The hotel receptionist had proudly mentioned the national motto, “Unity is Strength.” Where was the unity? Was the strength that of arms and armaments? Was it understood that the words completely excluded any participation by Blacks? From my window the view offered a sense of ordered progress, of controlled growth, with no sign of the suppurating evils and the frustration and hatred they bred.
Those hurrying black figures seemed concerned only with getting to their jobs on time, neatly dressed, faces revealing nothing of their thoughts. Where did I hear that the black man was content with his lot? Those hurrying men and women were no different from myself except in experience of living in freedom.
At the hotel entrance, the car was waiting to take me to the airport.
About the Author
E. R. Braithwaite was born in British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1912. Educated at the City College of New York and the University of Cambridge, he served in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Braithwaite spent 1950 to 1960 in London, first as a schoolteacher and then as a welfare worker—experiences he describes in To Sir, With Love and Paid Servant, respectively. In 1966 he was appointed Guyana’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations. He has also held positions at the World Veterans Federation and UNESCO, was a professor of English at New York University’s Institute for Afro-American Affairs, and taught creative writing at Howard University. The author of five nonfiction books and two novels, he currently lives in Washington, DC.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 1975 by E. R. Braithwaite
Cover design by Mauricio Díaz
ISBN 978-1-4804-5741-6
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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