The Story of Charles Houston

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“A lawyer is either a social engineer, or a parasite on society.” (Eyes on the Prize, 1935) Charles Houston was an incredible lawyer, and taught a generation of black lawyers. Despite not being well known, Charles Houston was key in the eradication of segregation in schools. Listen as I share his story. Today is April 22, 1950. I’m having chest pain, and a hard time breathing. I know what’s coming. I know I’m going to have a heart attack. My last heart attack. I only wish I had a few more weeks, maybe a month or two, to finish my case, and to hold my son one more time. He is only five, but I have recorded my life, my love, for him to hear, though this fact won’t ease all his pain. I feel that the aforementioned case will start a new beginning, the beginning of the true war on segregation. I only hope it isn’t as long and bloody as World War I. But you don’t know what I’m talking about do you? I suppose I should start at the beginning, my birth. I was born on September 3, 1895 to my parents, William and Mary Hamilton Houston. My father was a lawyer. He ran a law firm catering to middle-class blacks, and he was a good at his job, so we got to live in a nicer neighborhood. My mother was a teacher, but she gave it up for the better pay of a hairdresser. Mama could easily pass for a white woman, but she was so proud of her race, she wouldn’t let anybody make that mistake. I’ve been an only child all my life. My parents wanted only the best for me, so I got into one of the best all-black high schools in the country, M. Street School. I worked hard, and was class valedictorian when I graduated. Unlike most black high schools, which were basically vocational schools, M. Street School was focused on getting you the college requirements.... ... middle of paper ... ...eing a lawyer, helping the NAACP so profusely, to name a few. He’s done so much, changed so many things in his life, even after his death, through his teachings. His life, his actions, only show that no matter what you’re facing, be it anything from racial prejudice to something as simple as a mean girl, you can face it and change it for the better. I feel as if he really didn’t find his true calling until he was in his twenties, and that makes me realize that I still have time to find what I’m meant for. After learning so much about him, I am surprised I this is the first time I am hearing his story. I don’t know what I plan on doing with my life, so I guess I just want my legacy to be that I’m a good person, and that I helped people. I want to be remembered as someone who accomplished things, or even just something. I want to be someone with a life worth living.

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