Let’s Unpack This

‘White Only’ Signs Never Went Away, They Just Changed Form

From Cecil J. Williams to Trayvon Martin, someone is always thinking they have the authority to decide that we don’t belong

A “White Only” sign marks the way to a picnic area in this historical image. Photo: Getty Images

Black people defying racists in America makes my heart smile. One of my favorite defiant moments is memorialized in a picture of Cecil J. Williams. The picture, taken in 1956, features Williams drinking from a water fountain in South Carolina. He was on his way back from an assignment for Jet magazine—photographing the state’s segregated beaches—when he stopped at a closed filling station.

The “White Only” sign is clear. What’s also clear is that Williams isn’t White. This “problem” obviously meant nothing to Williams as his eyes pierced into the camera lens with what I’ve imagined is a smug sense of satisfaction. Ignoring the fact that his actions likely could’ve gotten him killed, what strikes me about the 66-year-old photo is that things haven’t changed much despite the passage of nearly seven decades.

“White Only” signs may no longer be in plain view in 2021, but Black people can still find heavy resistance to their presence from White people. Morehouse College’s debate team experienced this firsthand before they withdrew from the…