Newpaper Artical on the movie"Mary Jane Pittman"

Authors Avatar

110 year-old fights back against discrimination

PETER LIU

The New York Times

        Yesterday in Monroe, Louisiana, along the Mississippi River, Miss Jane Pittman, a 110 year-old black woman, became the first to drink from a segregated water fountain. The water fountain labelled, “WHITE ONLY”, was located outside of City Hall, and was guarded by security at the time.

        “We didn’t stop her because she was so old and barely standing up even with her cane. We were all shocked when she made it to the fountain and drank from it,” said Tom, one of the guards.

Join now!

        Growing up on a Louisiana plantation as a slave, Miss Jane Pittman lived a long and difficult life, from watching a group of fellow black slaves being killed by Confederate patrollers, to suffering the death of her husband, Joe Pittman. These conflicts epitomize the struggles that many black slaves encountered.

        Throughout American history, black slaves were treated poorly as if they were semi-human. They were bought and sold, and were no better than everyday household items. Their lives did not belong to them and could be taken away at any time by their masters. Growing up and living in a ...

This is a preview of the whole essay