ED TUBBS:  

It began when I was stationed at Ft. Benning, GA, in the fall of 1964. On a pass, I crossed the Chattahoochee River into Phoenix City, Alabama. Never before had I seen, nor had I, in my naivete, imagined "whites only" and "coloreds" distinctions for eateries, for movie theaters, for drinking fountains, for restrooms. Never before had I felt such a deep sense of shame; shame for some of the attitudes and remarks I recalled carelessly tossing about in gym class, on the ball field, in the high school halls. Upon enlisting in the Army immediately following graduation I found myself serving with, working with, eating with and bunking next to, and going on perilous patrols with young men whose skin tones had precluded them from any part of life in Allen Park and the extraordinary advantages every Allen Park Jaguar enjoyed but had never done anything to earn. I felt the shame go to the quick,. That was then. And from that nexus I moved forward. In 1974 I graduated from Cal State, Hayward. For my military service I received financial assistance. From the Golden State I received the college education, 100 percent tuition free. I also went on to San Jose State for an MBA. In 1978 I opened up my own business, E. Tubbs & Associates. My boss was a workaholic who insisted...Expand for more