A Short Fiction Story, in honor of Black History Month. This is PURELY fiction!
Rufus Willis, a Durham, North Carolina native, starred in a Black History Month documentary, that reflected on how he grew up as a Black man, during racism, slavery & oppression. He really didn't tell any of his children or grandchildren of his secret. He died with that hidden secret. 1 of his grandchildren, Sherrilyn, his youngest granddaughter had to do a Black History Month project in her 8th grade history class. The assignment that the teacher, Mrs. Dixon, had the students to do, was to make the students go to the library or search online, & pick out either a Black History movie or a documentary, & then do a project, an essay & a presentation on it.
Sherrilyn picked out a humorous Netflix comedy documentary, called "Black Folk Tales". She watched the documentary & said, "Hey! That man looks & sounds JUST like when my grandpa was younger." She kept saying it throughout the WHOLE documentary. He was the main character. She got her final confirmation when she read the credits at the end. Rufus Willis.
She ran into the living room & said, "Daddy! My history teacher, Mrs. Dixon made us pick out a documentary to do a project on for Black History Month, & lo & behold, guess who's in it! You would NOT believe!"
Then, she replayed the documentary on her laptop. Her father, Rufus Willis, Jr., nearly fell out of his chair! Then, he started crying. He didn't know whether or not to feel overjoyed or betrayed. He went for a solo drive to the country to get his thoughts together. He kept trying to reason with himself on why his father would keep such a thing a secret from the family.
He came back & watched the documentary with his daughter, & they laughed & cried throughout the entire film. Sherrilyn said, "Daddy, I didn't realize that Grandpa was THAT funny! I mean, he was always serious & grumpy at home."
Rufus, Jr. shook his head & said, "If you ONLY knew!"
Then, he went on to say that his father hasn't been the same since he was falsely accused of theft out of a liquor store that was right next to the barber shop where the documentary was filmed at & then went to prison on the last day of the video shoot. His father knew that he was racially profiled, so that's why he was set up, lied on, falsely framed & put away in prison. He was even a victim of police brutality during the arrest. Rufus, Sr. was traumatized by his prison experiences, & he never spoke on his life. He tried whatever he could, to block out those memories. That's why he, unfortunately acted very bitter, grumpy & mad with the world after he got out of prison. He silently took all his pain & hurt to the grave.
Rufus, Jr. explained that story to Sherrilyn, & she started crying. Her dad was explaining what he remembered during the day he saw his father being falsely accused, brutally beaten & thrown into the back of the police car. He was locked up for at least 20 years for a crime he was innocent of. Rufus, Jr. was just a baby when it happened. Rufus, Sr., was an innocent Black man, & he hadn't been known to be an alcoholic or a thief.
Sherrilyn's father, Rufus, Jr. was on the scene when she presented her project & read her essay out loud. She couldn't present it without breaking down, crying. Then, Rufus, Jr. was allowed to get up & make an impromptu speech, telling the details of what happened to his father.
They both received a standing ovation & won a "Black History Month Award". Sherrilyn won the contest for her project. Also, Rufus, Jr. won an NAACP award for his speech.
THE END