This is based on a true story

She was a middle-age white woman, short and fat with ashy looking red skin. She always chewed tobacco and wore blue denim overhauls like men. Whenever it was hot she wore a large brim straw hat, and would come driving slowly down East Street, where we lived, looking for black folks to buy her goods.

She always came on Saturday in the afternoon, driving that beat-up old black truck. She usually got out and mingled with the people she served, but she didn't this particular day. Perhaps it was too hot! It felt like a hundred degrees outside, even under a shade tree.

She stopped and parked her truck and sat there. Finally she said, Howdy! You gals planning on buying some goods 'taday? Git up and come on down off that porch and see what I got here. I got fresh buttermilk, butter, country molasses, eggs, collards and she went on and onàI even got 'tators." [potatoes]

Fine and decent Colored women they were, sitting there on the front porch drinking glasses of ice-cold lemonade, and very much aware of "Southern hospitality" but they weren't offering her any of it. "I said for yawl to come on out here, if yawl wants to buy someum.

Still there was no response from the women sitting on the porch. "Its hot out here! I aint gittin' out of this here truck waiting' on yawl."

"Yawl niggers better git up off yawl's asses and come git these tators, cause I aint bringing yawl nothing taday." Well, Jesus, the three Colored ladies sat there looked at each other and smiled. Ms. Gladys said, "Nora did you hear what that old Cracker called us? Yes, I did. And she responded by saying, no thank you, we don't want any potatoes today. And we know that you won't be getting any ice-cold lemonade either. Not today! So just start up your old jalopy and drive the hell on away.

The Cunningham's are my mother Nora-Cunningham Belton and grandmother, Mary. Mrs. Gladys Wilkes was our next door neighbor. They were very insulted by the behavior of this woman.

The incident took place in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the 1950's.