THIS TIME THE LAUGH WAS WITH, NOT AT, CARLOTTA
(From “Courage in Both Hands” by Allan Hunter,
Reprinted in “The Rock” Bullying Discussion Manual)

Carlotta was game. But she was getting sick of being laughed at. The fact that her seat was up front made her an easy target for spitballs that sometimes really hurt. Not her skin so much as her feelings. Because her high school was one of the first to be integrated in this part of the south and because she was the only negro in the class, she understood that history was being made here. How she would respond to the challenge was therefore important.

So far, whenever one of those juicy missiles, generally with a bit of metal inside, smashed into her cheek or forehead, she had managed to keep control of her temper. Of course, her heart would beat faster. But by a sheer act of will she had been able to conceal this from her white classmates. The trouble was, seeing her react as she was trying so hard to do with all this self control, they might be coming down with the idea that she didn’t have feelings the way they did.

At the training group in one of the churches Carlotta told about her problem, explaining that, although she was determined not to strike back, it was getting her down so much that sometimes as she was wiping off her face after one of these assaults and the class would laugh uproariously, she just wanted to crawl out of the room and never come back. Fortunately, Jim Lawson was her coach. He was older and he had gone through ordeals tougher than hers, meeting the insults with intelligence as well as courage. He himself was curious as to what would happen if Carlotta, next time a spitball came her way, made an original, dynamic reply, instead of the usual tense and too negative one. He made a surprising suggestion.

She liked it so much that she rehearsed the possible steps again and again in her mind. Within a few days the chance came to test it out. The spitball missed her. Picking it up from the floor, she took it back to the obviously guilty person. With all the charm she could muster, she laid the spitball down in front of him and smiled, saying, “this is yours, isn’t it?” To her surprise she was able to walk back to her seat without looking in the least embarrassed. The class howled with laughter. Not at Carlotta, however.

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