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Author: NWHS
Crossing Boundaries
Part 1
Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957
Munroe Household
“Perhaps we should reconsider,” N’Dare Munroe stated worriedly to her husband David. “She’s only a girl David perhaps this is too much for her,” she continued in a soft tone as she looked at her loving husband across the bed.
“We have to make a stand N’Dare and Ororo is not a girl she is almost eighteen and this was as much her decision as it was ours,” he stated reassuringly. Pulling his worry wart of a wife into his embrace he said, “Things will never change for us in this country if we are too afraid to demand our rights and take what is rightfully ours.”
“I know David but this is our daughter we are talking about and you know how crazy it has been around here ever since the Supreme Court made the decision to end segregation and integrate all public places. You know people around these parts don’t take kindly to northerners poking their noses in their business especially when it comes to Negroes,” she complained.
“We should have never settled here, we should have moved back to Kenya instead of allowing our daughter to be subjected to America’s racism and hatred.”
She started to shake remembering Klan invading their tranquil neighborhood spewing filth from their mouths, attacking men and women alike and setting crosses ablaze on lawns. Many a young male had gone missing throughout the years only to be found dead body beaten and mangled beyond even a mother’s recognition. Or some were simply never heard from again. Everyone knew what had happened but local officials didn’t care; in fact, many of them donned the white hood themselves cloaked in the uniform of terror bringers and their own sick twisted version of Christianity and the white man’s burden.
No N’Dare remembered it all and suddenly the words to Billie Holiday’s heart wrenching 1939 song Strange Fruit came to mind and N’Dare quietly sobbed for all those who had suffered from the injustices that was this conflicted hypocritical nation called America whose people proudly proclaimed it the land of liberty but from the start denied Africans, Native Americans, and women that very basic of human and civil right.
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
“It will be all right sweetheart I won’t allow anyone to hurt our dear Ororo. I will be right by her side when she enters that school for the first time and I dare anyone to try to stop her from getting the same education as any other child, Negro or white.” David rubbed his wife’s hair lovingly until her tears slowed and eventually stopped.
“She’ll be fine N’Dare she is intelligent and brave beyond her years. It won’t be easy for sure but our daughter has the right stuff to integrate that school tomorrow come hell or high water. Those nine kids N’Dare are a symbol of the changing tide of this nation and this tide can’t be turned around.”
Howlett Household
“He’s not going to that school tomorrow,” raged James Howlett Sr. to his wife Mary. “If those kids are going to be there then ours will not. Those damn carpetbaggers,” he continued to rage face red as the devil and eyes just as dangerous and dark.
“Calm down James before you wake Logan,” Mary gently soothed who over the years came to know her husband’s temper quite well but could never quite manage to rid herself of the fear it always invoked in her.
“Don’t tell me to calm down woman, this country is going to hell in a hand basket all because of some bleeding heart liberals and a bunch of uppity Negroes from the NAACP,” he hailed. “That damn Thurgood Marshall should be taken out back and…”
“Don’t you dare finish that statement,” Mary interrupted finally pushed to the limit. “You wait right there James with that kind of talk. There is no place in this house for such vile sentiments and I don’t want our son thinking that it is okay to hate or hurt someone simply because they are of a different race.”
James glared at his wife who in the twenty years they’ve been married had only contradicted him once before. While James was a short man his bullish personality made him seem so much bigger. He was aggressive for sure and loud and intimidating even when it came to his wife and family.
His wife on the other hand was a petite woman who always looked frail and sickly. She was quiet by nature and very loving and giving. People often wondered what she saw in James for they appeared to be polar opposites. She was soft where he hard, she demure and he boisterous, she bright and well you get the point. By all counts this beautiful woman with raven hair had made the worse decision when she married the rough and gruff James Howlett.
But there was more to the marriage than what people saw and more to Mary than outsiders would ever believe. For within that small frame of a woman slept a lioness. Now this lioness would slumber deep and long and rarely lifted its’ head to sniff the wind but when it did it awoke with such a roar that it brought all within ear shot to a blood curdling halt. And James Howlett Sr. had just awakened the sleeping lion.
“You have lived in this backwater town too long James. This isn’t you talking and I will hear no more of it. I will drive Logan to school tomorrow as I do everyday and you will not alter his school schedule one tiny bit. I didn’t raise him to be a bigot James and I won’t have you turning him into one because you can’t see past your own white privilege.”
