Wiehler-+Fredrick's+Story

Because of formatting issues, I have attached a word document of my Raleigh story. __Fredrick’s Story__ It was 7:00 a.m. in the morning on Wednesday, February 10th 1960 when Fredrick Smith woke up.

“Fredrick Smith, you are getting up now!” his mother yelled.

“But mama I don’t feel so good today- my stomach is upset,” Fredrick moaned.

Unfortunately, Fredrick Smith had a book report due today for his Junior High Humanities teacher, Mrs. Vernier – he had not even started.

“Fredrick, as long as you are going to stay in bed today, I will let you stay home from school. If I find out that you left the house today…” his mother threatened.

Fredrick knew exactly what his mother’s threat meant. “Okay mama I will see you later tonight,” Fredrick said.

“Bye Son,” said his mother.

Fredrick’s mother was hesitant to leave him at home. The last time she left him, he ended up three miles down the street at a friend’s house.

When Fredrick’s mother was long gone from the house, he got up out of bed to go watch the new TV set that his grandparents had just given his mother for her birthday. When he turned on the television, the news channel came on. “I am here on Fayetteville St. near the location of where the black protestors were yesterday,” the reporter said. “Protesting what?” Fredrick thought. The reporter continued to say, “Last week, four young black men entered Woolworths in Greensboro. The four men refused to leave without being served at the lunch counter.” Fredrick wondered why the black men wanted to eat at Woolworths. Fredrick and his mother only went to Woolworths in Cameron Village to buy school supplies. “Yesterday, many black protestors came out to protest at the drug stores on Fayetteville St. and at Woolworths in Cameron Village,” said the reporter. The reporter continued, “We are expecting more to show up today in a repeat demonstration.” Fredrick became curious about the events that might happen today. Even though his mother told him not to leave the house, Fredrick decided to see the events for himself.

Fredrick went into his bedroom to get his blue jacket and black worn backpack. He went into the kitchen to grab an apple. As he made it into the living room to put on his white tennis shoes, he stopped just before he entered the living room. Fredrick thought, “Maybe I shouldn’t leave the house; mama told me not to go anywhere.” However, he made his way into the living room, and put on his shoes. He turned off the TV set and the lights, and headed for the front door. After Fredrick locked the front door, and sneaked by his neighbor, Ms. Phillips’s house, he ended up on the corner of Blount St. and Peace St. in Raleigh. Fredrick walked for quite a while until Peace St. turned into Clark Ave; he was finally close to Cameron Village.

Fredrick entered Cameron Village and sat on the nearest bench. He grabbed his apple from his backpack and devoured it. He was incredibly hungry. He heard a loud noise around the corner from where he was sitting. As he got up from the bench, he moved to the corner of a nearby building to see what the commotion was all about. He saw a line of men with signs in front of Woolworths; the police were nearby. From what he could see, all of the men seemed to be of college age. All of a sudden, he got a good glance at the men who were protesting. One of the men looked like his older brother, John. Fredrick moved to the adjacent building to get a better glimpse of the protestors. “It is John!” Fredrick shouted. He looked around to make sure no one heard his outburst. Fredrick thought, “Why is John outside of Woolworths when he should be in class.” John is a student at Shaw University.

Fredrick’s brother John is a senior majoring in Political Science. Fredrick remembered his brother arguing with his mother about being involved with a new movement. John had attended a Martin Luther King Jr. speech in Georgia some time ago. Fredrick’s mother warned John about getting “involved” in anti discriminatory protests.

John told his mother, “I can handle this; I am tired of how we are always treated so differently.”

“Well, I am just looking out for your future,” his mother said.

“My future does not mean anything, unless we are treated fairly,” John replied.

“If you are going to do this anyways, I want you to be careful,” said his mother. “The last thing I need is for you to be arrested.”

After the argument, John participated in other events within this new movement. However, John never did anything that would have gotten him arrested. John wanted to make sure his mother would not worry about him, and to avoid any further arguments.

Fredrick could not believe his eyes. There were men holding signs that read, “How do we get an invitation to lunch?”, and “Temporarily closed, why?” John was holding a sign that read, “Jim Crow must go.” Fredrick was completely confused. Throughout his life, he never sat with white individuals at a public restaurant, and never went to school with white boys. Fredrick had never really put too much thought into why he was separated from white people. In his life, he had learned to accept that things were the way they were. It was better to not question why white people and black people were kept separated. This was the first time Fredrick witnessed protestors.

All of a sudden, a few police officers moved around the protestors. And, a couple more police officers moved inside Woolworths. There were several students inside the store who were just standing in front of the lunch counter. Fredrick thought, “What are the police officers doing?” Soon after, one police officer waved his arm.

“Move in, men!” the police officer shouted.

John and several other students were arrested and taken away from Cameron Village property and Woolworths. Fredrick could not believe what he saw and became worried. Fredrick started running as fast as he could to get home. He had to tell his mother what happened, even if he would get in trouble. After Fredrick arrived at the house, his mother was not home yet. He paced back and forth in the hallway. He thought, “What should I do? Should I have followed the police cars?” Finally, his mother pulled into the driveway. Fredrick ran to the car and started to wave and shout.

“Mom, we have to go save John!” Fredrick shouted.

“Wait, what are you talking about Fredrick!” his mother said.

“I saw John today get arrested by white officers.” Fredrick said.

“I can’t believe this, I told him not to do this!” his mother shouted.

After Fredrick confronted his mother with the horrible news, his mother went to the police station to release John. When they came back home, John was completely apologetic. He said he was sorry to make his mother worry. He also mentioned that this was the first time he ever heard of protestors being arrested in a sit in. John was arrested for trespassing in Cameron Village.

After his apologies, John sat down at the kitchen table and looked out of the kitchen window in remorse.

“All I ever wanted to do was see my younger brother have a better life ahead of him” John said. “I want Fredrick to be treated equally and fairly when he gets older.”

“Well John, I am proud of you for standing up for what you believe,” his mother said. “Your brother will be able to look up to you as his mentor.”

Fredrick looked over at John and put his hand on his shoulder.

“What are trying to do John?” Fredrick said.

“Well lil’ bro it is a long story…” John expressed.

“Before you two get started, Fredrick, you still lose your privileges for the rest of the week for leaving the house,” his mother stated firmly.

John and Fredrick talked at the kitchen table until midnight that night. John mentioned the Montgomery bus boycott, Martin Luther King Jr., and other prominent figures in the movement. Also, he expressed the purpose of the movement, and the goals of the movement. Fredrick then started to connect all of the pieces. They hoped that one day everyone will be treated equally. Fredrick went to bed that night wondering how he could make a difference – just like his older brother.

__Instructional Idea__: To begin with, this assignment would be a great way to introduce the civil rights movement in North Carolina. The students can create a story from the perspective of a young adolescent. I would introduce this activity by having a mini- lesson, and review on dialogue and/ or writing fictional stories. Furthermore, I would have the students practice writing dialogue by talking with a partner and writing what he/she says in story format. Also, the students will be asked to explain the necessary components of writing fictional stories. Next, as an example, I would read a story that follows specifically with the civil rights movement in Raleigh history. I would ensure that the story’s content would be obvious. The Raleigh story activity would be ongoing throughout the class unit. Additionally, the finished stories would be the assessment for the unit. In order to determine if the students learned the material, they will be asked to write a reflection letter. In the reflection letter, the students would be asked to give the resources they used to complete the story, as well as, their inspiration for writing the particular story. I would allow several days for revision, and peer review of the story. Finally, the students would be given an option to bind their stories, and display them in the school library for students, parents, and teacher’s to view.

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