JENDAYI SMITH-MOVING VOICES

Louisville, Kentucky- In the early 60’s, I had my first daughter, Roxane, then a couple years later, I had my second daughter, Gail. And they were the new addition to the Travis. One thing about the Travis is that everyone in the city knew about us and nobody messed with because they knew the consequences. Growing up in the south was very hard to get a job, I try to work at a hospital and the white lady said that I had to meet the requirements and come back tomorrow. So the next day I came back to the hospital and had an interview with the lady in the main office. I met all the requirements, she was so amazed and jealous that I did not get the job. So, me being the lady that I stood up and said, “thank you for your time and god bless,” I knew I had to kill her with kindness, and that is exactly what I did. Then one day, I had to leave Kentucky, because my husband Clyde, wanted to be Mr. tough guy and rob the local bank. When you rob a bank you suppose to get money, cash, paper. But noooo, he took all the coins and was running down the street with nickels and dimes worth $500. The bank of coarse called the police. When I seen what happen on the news that my husband, Clyde Travis, got away with money and their was a warrant out for him. I felt like bonnie. I just knew my husband was up to no good, when we were watching television that evening. He told he wanted to go out for a while to collect some money from a old friend. I had no clue his old friend was a bank! I instantly packed my bags and my kids, called a taxi and was headed to the airport. The lady asked, “ Where do you wanna go?” I asked, “Where can I go with 200 dollars?” she replied, “Detroit or San Francisco. I looked down at my daughters and said San Francisco m’ am. And began a new life on the West Coast.