This month, I had the opportunity to meet and interview Evangelist Patsy Barnes – a native of McGregor, Texas, and a Christian minister who is no stranger to giving a powerful word. But, in this conversation, Mrs. Barnes did not preach from a pulpit or a stage. Instead, she spoke from her living room couch, recounting her childhood memories of McGregor's school integration in 1965.
We talked for nearly two hours. I hung on every word, yet by the time we neared the two-hour mark, it felt as if only thirty minutes had passed. Mrs. Barnes shared stories of her upbringing in McGregor, her experiences with segregation, life in her church, her pastor, and the profound influence of Christianity and the biblical texts on her life. She offered no shortage of wisdom, and I – her interviewer – was deeply grateful for every word she shared.
I conducted this interview with two primary goals. First, I sought to uncover McGregor's history concerning segregation from the perspective of East McGregor, the town's formerly segregated section. Second, I wanted to explore how Christianity, church leaders, and the biblical texts shaped the disposition and mentality of children who integrated the schools. This second goal was especially significant, and in pursuing it, I was fortunate to be introduced to the aforementioned Evangelist Patsy Barnes, who provided a rich, personal account of her own experience integrating the schools.
However, I am not the best person to tell this story. I can relay Mrs. Barnes's words, but it is best to hear them from her directly. Therefore, I have created a short film sharing our conversation – how her life, church, church leaders, the biblical texts, and her own faith shaped her disposition and mentality as she integrated McGregor's schools in 1965. I will be sharing it here and on my social media by the end of the week. I hope that you will watch and reflect on a history that so many urge us to forget.
History may fade, but let us neither forget it nor repeat it.
Link to Short Film: [TBD]