The Sundown Aegis

Introduction

April 4, 1945
Birmingham, Alabama
6:28pm.

Watching the sunset on 7th N Ave was a memorizing encounter. Especially in the springtime with mother nature blessing our beautiful melanin skin with her warm gusts of forceful wind. It calms the mind, body and spirit leaving you in a dazed state as if all of your problems simply just washed away. If only it was that easy for us colored folks at a time like this....

" Aye boi! The sunset aint gonna get them cars fixed. Hurry up kunta. We're about to close." The bitter middle-aged white man said in his twangy accent to the only black car mechanic wearing a navy blue onesie stuck in a trance watching the sun disappear into the horizon. 

After taking a few more seconds to gander at the sight in front of him, he quickly snapped back into reality. "I'm sorry sir. I'll move a little faster.' He replied apologetically.

"Sorry isn't gonna excuse the fact that your kind is always lazy. Now. Get back to work!" The white man stormed away into his personal office slamming the rusted bruised metal door shut.

"My name is not boi, it's Eugene..." Eugene mumbled feeling his dignity slowly declining while continuing the rest of his work.
With time passing by swiftly, the hardworking brother was still making repairs on the vehicle that was supposed to be done an hour ago. As sweat dripped from his forehead to his nose, Eugene looked up at the clock above the boss's office reading 7:30pm on the dot.

Thirty minutes till closing time. The sound of the metal door opening startled Eugene causing him to look wide eyed as the white middle-aged man stepped foot outside of his office. " You must have a death wish or something." He chuckled looking in his direction. Looking side to side scared yet confused Eugene sat there in silence with a million thoughts pacing through his mind. "Well since you couldn't get one simple task done like I told you too, you're gonna be staying here until it's done. With no overtime pay..."

"But sir!..." Eugene shot up from sitting on the concrete ground. " You know I have to be home during sundown hours. It's not safe at night for me." He spoke with strong concern in his voice. Laughing hysterical with a careless shoulder shrug the man replied with a foul response.

"You think I give rats ass about what happens to your kind during curfew? Finish the job or you're fired. Oh...be a good boi and lock up will ya."

As the keys to the establishment jingled while hitting the concrete floor landing in front of Eugene's steel toed boots, the boss walked away whistling a tune as he left the auto repair shop's front door.

Hearing the door close a long depressing sigh came out of Eugene's mouth forcing himself to finish making the repairs on the 1938 Buick Y Job while also keeping track of time in order to return to his loving family of three. "Maybe a lil music will get me going." A suggestion entered his mind.

Checking the entire shop to make sure the coast was clear; he locked all the doors in the building including the garage doors. If any white folk passed by and saw him at a time like this alone in a white owned auto shop, he would be reported to the authorities with the assumption of burglary or even worse. With the turn of a nob the song "So What by Miles Davis" roared through the speakers as Eugene began to bop his head to the slow-paced beat.

A quick snap at the fingers that transferred into the Charleston dance, he grooved to the jazz music returning to do what he enjoyed doing the most, which was restoring high quality vehicles.
Lost in the rhythmic music, the repairs were finally finished. Dreading looking at the clock the exhausted hardworking man panicked when the time revealed 9:12pm.

With a little pep in his step Eugene quickly cleaned up his designated station and double checked all the doors being locked. Ensuring they were, he dashed out the automatically locked backdoor rushing to get home before any white folk had seen him. The street where the auto shop resides was empty with just the streetlights beaming down on the sidewalk.