Equity

by Mary Ann Taylor, on equity

1956, Atlanta, Three Sisters Department Store

A silver-haired white woman, wearing gloves,

Hat, matching shoes and purse,

Asked a thirsty Black boy, a 5-year-old

Whose mother had forgotten the collapsible cup

Black mothers used for their children

When the correct fountain didn’t exist,

“Baby, you want a drink?” He nodded.

Without asking his mother,

She scooped up this little boy who

Drank from the forbidden fountain,

Surprised.

A rule broken, a heart healed

For the moment, not forever—

Other injustices and slights would come—

But left his heart ready for goodness,

Willing to share the story—with

“Miles to go before we sleep.”