LIFE LESSONS

I Came Across My First 2025 “Whites Only” Sign

“Separate but Equal” is alright with me

Image source / https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/oc/stc/entries/jim-crow-sign-set-1930s-and-1940s

We were on our way to help our granddaughter move to New York City. We drove through the rural part of our beautiful country to babysit my son’s dogs while he was driving with my granddaughter from Florida to New York.

I don’t like to stop at restaurants named Mom’s Place Home Cookin’ in any small town, but my spouse attended college in rural Pennsylvania. He will stop to get takeout from any restaurant or roadside stand in the state.

When we stopped, I saw an antique shop right next to the food place, so I went over… there was a handwritten sign in the window, written on what looked like a random piece of cardboard.

As I approached, I read the note. “Whites Only.” Wow. I turned around and walked quickly to the restaurant, where I pulled my honey out of line. We would not spend a single dollar in this town. Not a single solitary dollar.

“Let’s go,” I said. “This is not our kind of place.”

He looked at me, saw my cold eyes, stepped out of line, and walked towards the car.

Not my first time

This was not the first “whites only” sign I saw. As a child, my parents took us…