The videos and text we have from many years ago are a portal into the past. They give us an idea of what people went through, what times were like, and how we can grow as a society in our modern times. One Florida grandson is now showing video footage that his grandmother shot back in 1963 as a way to document life. As a black woman growing up during segregated America, this footage truly gives us a glimpse into a time many of us never experienced.
Jay (@jaykinjournal) shared a TikTok video titled, “Let me show you footage of home life in segregated America in 1963.” His grandmother filmed the footage and has since added audio as a way to share stories from her time in the 60s living in a black family. She begins by showing her entire family and says that she lived in an all-black neighborhood. There weren’t any white people living there, which is to be expected since segregation was a very real thing. She went on to add, “You would mostly see people of your own color wherever you would go.”
Jay’s grandmother then shares a story over the footage of her family. She said that she was 14 and got on the bus where she was expected to sit in the back. However, since the bus was empty, she sat right in the front. At one of the bus stops, a white man boarded the bus. The white man stood over Jay’s grandmother and her friends, telling them he wouldn’t sit behind them. She said, “The bus driver stopped the bus and said you girls gonna have to get up. You have to move to the back.” He told them if they didn’t move, he would kick them off the bus. They refused to move and he kicked them off. It makes your heart sink knowing what black Americans went through during those dark times in our history. Remember: Segregated American was never easy on black families.
What should make this even more heartbreaking is that this was only in 1963, which doesn’t even feel that long ago. As one commenter pointed out on Jay’s video, “That was only 62 years ago, them folks act like it was so long ago and it wasn’t.” Another person pointed out, “Trump was 17 in 1963.”
Since the video footage release, Jay has shared several other videos of his grandmother’s special footage. He even posted a video with her where he speaks one-on-one with her. She’s the sweetest woman and should be so honored that her historian efforts are so appreciated by many. She shares footage of Silver Springs, Disney World’s opening, and more. One commenter said, “Your Granny is a historian and archivist. Kudos to her for having the thought to document life from that time period, especially now with the impending threat of erasure of BLK American history. First person source are always the best to combat false narratives.” This is so true. It’s so good to see a grandson appreciate his grandmother’s passions and share them with the world!
