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WHITBY FREE PRESS, Thursday, May 4, 1972, Page 5 It's a long way from Mississippi....0 -Special to the Free Press' Couldn't Happen Here -Or Could It? Prologue We in Canada are cond itioned to a I I sorts of news reports of violence between black and white in the U. S. Bec a use the extremists usually make theheadlines, itbecomeseasy to think that every American Negro is out for r e v e n g e on the white establiishment whichmay have abused him at one time or another in his life. Most middle classwhites in our country and in the United States take for granted decent 1 i v ing accommodation wi th plumbing, basic appliances, food and clothing. To many negroes from the deep south or the backwoods of our own Nova Scotie, aflushing toilet is both a nov- el ty and a luxury. Often these negroes "become white" in the e y es of their friends at home when they leave the poverty line for a pi ace in the so-called middle class. In a f rank interview with successful bi acdk model Marie Mason, Canadian p h o t o g r apher Terry Sims found out how one American Negro feels about getting out and 'making it to the top'. Interview S I M S: "T h a t doesn't sound 1ike an entirely De.troit accent, Marie - where were you born?" MASON: 'Greenville, Mississippi, not far from Wayout, Mississippi." SIMS: "Is Wayout a place?" M ASON: "I don't know where it is on the map, but I know for a fact that my br o ther was born'there and it can be located on his birth certificate. 'r SIMS: "Are you the oldest in the fam- ily ?" MASON: "The third of nine." S I MS: "How old were you when you came to Detroit'?" MASON: "About six. My mother said I u se d to hold her dress tail and fol- 1 o w h e r w h e n s he picked cotton. I can't remember this, I'm a Detroiter. Actually we lived in a shack in Miss- i s s i ppi and I mean, we were so poor that even the toothbrush was commun- al . One day the big winds demolished our shack and the whole family camped i n a fr eight car o n a rail siding. I remember going down on my knees and saying, "Lord, send an angel down ta h eîIp t hisp o or i ttie nigger girl. " W e I I , instead He sent an engineer - t he t r ainpulled out andwe ended in Detroit. " SIMS: "Your sense of humour i s show- i ng - I g ue ss w hat you just said is basically true?" MASON: "Oh wow - yes, basically. " S IMS: "What grade did you finish in school ? " housing, only surviving period in the ghettos. About five or six of us kids use d to run behind the bread trucks and ask the man for free goodies. He'd g i ve us some and then we'd catch him again a few blocks down in the hope of getting treated again. It went fine for a w hile until the driver really looked atus closely andrealized that all niggers didn't look alike..." SIMS: "I take it by this you were ai- so short of food, clothing etc. Would you say it would have been equally dif- ficult for a poor white family, or were the conditions part of raclalpre- judice?" Terrence B. H. Sims photographers copyright ariticle place called "White School". ' S I M S: "W e r e t h e re any problems being bi ack and going to school in Detroit?" MASON: "No, the only problem was being white and going to school! " SIMS: "Would you explain that?" MASON: "Mostblacks are oblivious to t h e ir s u r roundings. At school they either learn or they don't - whichever the y de c ide. We weren't concerned about the whîtes stepping on our toes but they were sure concerned about us stepping on theirs. " SIMS: "During your childhood, was it d i f ficult for a black family to get de- cent housing?" MASON: "it wasn't a case of decent MASON: "I donit know. I have no views on that as I've never been white - no t eve n a poor one! 1lwasn't ex- p os ed to whites in any large quantity un t i I i left high school, I got a small bi t of pleasureou t of being one of a f e w blacks in a white majority when I s tarted work. Even when I was young I neve r w ant ed to do physical work such as wai tress, nurse or production fa ctory work - I wanted to work from the mind. " SIMS: "Blacks that have made a name for th em selves such as Flip Wilson, D i ana Ro s s and Charlie Pripie are alsoadmiredevenby white people who are prejudiced in everyday life. This applies to successful models as well. W ou Id y ou c on si der yourself pre- judiced? " MASON: "Againstwhites, no. Against b i ack s, no. On iy against niggers. The ones who want to fight and cause d issention - and they come in al1 col- ours including black and white. " vÎASON: "I graduatedfromCass Tech. a n d t h e n a b u s iness administration :ourse from which I also graduated. " 3IMS: "So you ended up with a fairly jood education. \Vere the schools in- egrated?" AASON: "Yes, I still think it's funny :hat they bussed us black kids to a purchased from the following authorized sales outlets. A&T Motors Ltd. Bell Drafting & McTeague Electric Ltd Reproductions Ltd. Victoria & Grey Trust Broughton Motors Chamolain Printers Ltd. Whitby Cleaners Ltd It