Page 145 - From the Outhouse 4 -21

145 | P A T R I C I A R A E M E R R I T T W H A T L E Y

have over the years, made me extremely proud of my small role in the Civil Rights Movement!

These bomb threats reminded me of how my great-grandparents (Annie and Jack Hamiter) must have felt when they had to escape the

crucial and ugly Ocoee Massacre. On November 2, 1920, my great-grandfather, along with a couple of other men who owned land, tried
to vote. A white mob stormed into Ocoee, killed black and white people, also burning numerous homes and churches of the black

population. At least 200 people fled the town. My great-grandparents ended up in Sanford. Thank GOD they made it there alive.

I interject these historic facts because it enhanced my participation in the Civil Rights Movement. Was it frightening during our

Freedom March? Yes! Were we terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan Yes! Was I still proud to make a small contribution towards equality?

Yes!

Our college choir traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, and gave a concert at a Baptist Church. As we traveled back to campus on those long,
dark roads, we frequently had a police escort. But, this particular time we didn’t. Anyhow, I had to urinate very badly as we say. We couldn’t

make a stop at a public facility to go to the restroom because of segregation. I had no choice but to tell our Choir Director that it was

imperative that we stop the bus for me to excuse myself. The Choir Director, Mr. Frank Harris, pondered the request and agreed to ask the
driver to stop. I asked my friend to go into the woods with me to play the “look-out role” while I relieved myself. I did my business as fast

as I could because honey, we were scared! When we got back on the bus, the choir started to sing a line from an old Negro Spiritual, “I feel
better, so much better since I laid my burden down.” We all laughed, and it made the trip back to campus less somber. After that trip, it was

th
reported on the news that the 16 Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed on September 15, 1963, and four little
girls were killed. At the time, I was a junior, and the tragic report saddened and terrified us.

I have no regrets of my college years at Talladega. My vocal training prepared me to become an entertainer, my educational training

prepared me to become a teacher, and my theater training supported my acting ability. All of these rich experiences led to my founding of