“We’re moving on,” he said, walking the few feet to the doors leading to Room 3.
“Remember, once you go through you will not be given the opportunity to change your mind.
So choose wisely.”
Tension coiled through the women and the men who had slipped in with them. Most of the
women kept their attention focused on Gabriel as he added, “Yes, you will have to leave your
homes, jobs, churches, and families. But I promise you that your life and your children’s lives
will be richer, better, and have more purpose than they do now.”
Gabriel looked out at the group, which sat in shocked silence. “You will travel to other
countries to learn new languages, cultures, and skills,” he said. That statement brought a smile
to some of the women’s faces. “You will be teaching and training each other and our children,
preparing for 1967, when Phase 2 of our project will go into effect.”
“But that’s twelve years from now,” protested another male standing next to Luke.
“If there’s one thing we must learn, it is that White folks plan; Negroes react,” Gabriel
countered, stealing a quick glance out of the window. His men trekked back and forth as even
more food, water and clothing were being placed on the buses and in the cars that would
follow. “They plan years in advance, while we struggle day-to-day and sit by, begging for
crumbs from their tables.”
The men were beginning to talk amongst themselves, prompting Gabriel to finish with,
“Women, Jean has given you everything you need to know. At this point, there really shouldn’t
be a decision to make.”
Gabriel turned, flung open the doors to that final room and walked into its dimly-lit depths
with Jean by his side. “If you can’t see where I’m leading by now, you never will.”
There, they waited.
50 | NKLC Magazine