Richmond, Virginia 1958 Poem by David Cooper

My father, mother, and I traveled six hundred miles
And twenty years back
In a brand new Plymouth sedan.

We traveled from Brown v. Board of Education
Back to Plessy v. Ferguson
In sixteen hours of straight driving
except for stops in smalltown filling stations
Mount Sterling, Olive Hill, Ashland
Charleston, White Sulfur Springs
On old U.S.60
Two lanes and round and round
The tops of the Appalachians
Through fog and moonlight and sunshine
And snowfall.
On route 60
there were no motels
For colored people.

We traveled back to Jim Crow schools and
Jim Crow rules
Back to the Confederacy
Back to Dixie
Back to backdoors
And balconies
Called “the crows’ nest”
Back to hurt and harm
And shame.