Integration

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The Age of Integration

A few weeks ago, I learned that at one time in the not-too-distant past, there were essentially two YMCAs in Red Bank – a "white" Y and a "colored" Y. The "colored" Y, also known as the Black Y or the Westside Y, was formed in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and continued in existence until 1958. Dr. James W. Parker Sr. was instrumental in the establishment of the Westside Y, which functioned as a hub of black Red Bank. This segregated YMCA was not just a local phenomenon, it was characteristic of the national YMCA movement, and was reflective of the legacy of segregation prevalent in U.S. society at the time. Black leaders Dr. Martin Luther King, Andrew Young, and Vernon Jordan all participated at a "colored" YMCA in Atlanta, the Butler Street Y. It is clear that even though the "colored" YMCAs were born of our country’s legacy of racism, these institutions played a role in nurturing productive citizens and leaders in the black community.

In 1946, the national YMCA decided to end its practice of segregating YMCA members on the basis of race. Then in 1954, the Brown vs. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court withdrew the legal basis for segregation in the larger society. In 1958, the Red Bank Westside Y closed its doors and was folded into The Community YMCA. The era of integration had arrived, both in the country and in the Red Bank community.

During this same period, as a kid growing up in Flint, Michigan, I witnessed the transition of my own community from the segregated era to the "integrated" era. In fact, as a 12 year-old, I found myself participating in an historic event in my town. At that time, a large group of civil rights activists staged a sleep-in on the lawn of the Flint city hall to advocate for a fair-housing ordinance, and I was right in the thick of the action. Until that time, there were many neighborhoods in Flint that blacks were precluded from living in. The fair housing ordinance would make this practice illegal. Largely as a result of the sleep-in, the council passed the fair-housing ordinance, the first of its kind in the country. The era of integration had arrived in Flint.

I left Flint in 1973 to attend the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. My arrival at U of M followed a period of great tumult there, as blacks and others sought to integrate the University and make it more hospitable to black students. In 1976, I graduated from the University of Michigan and arrived in New Jersey to join the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Holmdel. My arrival at Bell Labs coincided with the arrival of the first wave of talented black scientists and administrators, men and women who were recruited from all over the world. Bell Labs was making its own transition from its segregated past to its multi-cultural future. It was a heady time, and it seemed that the age of integration held unlimited promise and excitement.

On a hot Sunday afternoon in August of 1976, shortly after my arrival in New Jersey, I was driving my car down Shrewsbury Avenue. My windows were down, and as I passed the corner of Shrewsbury and (what was then) West Bergen, I heard beautiful gospel music emanating from Shrewsbury Avenue A.M.E. Zion church. I wandered inside and took my place on one of the pews. My relationship with Red Bank began right there. In the ensuing years, I noticed more and more the charm of this town, but I also began to notice the divisions: east-west, black-white-brown, rich-poor. I realized that Red Bank, in its own way, was struggling with the legacy of segregation and the changes brought about by integration. It is a struggle that continues to this day.

In Red Bank today, the era of official segregation is over, but the job of building an integrated, multi-cultural community is far from done. How will we know when the job is done? When kids of all backgrounds succeed. When adults of all backgrounds work together in our community organizations and businesses. When people of all backgrounds share more equally in the life of the community.

W. David Tarver

March 19, 2004

Red Bank, NJ