Through Her Eyes

1
Through Her Eyes

• Tina Vredenburg
• NYIT Fall 2006
• Susan Silverman
• Midterm Project

2
Family

• My closest friends are my brothers. I cannot
  imagine disliking my family. Our roots run deep
  in this family, from Big Mas stories of our
  grandfather to Papa hiring Mr. Morrison to take
  care of us while hes away. I guess the reason I
  have a hard time understanding Jeremy not liking
  his siblings is because how much our family means
  to each of us. We would not, cannot, be what we
  are without each other.
• Lonely? I asked. With all them brothers and
  sisters you got?
• Jeremy frowned. The little ones, they too
  young to play with, and the older onesLillian
  Jean and R.W. and Melvin, I guess I dont like
  them very much.
• What you saying? asked Stacey. You cant not
  like your own sister and brothers. (page 196-7)

3
I aint never had no children of my own. I
think sometimes if I had, Idve wanted a son and
daughter just like you and Mr. Loganand
grandbabies like these babies of yours- Mr.
Morrison (p. 226)
4
The Land

• I think I have heard the phrase We wont lose
  the land my entire life. I may not help pay the
  taxes on this land that my grandfather worked so
  hard to buy, but I sure know that it doesnt
  matter what Logan name is on the deed, it will
  always be Logan land. We grow our own food and
  do not have to share it with anyone like the
  Grangers. This land is our roots. Our family
  stories, heritage, hard work, pride and courage
  all stem from this land.
• If you remember nothing else in your whole
  life, Cassie girl, remember this We aint never
  gonna lose this land. You believe
  that?Yessir, Papa. (page 152)
• Yall got it bettern most the folks round
  here cause yall gots your own place and yall
  aint gotta cowtail to a lot of this stuff.-Mr.
  Turner (p.100)

5
Theys blood is in this land,-Big Ma(page 94)

• Papa never divided the land in his mind it was
  simply Logan land.- Papa (p.7)

6
Injustice

• My whole life has been spent wondering why
  white folks think they are so much better than
  black folks. Why do the whites give us the
  textbooks they deem to soiled and torn? Why do
  we walk miles in the rain only to be chased down
  by the public school bus? Why does Big Ma have
  to park so far back at the market no one knows
  shes there?

7
All I can say, Cassie girlis that it shouldnt
be.-Papa page 275

• What Was Jim Crow?

8
Self-Respect

• Mama and Papa taught us many things, including
  self-respect. I remember watching Mama continue
  teaching a lesson on slavery even though she was
  being observed by two men who prospered from
  slavery. I can remember Little Man refusing to
  accept the book the whites considered should be
  ours because it was too dirty and soiled for
  them. Thank goodness Mama understood and covered
  the books for us all. Uncle Hammer may not
  always be in control of his temper, but even he
  has self-respect. He respects himself and his
  family enough to sell his car when we really
  needed the money. If he hadnt sold that car he
  loved so much, a car he bought because it was
  exactly the same as a white mans, we surely
  would have lost the land.

9
Racism

• I always knew Negro people werent treated an
  equal to whites, but in our family, we never once
  thought of ourselves as inferior. We had to hold
  our tongues and tempers, especially Uncle Hammer.
  We werent silent just out of fear, but because
  the consequences of an irrational act could cost
  lives. That was a not a chance we were willing
  to take. We endured the name calling, the dirty
  looks, being waited on last, segregated schools.
  We saw first hand how the law is on the white
  mans side. Bless any Negro in trouble with the
  law, a fair trial will never happen. The list
  goes on and on as to what we endured. No matter
  what we were called or how we were treated, we
  still knew the truth in our hearts.

10
I aint nobodys little nigger!-Cassiepage 110
11
Itsits them again. Theys ridin tnight.-
Mr. Avery (p.60)

• You big black nigger- K. Wallace (p.224)
• Aint no need to waste good time and money
  trying no thievin nigger-(p.254)
• I got me three new ropes!-K. Wallace (p. 255)
• It happened and you have to accept the fact that
  in the world outside this house, things are not
  always as we would have them be.- Mama (p.126)

12
Everybody born on this earth is something and
nobody, no matter what color, is better than
anybody else.- Mama (p.127)

• Central High School
• Arkansas, 1957

13
Coming of Age

• The year I was nine years old was the year I
  began to grow up. I found myself in situations
  that opened my eyes as to how the world really
  was outside safety of our home. I witnessed
  injustice words cannot express. I saw how unfair
  the world really was to minorities. Not only did
  I watch my family and neighbors suffer
  humiliation, but I became its victim. That year
  will always signify the end of one chapter and
  the beginning of another in my life.

14
I cried for T.J. For T.J. and the land.-Cassie
(p.276)