On Thursday, February 17th we had the honor of having Nell Stokes speak to our Upper School students as part of Black History Month programming. Stokes was born and raised in one of the most segregated places in America – Montgomery, AL. As a young girl, she experienced continuous acts of racism.
“I witnessed many mean and hateful incidents towards Black people,” said Stokes, “like a bus driver pulling away, leaving the person that paid their money to ride the bus. Men and boys stepping off the sidewalk if a White person was walking towards them even if they had to step into the mud. Men being beaten or slapped for not looking down when passing a White person on the street. Or men just simply disappearing, and later being found washed up on the beach with a bullet lodged somewhere in his body. Unspeakable injustices perpetrated on human beings and no one ever held accountable because of the Jim Crow laws of Alabama.”
In 1956, at age sixteen, Stokes volunteered to help with the Montgomery Bus Boycott. At age eighteen, she was once again faced with the same prejudice and racism she had faced as a young girl. Her "shero" Rosa Parks taught her, "even in the face of fear and retribution, one person can indeed make a difference."
Thank you Mrs. Stokes for sharing your story and helping to change the course of history. Special thank you to the Black Student Alliance and the office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for bringing Mrs. Stokes into our community.
Margaret Pegno
