Perseverance — Page 8
8 – the story of al-haj Rashid ahmad american town for a while. We wanted no affiliation with him. Back in those days a black man could easily spend 30 years for any incident involving Whites, and Blacks had to be careful. HIGH SCHOOL I was an average student and I was supposed to graduate in the class of 1941, but I was expelled for gambling. The government had the NRA (the National Recovery Act) in which every student received $6 a month in exchange for a service within the school. I did well in Biology so my service was to keep the laboratory clean. However, I set up a gambling house within the lab. Since this was next to the Principal’s office, it was taken all the more personally by the Principal, Mr. Quinn. Ironically, it was Mr. Quinn who discovered the gambling operation. Mr. Quinn had simply walked in unsuspectingly while we were gambling. I was on the floor when he tapped me on the shoulder. Without looking up, I said in a crude manner, “Don’t touch me ’less you gonna fade this bet” [ Fade the bet meant cover the bet in street talk]. He responded, “No more school for you this year young man. See me in my office. ” It was only then that I realized it was Mr. Quinn. I was suspended and could not graduate. I would have to come back the next year, which I did. In an unrelated and unfortunate mishap, Mr. Quinn had gone hunting with his son and accidentally killed him. However, his other son became a doctor and was the very Dr. Quinn from East