Laughter) Brown: Yeah, I understand that.
We all know our strengths. Sharp: Thank God for those that
could. They could do it. I can’t do it. I
know I can’t, so there’s no use in trying. Brown: Well, I really appreciate
you taking time out of your day to talk to me. Definitely a lot of great stories. Sharp: Well, I hope that I
have shared some insight. Brown: Yes, you gave a lot. Especially
with your military experience, you gave a lot of insight about a whole new
perspective that I’d never even considered, so I really appreciate that perspective. Sharp: Well, I think the military kind of
set
the standard for the rest of the world. The Army, the Navy, Air Force, the Coast Guard,
this or that or whatever part of it was, I think that they paved the way. I think it
started with General Dwight D. Eisenhower and then came on from there. I think Lyndon B.
Johnson as president had a lot to do with it because he initiated the great society thing.
Now, I’m not saying everything was perfect. There was no perfection, but at
least they tried to do something to make life better for all
people. We’re not
going to ever have a 100-percent society where everybody is just going to involve and love on
everybody. We’re going to always have differences. We still got problems. We got problems in
our community. Our young leaders are getting pregnant. Our kids are killing one another. We’ve
got somehow to put a stop to that. Don’t know how. Even within my family, I have problems with
our youngsters, and I think every family has probably the same thing. I don’t know what the
answer
is. I just hope and pray that something is done and something happens that we don’t fall
back to where we were. If we don’t change, if we don’t get a grip on and get a handle on things,
I’m so afraid that that’s where we’re going to…. Brown: I definitely think that’s why it’s
so important to talk about our past and talk about our history because,
I mean, it’s so easy to regress, and if we don’t know what we’ve faced in the
past, it’s easy to just fall back into that. Sharp: Repeat it, yeah.
Brown: Yeah. Well, thank you so much. ------- End of interview -------
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