James scowled but knew better than to say anything when his wife was like this. She had spoken and for all intents and purposes the conversation was over evident by his wife’s face turned away from him and back to her needle point. He huffed his defeat and went up stairs wondering how such a tiny woman could turn him into a sack full of jelly.
Part 2
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Brown v. Board of Education decision on May 17, 1954. The decision declared all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and it called for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation. After the decision the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) attempted to register black students in previously all-white schools in cities throughout the South. In Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas, the Little Rock School Board agreed to comply with the high court's ruling. Virgil Blossom, the Superintendent of Schools, submitted a plan of gradual integration to the school board on May 24, 1955, which the board unanimously approved. The plan would be implemented during the 1958 school year, which would begin in September 1957. By 1957, the NAACP had registered nine black students to attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High, selected on the criteria of excellent grades and attendance. They nicknamed the brave trailblazers the "Little Rock Nine."
Several segregationist councils threatened to hold protests at Central High and physically block the black students from entering the school. Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to support the segregationists on September 4, 1957. The sight of a line of soldiers blocking nine black students from attending high school made national headlines and polarized the city. Regarding the accompanying crowd, one of the nine black students, Elizabeth Eckford, recalled "they moved closer and closer". "Somebody started yelling, 'Lynch her! Lynch her!' I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the crowd — someone who maybe could help. I looked into the face of an old woman and it seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me."
On September 9, "The Council of Church Women" issued a statement condemning the governor's deployment of soldiers to the high school and called for a citywide prayer service on September 12. Even President Dwight Eisenhower attempted to de-escalate the situation and summoned Governor Faubus to meet him. The President warned the governor not to interfere with the Supreme Court's ruling.
By the end of September 1957, the nine were admitted to Little Rock Central High under the protection of the U.S. Army (and later the Arkansas National Guard), but they were still subjected to a year of physical and verbal abuse (spitting on them, calling them names) by many of the white students. Melba Pattillo had acid thrown into her eyes. Another one of the students, Minnijean Brown, was verbally confronted and abused. She said "I was one of the kids 'approved' by the school officials. We were told we would have to take a lot and were warned not to fight back if anything happened. One girl ran up to me and said, 'I'm so glad you’re here. Won’t you go to lunch with me today?' I never saw her again." Minnijean Brown was also taunted by members of a group of white, male students in December 1957 in the school cafeteria during lunch. She dropped her lunch – a bowl of chili – onto the boys and was suspended for six days. Two months later, after more confrontations, Brown was suspended for the rest of the school year. She transferred to New Lincoln High School in New York City (Wikepedia).
Minnijean was Ororo’s best friend and she missed her terribly when her family moved and she felt her absence even more so during the school day when a friendly face was hard to find in the sea of white frowns. There was one exception however to the rule she noted shyly as she looked up from her science text to see Logan smiling at her.
She had noticed him looking at her before in class and he had a nice face she thought especially when he smiled like he was doing now. She looked away as soon as their eyes met knowing how such a look could be interpreted. The bell rang for lunch and Ororo moved quickly from her seat to the crowded hallway trying to avoid the inevitable.
He finally caught up with her in the courtyard. “Damn you’re fast for a girl,” Logan breathed as he saddled up next to Ororo who sat under a tree eating her lunch.
“I didn’t know you were following me.” She lied hoping he would abandon his pursuit as she weaved through the throng of students.
“I’ve been trying to get your attention for weeks but you always manage to slip away before I have a chance to say hello,” he said relieved that he had finally caught the elusive specimen.
“Why?” she asked in a quiet tone.
“What do you mean?”
“Why have you been trying to get my attention?” Ororo asked again for no white student had sought to utter one kind word since she and the other African American students started attending classes.
“Why not?” Logan countered naively.
“Because… because of who I am and who you are,” she finally stammered out.
“That is exactly the reason why I want to speak with you. You’re a girl and I’m a boy what better reason do I need than that?”
She looked at him quizzically not quite sure if he was just that dense or whether he was making fun of her. Catching her look he smiled and said, “I don’t care that you are a Negro and I am white Ororo. I think you are a nice person and my mother didn’t raise me to discriminate against someone simply because of the color of their skin.” He kept to himself that he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and that he had been secretly watching her for weeks trying to build up the confidence to approach her.
