I rem ember the very day t hat I beca me bl ack. Up to my thirt eenth year I li ved in the litt le Ne gro t own of Eat onvil le,F lorid a. < P1>It ise xclus ively abl ack t own. The o nly w hite peopl eIk new p assed thro ugh the to wn go ing in g fro m Orl ando, Flor ida. The nativ e whi tes rode d usty horse s, and the nort hern touri stst ravel eddo wn the san dyvi llage road ina utomo biles . Th e tow nkne w the Sout herne rs and nev er st opped chew ing s ugar cane when they passe d. < P2>Bu t the Nort herne rs we re so methi ng el se ag ain. They were peer ed at caut iousl y fro m beh ind c urtai nsby the timid . <P 3>The bold woul eout side to wa tch t hem go pas t and got just as mu chpl easur e out ofthe to urist s as the t ouris ts gotout ofthevi llage . Th e fro ntde ck mi ght s eem a frig hteni ngpl ace for the res tof the t own, but it was a front r ow se at for me. My favor itep lace was on top ofthe <1 >gate post< /1>. Not only did I enjo y the show ,but Idi dn't mind the a ctors know ing t hat I like d it. Iu suall y spo ke to them inp assin g. I 'd wa ve at them and when they retur ned my wav e,I would say a few word sof greet ing. Usua llythe au tomob ileor the hors e pau sed at thi s, and aft era stran ge ex chang eof greet ings, <P4> I wou ldpr obabl y "go api ece of the way" with them , as we say in farth est F lorid a, and fol low t hem d own the ro ada b