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Death of Rev. Griffin & Birth of Religion
Reverend Otis C. Griffin, the maternal grandfather of John Peden, dies at 63. He is head of the local church and well-loved in the community. The timeline begins here because Rev. Griffin laid the foundation for the strong religious context that John Peden grew up in. Throughout John's life, his grandmother, Lucille Griffin, wife of Otis Griffin, and lovingly referred to as Nanny, would serve as a mentor and central religious figure within his life. -
Woolworth's Sit In
Following sit-ins in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida, activists host a sit-in at Woolworth Store lunch counter in Jacksonville Mississippi. The event would bring national attention to segregation issues in Mississippi. "John Salter, a social science professor at Tougaloo College, sat with his students Anne Moody, Pearlena Lewis and Memphis Norman". Eventually, "Lois Chaffee, a white faculty member at Tougaloo, and Joan Trumpauer", a white student from Tougaloo, would join (Burns, 2013). -
The Birth of a Black Man
A few months later, 90 miles away, in a little city named Meridian, Mississippi.
1963 would prove to be a monumental year. Rev. Griffin dies, Mississippi receives national attention in the Civil Rights Movement and little John Peden is born in Meridian Mississippi. He lives in a small town, with strong Baptist roots. His family, including Nanny, religiously attended church twice a week, sometimes more. Their home was often host to bible studies and Sunday dinners. -
Barnhardt, Et Al. V. Meridian
Despite Brown v Board of Education, Mississippi was slow to fully integrate their school systems. In 1965, students and teachers filed a case against the Meridian Separate School District, the white school district" (Downard, 2017). "The suit sought to end the District’s racially dual educational system" (NAACP, 2018). Thanks to many cases like the one above, in the 1970s, Mississippi finally saw mas integration of public schools (Bolton, 2017). -
Meridian High School
John, along with his parents and sisters, move to the city where he begins attending Meridian Highschool. Growing up in the country, within a town where most of his neighbors were black, this would be the first time in which John's neighborhood was predominantly white. Thanks to the numerous cases, including the previous one mentioned in 1965 (Barnhardt, et al. v. Meridian), John is able to attend Meridian Highschool. -
Summer Jobs
Over the summer, John would often work, sometimes 3 jobs at a time. One summer, while working, he noticed a difference between his summer working experience and the white kids around him. “I didn't come from money. I think where it's different for Black kids versus White kids is most black kids when they work, part of that money has to go to help the family. We’re not just working because we want something to do, or we want the experience. We’re working because we have to work"- John Peden -
Death of Nanny
Lucille C Griffin, grandmother and mentor to John, dies at the age of 83. John credits Nany with much of his religious foundations and his love for people. As John got older, his religious ideals would begin to evolve. “As I got older and saw different things and really kind of sort of in my mind dissect some religion and religious stuff and how it applied to what I believed, it led me to see it a little differently than my family would see it.” -
Ice Cream with Nanny at Woolworth
About ten years after the famous Woolworth Sit-in, Nanny takes John to Woolworth for Ice cream. Years later, after learning of the racial and historical significance of the restaurants, he reflects on the fond memory with his Nanny. “Me [John] and her [Nanny] went to that very restaurant and sat at that counter and I had a banana split. I said ‘Nanny, do you want some of my banana split and she said no baby you enjoy it’. I had no idea until I was about 50 years old"- John Peden -
Colorblind at Loves
John begins working for Loves Travel Stop. John reflects on a meeting with a mentor of his, Chris Stewart. Chris told John that he was successful, that people liked him as a person because..."You don't see black or white, you just see people"- Chris Stewart John also recalls a central teaching from Nanny, "to treat others as you would want to be treated". John would agree with Chris, and this, along with Nanny's teaching would continue to shape his outlook in life and within his career. -
Loves Manager of the Year
John reflects on winning manager of the year. “I won manager of the year and 4 or 5 more awards that year. I will never forget this...As we’re leaving...I'm heading out and to the left, no lie, all the black managers are huddled up to the left and they stop me and huddle around me and was hugging me and patting me on the back and said ‘we’re so proud of you, we’re so proud of you’ and that's when I first realized, you know, who I was. I will never forget"- John Peden -
Loves & Today
Though John still holds on to the "Colorblind Racial Narrative" of life, he reflects on the racial differences he notices at his job. “I get a lot of recognition at Love's but I do see the white privilege. Someone comes and they’ve got little to no experience and then boom they’re up the later. Then someone else will be pulled in at a lower or lesser roll and then you're expected to support that person, but that's a fact”- John Peden
