Rev Diane Bradshaw

The Girl from 21 Wakullah Street Rev Diane Bradshaw

The Girl From 21 Wakullah Street is a memoir about the life of a family of six children with a single-parent mother living, loving, and making the best of their situation. Diane and her family grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts during the 30's and 40's which was Depression and War Time. Roxbury in the 30's was a poor neighborhood, but a happy one. There were many children to play with and people were happy with what they had. We never felt poor. We were just like everyone else in the neighborhood. The education system was outstanding. Parents made sure their children attended school and did their homework. The Truant Officer was very present if anyone tried to play hooky. We had a beautiful Park, Washington Park, and we played there every day. We played jumprope on the streets and had 15 kids playing with us, even some boys. If anyone had a disagreement, there was always someone to play with. We were part of a neighborhood and felt like we belonged. She and her family were very active in our church, The Salvation Army. Things changed in the 40's because of the "Second Great Migration." Many hundreds of Negroes were brought up from the south to live in Roxbury. They were promised housing and jobs in the nearby factories. We who were already in Roxbury fought against these newcomers. They were not welcome at all in our neighborhood and yet, here they were. All of a sudden, we were all living on a battleground. Why couldn't we have welcomed the newcomers? I'm sure they were not happy about coming to "Yankee Land." They left their whole lives behind to try to make a living for their families. All we who were already in Roxbury, including the negroes living there, did not welcome the newcomers and because of that, everything changed for the worse.