All stories, good or bad, begin at the right time and place.
The night Rosalie Wood's boyfriend of one year proposed to her during an Elvis Presley concert in 1956, she went from thinking she knew everything, to knowing nothing. Faced with Wendell'...
This chapter includes and addresses themes of racism. In similar ways to the last chapter, it discusses enforced racial segregation.
With a reminder of the story taking place is the 1950s—this was a time of inhumane segregation laws. There were often separate facilities and institutions based on how you looked, race, or alleged race—denying you access to certain areas. Within this chapter, you will notice how this took place within the arena of a concert.
Though this is written from the perspective of the 1950s, racism is still highly present today, and there is a long way to go to better our understanding of the matter and gain equality for all. This type of systematic segregation is still found in schools in the U.S.
Once again, I will encourage you and greatly appreciate it if any reader feels like I'm at all handling this the wrong way; either comment or send me a PM on Wattpad to educate me on how I could better my understanding and represent the vital awareness of racism. I go into these chapters with the intention of speaking on the matter of racism in a correct manner and respectful way. I worry I don't do history justice, and even if you don't feel like I'm writing wrongly but would like me to include crucial happenings from this time—let me know.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this introduction.
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* chapter music * - Strange Things Are Happening Every Day - Yola
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Elvis POV
The dubbed-down sound of hitting hands against our car windows on all sides made me flinch more than usual before a performance. A girl was even throwing herself at the hood of the car, screaming together with the soon over 10 000 people making up the crowd. Keeping my sight straight as we arrived at Russwood Park in Memphis, we rolled through gates over a grass field split up with ropes with hanging signs saying 'no colored allowed' and 'whites only.' Dividing us and making my thoughts revolve around the shit these old conservatives put people through. With my culturally rich upbringing at the front of my mind, knowing just three miles away, senator Eastland was holding a racial segregation demonstration, the Colonel interrupted my train of thought.
«Last summer, Elvis—you were just what you needed to be on the Steve Allen Show. Wholesome and exactly what the Mayor wanted to see. He loved it.» He said, making me look in his direction with a light nod but a restrained expression—keeping my head down not to get caught up in the eyes of everyone surrounding us. «All the important people did, Elvis, so just.. keep that in mind up there. Just stand still and sing a nice song.» The Colonel nodded, overly happy with how great he thought this would turn out. He had made a deal to keep me on his leash. «What song are you going to sing tonight, my boy? Love Me Tender? First In Line? That's a pretty one. I'm sure your dear grandmother would love to hear that one, Elvis. Good for her heart.»
