The Black Three

Prior to the mid-sixties, Grayville, TN was one of twenty-four “sundown towns.” A “sundown town” was a town that had a sign on the outskirts of town that said, “Negros are not allowed in the city limits after sundown.” Very few blacks lived in Grayville. Grayville High School seldom had black students. In August of 2020, a black doctor moved to Grayville. He moved from Weston, Ohio to be near his adopting white parents who lived in the Homeland Retirement Center in Pleasant Hill. Grayville never had a black basketball player, now it has three. The doctor has three sons. Joseph is a 6’ 9” senior and his twin brothers, Samuel and David both 6’ 6” juniors. The three brothers took Weston to the Ohio State basketball championship. Cox County youth grew up to have a “culturally absorbed prejudice.” That is what the three black players encountered.