Read The Street Sweeper for Free Online Page A

of Jake Zignelik – taught history.
    It all had to be seen in context, Jake Zignelik explained to his son. The ‘Little Rock Nine’, as the students became known, was the name given to the first black students to try to enrol in public schools in Arkansas but it was already three years after the Supreme Court had handed down its decision in
Brown versus Board of Education
. ‘Is three years a long time?’ Jake Zignelik had asked his eight-year-old son over chicken salad sandwiches and soda in Bryant Park. Adam thought for a moment before answering tentatively.
    ‘That depends,’ Adam said. At this his father hugged him.
    ‘That’s right! That’s exactly right. Perfect answer. It depends. Three years is a long time to hold your breath, right? Is it a long time to changethe mentality of more than half the nation? Is it a long time to shift vested interests? Is it a long time to break down generations of fear?’
    It seemed to young Adam that his father was leading him towards an answer of ‘no’, but surely ‘no’ was the
wrong
answer so he waited before replying. But his father kept talking, as he knew he would, and he didn’t have to answer.
    ‘When was the Civil War?’
    ‘1861 to 1865,’ young Adam answered.
    ‘Right. And what was it about?’
    ‘Emancipation of the slaves,’ the eight-year-old shot back with a mouth full of sandwich.
    ‘Among other things, yes. Right. Right. And when did Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation?’
    ‘1863.’
    ‘Well, Lincoln announced it in September 1862 but it didn’t come into effect until 1 January 1863. And when was the Supreme Court decision in
Brown versus Board of Education?’
    ‘Nineteen fifty-four.’
    ‘And what did that decision do, what was its intended effect?’
    At this Adam spoke as if by rote, ‘Thurgood Marshall, now Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court, successfully argued
Brown versus Board of Education
in 1954. The Supreme Court decision led to the end of segregation in public schools and overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine of the
Plessy versus Ferguson
decision of 1896.’
    ‘Absolutely right,’ his father answered.
    Jake Zignelik had been there in 1954 in the US Supreme Court when Thurgood Marshall had argued
Brown versus Board of Education
. In 1949, fresh from Columbia Law School, Jake Zignelik, a New York Jew, went to work for what would later become known as the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, later simply known as the LDF. He went on to be mentored by Thurgood Marshall. In a long career he represented Martin Luther King and many others, arguing numerous civil rights cases before the US Supreme Court. He represented black students attempting to gain admission to segregated colleges andprofessional schools, black men charged with the rape of white women and black servicemen subjected to racial discrimination in the armed services. He later became the director-counsel for the LDF.
    ‘Very good,’ Jake Zignelik said to his son Adam. ‘Watch your suitcase. Always watch your suitcase, especially in the park. So these three years between the
Brown
decision and the “Little Rock Nine”, they were really part of some ninety-odd years when people waited for the government to keep its promise. And that’s exactly what Thurgood said. It was after the Arthurine Lucy case. He was asked if he was a gradualist. You know what a gradualist is?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘What’s a gradualist?’
    ‘Someone who wants change to come but gradually,’ young Adam answered as he’d been taught.
    ‘That’s right. After the Lucy case Thurgood said he believed in gradualism but that he also believed ninety-odd years was pretty gradual. You think he was right?’
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘Yeah, so do I. Ninety-odd years is a long time to wait to be treated with the same dignity everyone else is supposed to be treated with, supposed to according to law. See, what good is it having great laws that protect people and