Forgotten History -- Acknowledged

Summary

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There was no collective agreement among the Memphis 13 to keep silent.

Still, the first-graders who were the first African-American students to be enrolled in all-white Memphis City Schools in 1961 grew up rarely, if ever, discussing the experience.

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Forgotten History -- Acknowledged

Not with their parents, their siblings, their spouses or children. They continued through school, never telling classmates or, later, colleagues at work about their sometimes painful memories .

On Oct. 3, it will be exactly half a century since these pint- sized warriors were sent to all-white Bruce, Gordon, Rozelle and Springdale elementary schools, time enough for them to reflect on their claim to history and how it has shaped their lives.

Some say now they wish someone had asked them to talk about that time.

"I hadn't said nothing about it because I felt like nobody really recognized what we did," said Harry Williams, who attended Bruce Elementary School for t...

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