work and taking in cleaning. She rented out rooms on the second floorâthere was more than enough space for her and Charlie downstairs, where there was a big parlor, two bedrooms, and a kitchen. Her young and largely silent son was enrolled for a time at Crispus Attucks School, named after the Negro who was the first person shot down by the British in the Boston Massacre, his blood a liquid finger pointing toward the American Revolution. Charlie did well there, and got his diploma from the Charles Summer School in 1933.
When he wasnât in school, Charlie was playing with his friend Sterling Bryant, who lived up the block. The Depression was on, yet somehow Addie managed to find knickers for her son, though no others in the neighborhood could afford them. If she wanted him to stay home and be happyâunlike his fatherâAddie resolved that she would give him everything she could. She would make 1516 Olive Street his personal paradise.
Charlie was a little bigger than Sterling Bryant during those years, and Bryant remembers him as a buddy and a bodyguard. âWe just did boy things, nothing serious, nothing really dangerous. But it was rough when we left the neighborhood and stepped into somebodyâs territory. Charlie used to escort me to see my girlfriend and walk me back. She lived a few blocks away, and they didnât wantus around there, the other boys. They were in a gang, and they were ready to jump you and make sure you didnât get used to coming over there. Charlie wasnât scared, though. He could run, but he wasnât scared to fight. We got in a few scraps over there, and Charlie stood by me. We either won or lost together. He was a real nice boy, liked to have fun. Charlie had a good sense of humor, and he loved to prank. He just loved it, but he didnât try to hurt anyone.â
Holidays were much the same as theyâd been over in Kansasâexcept for Halloween. On that night, people would go to Eighteenth and Vine to watch the parade of homosexuals. âIt was the only time they could wear dresses,â Bryant chuckled, âand they put it on that night. They got on their dresses and their falsies, their lipstick. They had on their hats and their high heels, and they would strut it. That was such a good show it became a family thing. It was the highlight of Halloween.â
IN APRIL 1934 , trouble in a neighboring family brought change into Addie Parkerâs home.
The Ruffins, a Negro couple, had come from Memphis, Tennessee, to a house at 2507 Howard Street. The father, known to all as Daddy, had Madagascar Afro-Indian blood in his family; his wife, Fanny, had Cherokee and English. Their first five childrenâWinfrey, Octavia, Rebecca, Ophelia, and Naomiâwere born in Memphis; Dorothy, the last, was delivered in Kansas City, Missouri. At that time, Edward Reeves remembered, âall the Negroes lived north. The farthest they got out to was Twenty-Fourth Street. All the big dogs lived on Twenty-Fourth Street, the ones with money and some kind of prestige.â Daddy Ruffin was an insurance salesman, which was a middle-income job for a Negro at that time, a step up from manual labor, semiliteracy, and illiteracy.
For reasons no one quite remembers, Fanny Ruffin stopped sleeping in the same room as her husband and stopped cooking for him. Daddy stayed upstairs, and the rest of the family was on the first floor. The children didnât understand, but the tension between the couple was obvious, and Fanny assigned ten-year-old Ophelia to take over one of her roles. âSmall as I was, I was cooking Daddyâs breakfast. Mama had quit cooking for him and she would tell me and Iwould try to do it. Mama decided to move because she didnât want to stay there with Daddy. I think she knew a friend that knew Miss Parker, and thatâs how we got down to Olive Street.â
On April 10, 1934, when Charlie was thirteen years old, Fanny Ruffin and her
When he wasnât in school, Charlie was playing with his friend Sterling Bryant, who lived up the block. The Depression was on, yet somehow Addie managed to find knickers for her son, though no others in the neighborhood could afford them. If she wanted him to stay home and be happyâunlike his fatherâAddie resolved that she would give him everything she could. She would make 1516 Olive Street his personal paradise.
Charlie was a little bigger than Sterling Bryant during those years, and Bryant remembers him as a buddy and a bodyguard. âWe just did boy things, nothing serious, nothing really dangerous. But it was rough when we left the neighborhood and stepped into somebodyâs territory. Charlie used to escort me to see my girlfriend and walk me back. She lived a few blocks away, and they didnât wantus around there, the other boys. They were in a gang, and they were ready to jump you and make sure you didnât get used to coming over there. Charlie wasnât scared, though. He could run, but he wasnât scared to fight. We got in a few scraps over there, and Charlie stood by me. We either won or lost together. He was a real nice boy, liked to have fun. Charlie had a good sense of humor, and he loved to prank. He just loved it, but he didnât try to hurt anyone.â
Holidays were much the same as theyâd been over in Kansasâexcept for Halloween. On that night, people would go to Eighteenth and Vine to watch the parade of homosexuals. âIt was the only time they could wear dresses,â Bryant chuckled, âand they put it on that night. They got on their dresses and their falsies, their lipstick. They had on their hats and their high heels, and they would strut it. That was such a good show it became a family thing. It was the highlight of Halloween.â
IN APRIL 1934 , trouble in a neighboring family brought change into Addie Parkerâs home.
The Ruffins, a Negro couple, had come from Memphis, Tennessee, to a house at 2507 Howard Street. The father, known to all as Daddy, had Madagascar Afro-Indian blood in his family; his wife, Fanny, had Cherokee and English. Their first five childrenâWinfrey, Octavia, Rebecca, Ophelia, and Naomiâwere born in Memphis; Dorothy, the last, was delivered in Kansas City, Missouri. At that time, Edward Reeves remembered, âall the Negroes lived north. The farthest they got out to was Twenty-Fourth Street. All the big dogs lived on Twenty-Fourth Street, the ones with money and some kind of prestige.â Daddy Ruffin was an insurance salesman, which was a middle-income job for a Negro at that time, a step up from manual labor, semiliteracy, and illiteracy.
For reasons no one quite remembers, Fanny Ruffin stopped sleeping in the same room as her husband and stopped cooking for him. Daddy stayed upstairs, and the rest of the family was on the first floor. The children didnât understand, but the tension between the couple was obvious, and Fanny assigned ten-year-old Ophelia to take over one of her roles. âSmall as I was, I was cooking Daddyâs breakfast. Mama had quit cooking for him and she would tell me and Iwould try to do it. Mama decided to move because she didnât want to stay there with Daddy. I think she knew a friend that knew Miss Parker, and thatâs how we got down to Olive Street.â
On April 10, 1934, when Charlie was thirteen years old, Fanny Ruffin and her
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