"Ahh Moments" a featured column, by Valada
Flewellyn, in the Orlando Times.
AHH…Moments! The Orlando Times October 2017
Art, History & Humanity
The Door To The Colored Bathroom
by Valada Flewellyn
There is a small door on the outside of The Congregational Church of Winter Park. The architectural plans show that the door leads to the “colored” bathroom. Absent the “Colored Only” sign the bathroom is a stigma in the minds of those who remember.
Today, the Church records its history as, “ The very first church founded in the community back in 1884”. The church proudly calls attention to its work against segregation by "assisting the surrounding African-American communities”. Vestiges of the past (like the door) are important elements in the collective memory of a community.
The church slogan “Being What Tomorrow Demands”, is made crystal clear by this nostalgic reminder of what yesterday allowed. The “Colored Only” bathroom was a sign of its time. We struggle to shape tomorrow while asking the question, just what it is that tomorrow will demand?
The door to the colored bathroom
No longer has a sign
It opens to a memory
We must not leave behind
The door to the colored bathroom
Available to everyone now
Can we integrate it
Into our story somehow
The door to the colored bathroom
Carved from a heart of stone
Carries a remorseful tale
Hard to leave it alone
Just how do we remember
Need we ever forget
This symbol of division
The hearts of God’s people regret
The door to the colored bathroom
Will for generations be there
For all of God’s people to open
In memory of the grief that we share.
-by Vaalada Flewellyn
Art, History & Humanity
The Door To The Colored Bathroom
by Valada Flewellyn
There is a small door on the outside of The Congregational Church of Winter Park. The architectural plans show that the door leads to the “colored” bathroom. Absent the “Colored Only” sign the bathroom is a stigma in the minds of those who remember.
Today, the Church records its history as, “ The very first church founded in the community back in 1884”. The church proudly calls attention to its work against segregation by "assisting the surrounding African-American communities”. Vestiges of the past (like the door) are important elements in the collective memory of a community.
The church slogan “Being What Tomorrow Demands”, is made crystal clear by this nostalgic reminder of what yesterday allowed. The “Colored Only” bathroom was a sign of its time. We struggle to shape tomorrow while asking the question, just what it is that tomorrow will demand?
The door to the colored bathroom
No longer has a sign
It opens to a memory
We must not leave behind
The door to the colored bathroom
Available to everyone now
Can we integrate it
Into our story somehow
The door to the colored bathroom
Carved from a heart of stone
Carries a remorseful tale
Hard to leave it alone
Just how do we remember
Need we ever forget
This symbol of division
The hearts of God’s people regret
The door to the colored bathroom
Will for generations be there
For all of God’s people to open
In memory of the grief that we share.
-by Vaalada Flewellyn
