Personal Narrative: Here At The Birmingham News
My heart pounds as I approach the large desk dominating the room.
“Have a seat, Robert.” My boss tells me.
I hesitate a second before sitting on the hard wooden chair. By the smirk on his face, I gather that I won’t be coming out of this mess employed.
Skipping the formalities, he cuts to the chase. “Here at The Birmingham News, we cannot afford to have our employees deliberately disobey authority on a regular basis.”
“Yes, sir.” I respond, biting my tongue to keep from adding more.
“You have disobeyed almost all of our policies.” He continues. “I should fire you immediately, but I will allow you to give a brief explanation of your motives.”
He will fire me no matter what, that much is certain. But he asked to hear my motives, so I will …show more content…
I was sitting at a back table scribbling in my notebook while Jack the photographer took pictures. I knew that the elaborate notes I took would only be used to write a short, bland story. And Jack knew that the pictures he took would be shoved in a file cabinet and never published. But there we were, still writing and snapping photos, as if the very act could justify the racist coverage The Birmingham News offered.
I got home late that night, my mind still swimming with thoughts of the sit-in. Deep inside, I knew that I could not publish a detailed story, but my mind would not let the thought go. I wanted to let everyone know what was happening. If only I worked for a northern paper, then I could publish the truth.
But maybe there was a way around my predicament. I wanted to help the Civil Rights Movement, but I didn’t want to lose my job. So maybe I could just write the story. Yes, I would do that. I could write it for my own satisfaction, but I wouldn’t publish it and get fired.
Although it was almost midnight, I sat down at my desk and started composing my …show more content…
“You’re crazy.”
“I know.” I said softly. Silence hung in the air for a minute, until Bruce broke it with an unexpected outburst.
“You’re going to get fired!” He waved his arms around frantically, his belly following suit. “And you expect me to help you? To switch the story we’re supposed to be publishing with yours? I’ll get fired too! You think your stupid little story is more important than my job?”
“The story itself isn’t.” I answered calmly. “But the outcome is.”
His face looked dangerously close to exploding, and I didn’t want my new shirt covered in little bits of Bruce. Luckily, he calmed down before the point of detonation, and just let out a big sigh.
“I’ll do it.” He said. And for some odd reason, he burst out laughing. “I’ll see you here at midnight.”
My heart was pounding as Robert unlocked the printing room. He was in possession of a set of keys, for those who worked in the printing room arrived long before the other employees.
“Okay, Robert. Give me your story.” I handed it to him, and he went around arranging all the keys on the printing press.
“So what will happen tomorrow morning when the paper is printing?” The Birmingham News was an afternoon paper, which was a plus for our
“Have a seat, Robert.” My boss tells me.
I hesitate a second before sitting on the hard wooden chair. By the smirk on his face, I gather that I won’t be coming out of this mess employed.
Skipping the formalities, he cuts to the chase. “Here at The Birmingham News, we cannot afford to have our employees deliberately disobey authority on a regular basis.”
“Yes, sir.” I respond, biting my tongue to keep from adding more.
“You have disobeyed almost all of our policies.” He continues. “I should fire you immediately, but I will allow you to give a brief explanation of your motives.”
He will fire me no matter what, that much is certain. But he asked to hear my motives, so I will …show more content…
I was sitting at a back table scribbling in my notebook while Jack the photographer took pictures. I knew that the elaborate notes I took would only be used to write a short, bland story. And Jack knew that the pictures he took would be shoved in a file cabinet and never published. But there we were, still writing and snapping photos, as if the very act could justify the racist coverage The Birmingham News offered.
I got home late that night, my mind still swimming with thoughts of the sit-in. Deep inside, I knew that I could not publish a detailed story, but my mind would not let the thought go. I wanted to let everyone know what was happening. If only I worked for a northern paper, then I could publish the truth.
But maybe there was a way around my predicament. I wanted to help the Civil Rights Movement, but I didn’t want to lose my job. So maybe I could just write the story. Yes, I would do that. I could write it for my own satisfaction, but I wouldn’t publish it and get fired.
Although it was almost midnight, I sat down at my desk and started composing my …show more content…
“You’re crazy.”
“I know.” I said softly. Silence hung in the air for a minute, until Bruce broke it with an unexpected outburst.
“You’re going to get fired!” He waved his arms around frantically, his belly following suit. “And you expect me to help you? To switch the story we’re supposed to be publishing with yours? I’ll get fired too! You think your stupid little story is more important than my job?”
“The story itself isn’t.” I answered calmly. “But the outcome is.”
His face looked dangerously close to exploding, and I didn’t want my new shirt covered in little bits of Bruce. Luckily, he calmed down before the point of detonation, and just let out a big sigh.
“I’ll do it.” He said. And for some odd reason, he burst out laughing. “I’ll see you here at midnight.”
My heart was pounding as Robert unlocked the printing room. He was in possession of a set of keys, for those who worked in the printing room arrived long before the other employees.
“Okay, Robert. Give me your story.” I handed it to him, and he went around arranging all the keys on the printing press.
“So what will happen tomorrow morning when the paper is printing?” The Birmingham News was an afternoon paper, which was a plus for our