CUZZIN LEON BIG BROTHER
Leon has always been like a big brother to me, my mama was a teenager when he was born and babysat him a lot. They always had a strong bond…
ANGIOLA DAZE 1950’S
Leon has always been like a big brother to me, my mama was a teenager when he was born and babysat him a lot. They always had a strong bond that I respected and admired. Now that our parents and grandparents have made their Transition we found ourselves the Elders of our families a very sobering fact.
I consider him the Historian of our families as he is now the eldest and he remembers all the details of whatever fact checking I might need…I can always count on him. Recently in a conversation about our Grandpa Henry he confided in me what a struggle it was for him being an African-American during our Angiola Camp and Westside School Daze Circa 1950’s.
Through my five-year old eyes I perceived him to be Wally ‘Leave It To Beaver’s’ big bro and having Wally-type adventures with his Angiola Crew. I envied him because my Mama kept a tight rein on me and my brothers. He was gone from Dawn to Dusk enjoying freedom I could only dream of.
Leon had a headful of black curly hair and light brown eyes, athletic and wiry, and light-complexioned therefore blending in with the Mexican kids. He really did resemble Wally Beaver’s older brother. You just could not deny him.
In a casual tone with no hint of animosity he told how he was at first picked on and had to prove himself among his Mexican peers. They spoke Spanish so that he would not know when they were plotting against him but he picked up the language quickly and spoke it proficiently in no time. He recalled how they would set him up to box with boys bigger than him and then they would coach his opponent against him in Spanish. He did not let on that he could understand what they were saying but they soon found out when even with their coaching he was beating the hell out of his opponent despite his opponent’s leg up.
I brought up my ‘Me and Black Sambo’ experience and he then shared with me that at Westside School he was constantly called Nigger by the Redneck and Mexicans kids and finally grew tired of it and told one of his female teachers.
Her response was, “Well aren’t you one?”
My blood boiled when I heard that….I knew all the teachers and was beyond appalled at that Revelation. But that was the way things were back then. No support from Educators and you were expected to tough it out by your parents. Leon was on his own but he survived, persevered, and rose above it all. Not only did he start serving ass whippings to the offenders but they soon learned about using the N-Word around him.
He earned and demanded their respect a pretty big accomplishment for a pre-teenage African-American boy in the Fifties because we were still Colored back then. I always knew Leon was special and now others knew it too.
Once in Junior High Leon excelled in sports and girls…..they were crazy about him because he was a handsome and very modest young man. I doubt he even realized just how handsome he was and didn’t have a conceited bone in his body never thought he was any better than anyone else.
My favorite memory of him in High School is when he performed a soulful performance of the song Stand By Me in the Annual Shindig Show. He was the Coolest of Cool and all the girls loved it.
He got married to his High School Sweetheart Irma Handsbur and raised a beautiful family never leaving Corcoran. He got a job for the City of Corcoran and was successful trusted and admired by his employer. He was so fluent in Spanish that they even used him to interpret for customers who did not speak English. I told him he should be paid for that expertise but he didn’t care he did it because he liked his job. I have never heard of anyone who knows Leon to have a bad word to say about him to this day.
Leon experienced some trying times and is a Cancer Survivor and lost his Beloved Wife to the Insidious Disease but he has remained strong and steadfast with his children and grandchildren who love him to death.
Yes Cuzzin Leon is a Survivor in more ways than one….gotta Love him!
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
