‘I Do’: Decades of Love

By: Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D. They first met on November 20, 1965, at The Palladium Ballroom. This connection began after a Texas Southern University and Prairie View A & M University ball game. It has now been 54 years since the couple first said “I do” on February 3, 1968. William Carson was born on October 30, 1937, and grew up in a town called Midway, Texas. He resided there until he was 17 years of age, and then attended Prairie View A & M University for a little while. William then moved to Houston to find work. Maxine Carson was born on September 10, 1940, in La Grange, Texas, but moved to Houston with her family as an infant. The Carsons were born during the time of segregation, but their childhood, and early teenage years occurred during the onset of integration. When William moved to Houston, one of the jobs he held was at Maxwell’s House, which is known for their coffee. “Integration was coming in and they were hiring Black and white supervisors,” expressed William. Because of this, he was able to obtain a supervisor position to support himself and his family. Before integration, Maxine attended Booker T. Washington High school in downtown Houston. After she graduated from high school, she attended Texas State University. She reflected on the times when she and other kids would ride the bus to school and would have to sit in the back of the bus. One day, they did not want to sit in the back anymore and decided to catch the bus at an earlier stop to “beat the white folks getting on the bus.” She further mentioned that a white lady would purposely sit on the outside of her seat so no one would sit next to her.” She recalled how a boy climbed over the seat and sat down right beside the white woman. “She did not like that and went to go tell the bus driver,” expressed Maxine. “We wanted them to let us sit where we wanted to sit,” Maxine said. This was just one of many […]

‘I Do’: Decades of Love Read More »