"Some teachers had been trained to work out at Southern because I carried two out there. I carried a lady down here from Palmer's Crossing, used to play piano, and Billy Carter"
About this Quote
The voice is colloquial and precise, rooted in Southern Black speech where carry means give a ride. The speaker marks himself as a connector, someone who physically moved people between a neighborhood and an institution and, in doing so, helped move them between stages of life. Teachers trained to work out at Southern suggests a pipeline to a college or university known simply as Southern, likely a teacher training hub. Saying I carried two out there is not just travel logistics; it is a quiet claim of agency. A car, time, and trust become infrastructure when official systems are indifferent or hostile.
Palmer's Crossing points to a Black community where schools, churches, and music circulate the same people and resources. The lady who used to play piano evokes the powerful overlap between church musicianship and educational labor. In many Southern Black communities, the pianist often was also a teacher, choir leader, or cultural anchor. Naming Billy Carter alongside her adds texture: these are not anonymous beneficiaries but neighbors with histories, talents, and futures shaped by shared effort.
The phrasing out there and down here maps a local geography of aspiration. Out there is the institution, distant, formal, credentialing; down here is home, where that training returns as service. The speaker frames his role as practical and proud: he got them there, and by getting them there he helped produce teachers who would work for the community. Under segregation and its aftermath, when public transportation could be scarce and opportunities segregated by law or custom, such rides were not incidental. They were a form of grassroots educational policy.
What emerges is a portrait of everyday leadership. No slogans, just names and errands that add up to a career ladder for others. The memory carries the weight of a local archive: who drove whom, from where to where, and how a community built its educators one shared ride at a time.
Palmer's Crossing points to a Black community where schools, churches, and music circulate the same people and resources. The lady who used to play piano evokes the powerful overlap between church musicianship and educational labor. In many Southern Black communities, the pianist often was also a teacher, choir leader, or cultural anchor. Naming Billy Carter alongside her adds texture: these are not anonymous beneficiaries but neighbors with histories, talents, and futures shaped by shared effort.
The phrasing out there and down here maps a local geography of aspiration. Out there is the institution, distant, formal, credentialing; down here is home, where that training returns as service. The speaker frames his role as practical and proud: he got them there, and by getting them there he helped produce teachers who would work for the community. Under segregation and its aftermath, when public transportation could be scarce and opportunities segregated by law or custom, such rides were not incidental. They were a form of grassroots educational policy.
What emerges is a portrait of everyday leadership. No slogans, just names and errands that add up to a career ladder for others. The memory carries the weight of a local archive: who drove whom, from where to where, and how a community built its educators one shared ride at a time.
Quote Details
| Topic | Teaching |
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