“Well you may not be but others are.”
“I didn’t know you were the kind of girl that cared what others think.”
“You don’t know me well enough to say what kind of girl I am,” she asserted standing and walking away from him.
For the next month Logan followed Ororo to her secluded spot under the big oak tree for lunch. For the first week she basically ignored him but eventually slowly they started talking more and more until they were having full blown conversations. Logan realized that under that shy quiet and reserved demeanor that Ororo had a great sense of humor and was smarter than any girl he had ever met. Hell if he was being totally honest she was smarter than any of the white students at Central High as were all the other black students who worked doubly hard to prove that they belonged their.
For Ororo’s part she discovered that Logan was more than the tough athlete he was known as but had a soft side once the layers were peeled back and exposed. He was gentle and kind and unlike any white person, male or female, she had ever met once moving to Little Rock seven years ago.
They spent weeks under that tree getting to know each other oblivious to the disapproving eyes that stalked their every move.
“Well, well if it isn’t Logan and his chocolate tart,” mocked Jack as he approached the two.
Standing angrily Logan growled, “You betta watch your mouth Jack before you find yourself on the receiving end of an ass whippin.”
“Look Logan I understand,” Jack said looking at Ororo and smiling, “she’s a real fine piece of work. I don’t blame you for sniffing after a sweet piece of colored ass like that. Just promise me one thing, after you’re finished with her send her my way so I can show her what it really means to be with a white man.”
By the time Jack had finished the insulting sentence Logan had grabbed the taller teen by the waist and driven him fiercely into the ground. Jack an eighteen year old senior who stood nearly six feet tall was no match for the five foot five Logan when he was angry. Logan continued to pound Jack into a bloody mess ignoring Ororo’s attempts to pull him off of the screaming boy. Finally two security guards arrived on the scene hefting the snarling Logan off of Jack.
“Listen Mr. and Mrs. Howlett fighting here at Central High will not be tolerated,” the principal said as he glimpsed Logan sitting in the corner of the office.
“We understand Mr. Rutledge, Logan will be dealt with as soon as we get home,” reassured an angry James Howlett who didn’t appreciate having to leave his job to come to his son’s school and for what-over his son’s misplaced affections for a Negro girl.
“This will not happen again and we appreciate your discretion in the manner Mr. Rutledge.” Gathering his family the Howlett’s left the office catching the tail end of the principal’s murmurings.
“That’s all I need white boys fighting over the colored girls. What is this world coming to when a white boy would prefer the company of a colored to that of his own? Damn that Yankee court!”
As James walked briskly ahead Mary Howlett laced her fingers into her sons much larger hand and said quietly, “You did the right thing son and don’t let anyone tell you differently,” and winked at him.
Part 3
“You shouldn’t be here Logan,” Ororo whispered.
“Well you won’t speak to me in class and I haven’t seen you under the tree during lunch since the fight. You’ve been avoiding me and it’s not fair. I didn’t do anything wrong,” he continued to explain.
“You still shouldn’t be here. What if someone sees you? You’ll get us both in trouble,” she said looking down the street nervously.
“Well you left me no choice Ororo but to come to your home. I’ve never been in this part of town before,” he said looking around approvingly. “It’s nice,” he concluded with a nod of his head.
“Did you think otherwise?” she huffed. “Do you think just because we’re Negroes that we live like animals Logan?”
“That’s not fair and you know it. I’m not like Jack and the others. I’m your friend Ororo,” he said gently pulling her hand into his. “I was hoping we could be more.”
“That’s not possible Logan,” Ororo blurted quickly removing her hand from his and pulling him into her house before they were seen.
“Because I’m white and you’re black,” he asked annoyed after she closed the door behind them.
“Yes Logan. How can you not understand how absolutely crazy this is? People will talk and probably do more than that if they knew.”
“Are you worried about our parents because if you are my mother will be okay with it and my dad… well my dad will just have to get the hell over it which he will as long as my mother is on my side.”
“I’m not talking about our parents Logan but everyone else. People like Jack and all those kids at school and their parents who fought so hard to keep me and my friends out of Central High.”
“To hell with those people Ororo, they don’t matter in the slightest to us.”
