The memory of a long-ago wedding came into Fio's mind last week when she was driving around in Waco, where the event took place. The venue was large and the attendence did it justice, but Fiorella , seated with her mother in the back, was surprised to see several black people being ushered down a far aisle. Their inclusion made her feel warm inside--until she realized they were all being seated together in an area separated from the rest of the guests. All those pretty dresses and elegant hats, and they were diminished by segregation.
The inage has anguished Fio's brain for years, but suddenly, she looked at the situation from a different angle. In early Martin Luther King days, it was a bold statement for that family to invite the father's black workmates to his daughter's wedding, and the seating was probably a well-planned arrangement to protect their special guests and, at the same time, provide them with good seats down front.
It was the best that could be done in that day and time--and damn gutsy too.
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