1057 words (4 minute read)
by DB

Chapters 2 and 3 Excerpt

Chapter 2

William Whitehead

Bill Whitehead was kept in the dark about his true parentage as a child. But even if he had known from the beginning, it wouldn’t have mattered. George Whitehead was his father. Bill loved him as his father just as he loved his mother Daisy and all she provided for her family.

Born William McKinley Whitehead on July 27, 1933 in Helena, Arkansas, Bill would later become the oldest brother of six other siblings. He was the voice of reason and assurance to his younger brothers and sisters.

Bill was courageous, inspiring, and brave. His bravery was what led to his inner strength, and would help save lives.

Such an occurrence happened in 1944. At the mere age of eleven, Bill fell into trouble. His younger brother, George Jr., was threatened by a white child and his friends. The boys wanted to beat up George for being in their territory.

"I’ll protect you," Bill declared to his younger brother.

And he did.

He stood up to the boys to defend George Jr.

In the segregated South of the 1940’s, Bill’s heroism was, unfortunately, a cause for him to fear for his life. The family of the boys, as well as some of the community in the area, threatened to lynch the eleven year old.

To save their son, George and Daisy packed up their belongings and moved the family from Arkansas. The Whiteheads stayed months in Mississippi with maternal grandfather T.J. Miles. By 1945, they arrived in Richmond, California.

Watts, California became their permanent home a year later. Bill, in the meantime, resumed being the inspiring older brother. Bill Whitehead grew from a cute kid into a handsome teenager. His brown skin was smooth, his face sculpted by high cheekbones, and his gaped smile added charm.

...

Chapter 3

Corean Burns (Whitehead)

"I got everything I wanted, except for my white shoes—which is why we came here," said Corean Burns, mostly to herself as her adult daughter walked beside her.

Corean’s seventeen year old granddaughter was behind them. The three of them were shopping in a department store. The teen laughed at the contradictory statement as did her mother. Corean joined them as she thought about how silly she sounded.

My grandmommy is too funny. Her granddaughter thought, looking at the shopping basket they had full of unnecessary items.

The teen fell back behind them a little more, tuning out the two as they began fussing between each other. It wasn’t anything new. Corean Burns was headstrong, and her granddaughter couldn’t ever imagine her being anything other than that.

Corean Burns (maiden name Whitehead) was born on May 29, 1936 in the same state as William. She was the third child born from Daisy Whitehead. After Corean was born, Daisy had a way of having her daughter too close emotionally. She had become overprotective of her.

Daisy seemed to treat Corean differently from her youngest daughter, Pearlie. As a child, Corean didn’t understand why her mother acted this way with her. The answer came in the form of an infant named Katherine.

Katherine was Daisy’s second born and first daughter. Katherine was sickly and later died in infancy. This traumatic and life-changing event was too much for the no-nonsense woman. It shattered the comfort of normalcy and was also kept in the dark for the next generation.

Daisy’s attitude with Corean caused the girl to be more aware and more skittish.

Corean was an immaculate girl with caramel skin, a little face, and round, brown eyes. She appeared to resemble her mother, although Corean argued that her sister Pearlie looked more their mother.

Growing up, the now oldest daughter took pleasure in playing with her cousins. One of her favorite games had been hide and seek. She loved finding new hiding places. She wanted her cousins to have a difficult time locating her.

On one play date, some of her cousins innocently locked her in a dusty trunk during one of their more adventurous games. Corean remained trapped in the dark trunk with unidentified bugs crawling around her.

She didn’t know how long she was in the trunk, but eventually her other cousins opened the wooden crate to release her.

“We won! We won!” They shouted in triumph and glee.

Corean disregarded their victory and had jumped out of the trunk. The girl then told her cousins that she didn’t appreciate how they had hidden her. Her cousins continued to celebrate, unaware of the effect of her being locked in a trunk would do.

From that day onward, Corean was wary of tight spaces and developed claustrophobia. Her fear sometimes would work against her, especially during times where she felt she had to hide.


“Corean, where are you?”

The five year old heard her mother’s voice and was scared. She knew Daisy was upset with her. She also knew that if her mother found her she would get a spanking. Corean wasn’t sure what she had done, but it had been enough to cause the anger of the usually mild-mannered Daisy Whitehead.

To avoid the oncoming punishment, Corean ran into another room. There was a dresser on the far wall, its bottom opened. The young child decided to quickly hide in the bottom drawer, huddling in a fetal position.

She shut her eyes as her mother yelled out for her once again, her body tense with both the thought of punishment and her fear of tight spaces.

Daisy’s footsteps echoed and her shadow grew from the hall to linger in the doorway. Corean was sure that her mother could see her from the angle she was standing. The five year old figured Daisy would demand that she get out of the bottom drawer.

Surprisingly, the Whitehead matriarch sauntered passed the opened doorway.

Corean never understood why her mother didn’t catch her. It was clear that anyone from the room would’ve been able to see her crouched in the drawer.

It was a question that would stick with Corean throughout adulthood.

...