True Colors
I only stared at the concrete floors of the jailhouse as I walked. Staring at each little crack that goes by under my feet. I felt the hard, cold cuffs around my wrists, rubbing against my skin. The two gruff white men push me to turn, and I heard the screeching of metal bars as a cell opens. The cuffs are suddenly gone, and I am pushed forward lightly. I trudged into the cell. The door closed behind me, and a long shrill sound echoes in the hall. Now how did I get here?
I close my eyes, and I see red. Blood. It oozes out from underneath the man. A white man. I don't hear the gunshot, I only hear the echoes it created in the alley. I see the gun drop to the ground and hear footsteps. Running. They slowly fade. Then I see flashes of light and my eyes open again.
That's right. I watched as a man shot another and ran. So why am I here? I grasped two of the cell bars and called out, "Hello? Hello? Can someone please tell me why I'm here? Please?" No answer. I let go of the bars and sit on the bed. The bed feels hard, like wood. The single pillow is also hard. I put my head into my hands.
The cell door opens again. I looked up and found a familiar pale face. Malynn. She smiled at me sadly.
Malynn and I grew up together, my mother working as a housekeeper for her mother. She came from a somewhat poor white family, but no white family was as poor as any black family. Malynn and I were playmates as children and friends ever since. It was odd, really. Other girls didn't like Malynn as well because she stuck around with me, but she never cared. We always stayed by each other's sides, and Malynn treated me with the same respect as she gave to any other white person.
"Oh, Coleen", Malynn said. "What have you gotten yourself into?"
"I...I don't know. What happened? Why am I here? The man-"
"Is dead and you were at the scene of the crime. The only one there. With a revolver at your feet. Don't you remember?"
"I did not kill that man if that's what you're asking, Malynn", I looked directly into her ice blue eyes, their gaze leaving goose pimples along my arms.
"I know you wouldn't have, Coleen. But you were found next to the body of a white man. And they think you killed him."
"But I didn't!"
"Coleen. You know they won't believe you. You're-"
"A negro, I know. There's no point. They may as well kill me now. They got the whites' word that I did it, and that's all they need", I looked back down to my hands, which were covered in little cuts from picking cotton. I heard Malynn step forward and bend down in front of me. She takes my dark hands into her pale ones.
"You can have a trial", she said softly, hopefully.
"Why? So I can convince them to let me live a few more weeks?"
"I'll get a good lawyer for you, and we'll demand a trial. Maybe they'll see you did not kill that man." I only shrugged in response. Then the cell opened again.
"I'll see you later, Coleen", and Malynn was gone.
. . .
A few days later, Malynn visited again with a tall man. He wore a suit and glasses and carried a suitcase. He was white, of course.
"Coleen, this is Mr. Adams. He's taking your case", Malynn said cheerfully. We exchanged the niceties, and I sat on the floor while Mr. Adams and Malynn sat on the hard bed.
"The, uh, trial will be on Wednesday", Mr. Adams said.
"Two days? Why so soon?" I asked. Malynn and Mr. Adams exchanged glances.
"They figured that they'd get the trial over with quickly", Malynn said.
"'Get it over with'?" Malynn only nodded. "Fine. Let's 'get it over with'."
. . .
Two days went by slowly as I sat in my cold cell. I counted every minute on Wednesday morning for the guards to cuff me and escort me to my seat at the Court. Hours went by before that moment finally arrived. But first, I was stripped in front of the men and dressed into the usual orange suit. We walked down the hall, and with each step, my heart grew more nervous. Finally, I was put into a chair next to Mr. Adams in the Courtroom.
"All rise for Judge Robinson", a voice boomed in the air. As I stood, I looked around at the audience behind me. White men and women stood directly behind me in the seats on the ground. Malynn stood in the front. Above them, black men and women stood in the balcony seats.
I turned back as Judge Robinson, a fat and bald white man, sat down. With a loud and deep voice he said, "Court is now in session." Everyone sat.
As the session went on, I hardly listened to the witnesses after the first few. They all repeated the same things such as, "I saw her shoot him", and they'd point at me. I began to stare off, knowing there was no hope. I tuned in again when Mr. Adams began speaking, but even he couldn't provide enough to save my skin. But the session dragged on.
Then, I heard someone behind me call out. "Why don't ya just end it now, eh? We all know that she's just property, a machine. It won't matter none if she's gone. Just serve justice already!" I turned quickly, seeking the voice with my eyes. I turned back when no sound was made. Judge Robinson stared off into the crowd as well, looking as though he may consider it. I stood.
"May I say something?" I stared up at the Judge. He looked at me when I spoke.
"Why not? It's gonna end here anyway", Robinson waved his hand at me. Irritation grew inside me then. I turned to the crowd of people. And I breathed, anger radiation off my body.
“You, who said that thing about me earlier. You say that the black people are nothing but living machines on the plantations. That we are a property and not a being. We are only used for your profit. You teach your fellow man to disrespect us, and you demand us to respect you in return. You look at us in horror when we speak the way we have learned to growing up, yet you will not let us receive proper education. You expect our children to learn from ragged books that cling from single threads on the seam and have faded words on the torn pages. You expect us to come at your beck-and-call, yet we are treated with malice and ill will. We are allowed no excuses from work if we are hurt in any way. We go to our families covered in bruises and cuts on our fingers with no way to treat them", I held out my shaking hands and raised my voice. "We are beaten on the streets just for being alive, for having a different skin. We are looked upon as ants in the dirt, our only purpose is to work or be squashed under the white man’s foot. And the only people who have an inch of respect for any of us are your children and the very few who believe we are humans as well!" I pointed at Malynn, who sat to my left. Tears burned in my eyes. I began to yell.
“Black people are humans just like you, and they always will be. None of you who think for a moment that you are superior and can change that. So go ahead. Execute me for the crime I did not commit. None of you would ever believe a black person even if they weren’t there. If a black man was accused for raping a white woman, you all would just assume from the start that that man did it. You don’t think of proof or evidence. You do not give the man a fair trial and off he goes to the chair or wherever else to die. So go on. Cuff me and take me to my death. It won’t make no difference to you and you know it. But just remember that whenever you decide to kill off another negro, think of the fact that each and every negro all around is a human being. We are human, and no law can change that.” I turned to Judge Robinson, who's eyes were wide. I turned to Malynn, who was crying. A few of the other white women cried. And every black person above me cried. And they clapped.
"Quiet!" Judge Robinson snapped once the applause from above echoed in the Courtroom. He stared down at me. "Ms. Coleen. You will be taken to your cell."
Before I could speak, the guards were on me, carrying me by the arms back to the cell.
A whole day passed after the trial. I sat in the corner, knees to my chest. I still wore the orange suit. The cell door opened again, the screech pounding in my ears.
"Coleen", Malynn's sweet voice said. I shot my head up and stood. She walked over and took my hands. "Coleen, we're getting you out of here."
"What?" The tears came back to the edges of my eyes, and Malynn became blurry.
"We've convinced Judge Robinson, Mr. Adams and I. We split the bail money to get you out. I'm going to take care of you", Malynn smiled and brought my head to her shoulder. She stroked my hair.
"But...you can't even pay half. Malynn, it's too much", I whimpered. She only hushed me and hugged me tighter.
"I'll find a way. I'm doing a payment plan", Malynn said. I looked up at her and promised to help.
"They still don't believe me though?"
"I don't know. That speech you gave shocked everyone in the crowd. Judge Robinson couldn't even decide what to do. We decided for him."
"Thank you, Malynn."
"No, Coleen. You don't have to thank me. And you won't have to ask or beg for anything from anyone ever again."