He pulled her closer wishing that this one time he was taller. Logan entwined his right hand into Ororo’s hair and gently pulled her head to his and softly ran his lips across hers testing the waters. She didn’t say no or pull back so he kissed her fully slowly tasting her soft lips and inhaling her scent that reminded him of spring showers.
The kiss was short but nice as far as first kisses go but it was enough to convince Logan more than ever that he wasn’t going to let narrow minded racists of the world tell him who he could or could not be with. He liked Ororo and from her response to his kiss she obviously liked him as more than a lunch buddy or science lab partner. There was definitely something there in the brief kiss, a spark that he wanted to explore and damn everyone else.
“This won’t work,” she complained softly forcing herself to ignore the feelings his lips had ignited in her.
“It will. It won’t be easy for sure but it will work. Hell, do you think we’re the first interracial couple in this country.”
“We’re not a couple,” Ororo said shaking her head as she walked into the living room taking a seat on the couch.
“We’ve spent the last few months getting to know each other. We’ve eaten lunch together Monday through Friday without fail and have spent hours just talking and laughing. I know your favorite color, food, book, author, musician, dreams, and fears. And you know more about me than guys I’ve known since kindergarten. If that’s not a couple then I don’t know what is,” he argued taking a seat next to her.
“After graduation we’ll be moving to Washington, D.C. so I can attend Howard University. My mother hates it here and dad has already secured a photography job there with one of the local newspapers. With her teaching degree my mother will be able to find work in either the D.C. or Baltimore City public school system. So, you see Logan there can be nothing more between us than what he have right now.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily Ororo,” Logan said smiling as he took her long fingers in his hand. “I don’t know what I’m going to do after high school but I can plan for my future in D.C. the same as I can here. Besides we have the entire summer to work things out. I hear D.C is nice and it is close to Virginia and Baltimore. I’ve never been outside of Little Rock and I think it is high time that I rectified that oversight. My father promised me a car after graduation as long as I keep my nose clean and don’t get it anymore fights.”
“You can’t pull up stakes just for me Logan.”
“Why not? There are worse things a man can do than follow a beautiful young woman with the hopes of capturing her heart. Besides, the University of Maryland has offered me a wrestling scholarship and now that I know you won’t be too far away I may have to reconsider their offer,” he said leaning in to claim a second kiss from her.
“If it doesn’t work out let it be because we aren’t meant to be together not because society says we shouldn’t.”
She sighed and Logan knew it was a sigh of concession. “You are right Logan,” Ororo admitted resigned to the fact that nothing she could say would dissuade him. Logan was stubborn for sure and for once she was pleased that he was.
“My parents will be home from work in about an hour so you might as well stay for dinner and meet them.”
Logan couldn’t help but smile at the thought of meeting Ororo’s parents and being able for once to share his feelings for her openly. Then a wicked thought came across his typical teenage male mind and he unexpectedly claimed her lips again in a passionate all consuming kiss and said breathlessly, “that means we have an hour to fool around.”
Ororo giggled her consent before giving in to the attentions Logan was paying to her neck with his exploratory lips and tongue. Logan was indeed unlike any boy Ororo thought she would ever be attracted to or allow to do what he was currently doing to her but he was protective, honest, strong, and sincere and how could any young woman not be attracted to that no matter what society dictated.
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Author’s Note: This story was written in response to a challenge I initiated on the Storm Lovers Community Forum in which it was suggested that Storm fanfic writers take the challenge to write about an Ororo pairing they ordinarily wouldn’t write about. I selected the Logan/Ororo pairing because that is one of the last pairings I would ever think or care to write about. There are already so many stories about these two that they just don’t interest me as a couple which is the reason why I wrote the above story. I like the characters individually and as friends but just don’t see the romantic side the way so many others do but in spite of that I tried to create a reasonably plausible alternate universe story that also addressed an important time in U.S. History.
2007 marked the 50 year anniversary of the integration of Little Rock High School and while five decades have gone by the community as well as the school is just as segregated as ever in terms of race and economics. The Little Rock Nine were indeed trailblazers and put themselves on the line for those that would follow and in some small way I wanted to pay homage to their bravery and resilience. The Little Rock Nine:
Thelma Mothershed, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, Melba Beals, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, and Ernest Green |
