If the Fire Comes: A Story of Segregation during the Great Depression
up to a sitting position hanging on to the side of the bed for support I’ll check the radio in case a secret message comes through You go see what you can find out from the contacts downtown They kept the radio close to Maya’s bed so she could listen during the day She’d read all of Momma’s spy novels at least ten times over They usually had fun playing spies but Maya didn’t smile today and her voice was flat She was just trying to get him out of the shop What can I bring you today Joseph asked Maybe some peanut butter and crackers They were Maya’s favorite and she needed something to look forward to Maya hadn’t been the same since Momma’s heart had given out two years ago Papa had died from influenza when Joseph was small so him being gone was just a fact of life But Momma well Momma’s absence had left a huge hole in both their hearts Maya’s especially Uncle Tanner was Momma’s only brother and he’d been kind and understanding at first But after Uncle Tanner had lost his job things had changed They’d
had to move out of Uncle Tanner’s house and into the shop where he used to work It was mostly cleaned out now the tools sold to keep them fed Uncle Tanner’s kindness seemed to dwindle with the sale of each tool All that was left now was the forge with the bellows a brass blowtorch and some hand tools hanging along the wall It wasn’t a large shop but the emptiness made the space feel hollow I need some wheels Maya said lowering her head to the pillow Maybe a bike Bring me a bike She gave him a sad smile like she was sorry for asking And the crown jewels of England I’m a spy not a thief Yes of course Maya said turning her head away from him A war hero Go spy me some peanut butter and crackers Joseph resolved to shine enough shoes to get the crackers food for the birds and maybe a treat to go with it He slipped out the door of the shop and blinked at the bright morning sun The shop was the last building
on the south side of town which might have explained why no one had bothered to kick Uncle Tanner out Joseph liked the space on the edge of town The large field behind the shop was flat and open providing a beautiful view of the mountains Joseph walked through Elsinore a couple miles to the center of everything It was where the new city hall stood tall and glorious red brick with a dozen windows built just last year Uncle Tanner had tried to get a job to help build the city hall but they had been hiring whites only The Depression had made whites so desperate for work they were taking jobs they never would have done before jobs that black people used to do Now there was no work at all If a white man applied he got it first Uncle Tanner had complained long and loud for a while but lately he hadn’t even bothered to make a fuss City hall was where the shoes were Politicians and bankers lawyers and crooks all came to city hall It helped that the bank was right across the street There was a crowd outside today a buzz of news in the air the
