POWERGRAMS

Adversity can spur one to achieve great things. At 17, Barbara Curry-Story was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She grew up poor in Ohatchee, in a family that was short on money but long on love. In the early 1960s in Alabama, simply being a young black woman was an issue. Curry-Story graduated from Calhoun County Training School in Hobson City and dreamed of making her way in the business world. She went to Alabama A&M University for one academic quarter, but money was scarce and the Heart of Dixie was fraught with tension amid the birth pangs of the civil rights movement. Seeking a job and a better life, Curry-Story went to New York to try to earn money for college. She married and had a son, but the marriage was short-lived. "The person I married became abusive. He wasn't who I thought he was," she said. In 1964, Curry-Story returned to Ohatchee with 2-year-old Joseph. "My family always supported each other," Curry-Story said about her parents and five siblings. Curry-Story was admitted to Jacksonville State University (JSU) and got a work-study job to pay for tuition and help support herself. Since her younger brother lived on campus, he let her take his car to commute. "I will just say it was the Lord's will, because had it not been for integration taking place at the time it did, I would not have been able to get an education," said Curry-Story, 78. CURRY-STORY MOTTO: STAY STRONG AND CARRY ON In fall 1965, Curry-Story became the first African American student at JSU, enrolling as an education major in home economics. "Most people at JSU were very kind to me, some kids were nice – they'd pass by and say, 'Good morning,'" Curry-Story said. Despite occasional catcalls, nothing could deter Curry-Story from obtaining her college degree, which would offer money, freedom and a means to provide for her child. "I wanted to elevate, and I saw this as my only chance because I didn't have money to go elsewhere," Curry-Story said. "I couldn't pay the board and tuition. I'd be going to class and someone would be behind me singing, 'We will overcome.' I wouldn't look back over my shoulder. I didn't make a rebuttal, but it did bother me." A few times, she heard other students say, "She needs to go home." But Curry-Story endured, and gradually made friends. By the second semester, she studied with them. Still, some situations were difficult. Every time there was a class assembly, one young man would harass Curry-Story. She always sat at one end of the bleachers, and he'd purposely bounce a Confederate flag atop her head. "He would wave the flag over my head and drag it across my hair, which I put in a bun," Curry-Story said. "Finally, one day, I told him, 'Don't be so ferocious with that state flag.' I never reported it. People saw it did not faze me because I pretended it was the state flag. "My intention there was to get an education," she said. "My entire freshman year, I was the only black student." If anyone made an unkind remark, Curry-Story ignored them. "I totally tuned it out. Sure, I was scared," she admitted. "Anything could have happened to me." 8 RETIREE OVERCAME RACIAL BARRIERS TO FIND PLACE IN HISTORY By Donna Cope PHOTOS by NIK LAYMAN Curry-Story holds a bachelor's degree from Jacksonville State University.

• Cover