B V O V
:
1 3
by Melanie Hemry
He didn't understand anything about destiny,
either. But Creflo knew about racism and bigotry.
He'd learned those lessons long before he reached
elementary school.
College Park, Ga., his hometown, had been split
into two sections for years. It was nice and tidy.
One section for white folks. One section for
Blacks.
For some reason, it was all right for
his mama—a Black woman—to cook
in the school's cafeteria. But it hadn't
been acceptable for her children to
learn to read in the same school.
Until now.
DATE
WITH
DESTINY
Seven-year-old Creflo Dollar took a deep breath before walking into his
second-grade classroom at Kathleen Mitchell Elementary School. A hush
fell over the room, followed by whispers and giggles.
Racial reconciliation wasn't a term that Creflo knew or understood.
Creflo was the first Black child ever admitted to
Kathleen Mitchell Elementary School. He was also
the first Black child many of his white classmates
had ever seen.
He tried not to take it personally.
But it seemed personal when every white face in
the school turned to stare at him. It seemed
personal when the other kids crowded
around him at recess and tried to rub
the color o„ the skin on his arms. It
seemed personal when they took turns
touching his hair with wide-eyed
curiosity.
In time, Creflo won friends at school.
