Meet My Mother, One of the Strongest Women I Ever Knew
Meet my late mother, Alethia.
She was born in 1939 to a single mother who was blind and could not keep her. Her mother, Elizabeth, gave her away to her aunt, Charity.
This photo was taken circa 1956 at the height of segregation in the U.S.
The sweater she was wearing is turned on the opposite side with the buttons in the back instead of the front. She told me several times that that was the way girls wore their sweaters back then!
My mother graduated from Berkeley Training High School in 1956 (the writing you see on the picture is “With Love, Alethia C/O 56). During this time period, African-Americans were taught industrial classes like masonry, carpentry, etc.
She married in 1959 and had three children. She lived to be 75 years old. She passed away in July of 2014.
One of the first things I did the day she died was grab the family photo album. I am big on maintaining and keeping family history and photos! ~shared by @CrawfordKLewis
2 Comments
Liz Holmes says:
August 22, 2015 at 4:26 pm
I love this picture of your beautiful mom. My mother (Who also graduated in 1956) told me that her friends wore their sweaters the same way — they were in rural Oklahoma, but I’m sure they felt so trendy!
rachellacour says:
August 27, 2015 at 4:25 pm
Thanks for sharing such a sweet memory, Liz! There is something so special about gathering together to remember our loved ones and the tiny details of their lives, which in the end, are the most important things and help us celebrate our family legacy. 🙂