William and Kimberly Weaver

William and Kimberly Weaver

Interview transcript

Georgia, GriotGeorgia, GA, Griot, southerners, african-americans, black-americans, fathers, sons, daughters, dads, mothers, moms, Jim Crow laws, parenting, fatherhood, generations, generational, desegregation, desegregated, racism, racist, prejudices, teaching, educational, dedication, dedicated, family, families, loving, loved, admiration, respected, age differences, nostalgia, longing, missing, missed

My father was everything to me. And it’s actually kind of difficult talking about him without becoming very emotional. up until he died, every decision i made i called him, and he never told me what to do, but he would always listen and say well what do you want to do. and he made me feel like i could do anything i wanted to do. i can remember when we integrated the schools there were many times when i was just scared. and i didn’t think that i would survive. and i’d look up and he’d be there. and whenever i saw him, i knew that i was safe. i always tell you that your momma was the smartest person i’ve ever met,
but i think my father ranks right up there as brilliant. When I was in high school, i was taking algebra, and i was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to do my homework. and i got frustrated saying i just can’t figure this out.
so my father said what’s the problem, came by he says what’s the problem. I said it’s this alegbra. he said let me look at it. i said dad, they didn’t have algebra in your day. and i went to sleep. at around 4 o’clock in the morning, he woke me up, he said, c’mon son, get up. he set me at the kitchen table, and he taught me algebra. what he had done was he had set up all night and read the algebra book, and then he explained the problems to me so i could do them and understand them. and to this day, i live my life trying to be half the man my father was. just half the man. and i would be a success if my children love me half as much as i loved my father.