A lesson in Humility and Patience

John Hope Franklin ( 1915-2009) told of this incident from his childhood during a TV interview. When John was about six, his family lived in a village with no grocery store. They had to travel to the next village to buy their groceries. One morning John’s mother along with John and his sister waited by the railroad tracks to flag down the train to the next village. When the train arrived, the three jumped onto the train as quickly as possible, since the train didn’t stop but only slowed down for them. Once on, the three of them settled into the first available seats they could find. A while later the train conductor showed up. The conductor said that they had to leave the coach immediately since they were in the whites-only section of the train. John’s mother responded that she couldn’t possibly get off the moving train with two small children in tow. The conductor then stopped the train and made the three members of John’s family exit the coach. But instead of letting them get on the non-white section of the train, he threw them completely off the train in the woods between the two villages.
As they walked back to their village along the tracks, John started to cry. It was too much to handle for young John. He felt angry, humiliated and sad. He turned to his mother for comfort. His mother said.”No amount of crying will get us back on that train. So instead crying over what happened, focus all your energy in proving that you are better than the people in the coach, because of whom we had to be kicked out”.

I have thought of this incident many many times. When faced with injustice and discrimination, this mother chose to downplay the embarrassment and use the experience to motivate her upset child.

John went on to become Dr.John Hope Franklin, John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at The University of Chicago and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States of America.He passed away in March last year.

Thank you John for setting a wonderful example by leading an exemplary life.