My family could not wait to get to Greensboro to tour the International Civil Rights Center and Museum during our last trip. It’s only about 90 miles from where we live.

It was a rainy day, but instead of being discouraged, we did fun things that would educate us while saving us from getting wet! We arrived at the museum and parked in the parking deck next to a car with a custom license plate that read HAUNTED. I thought to myself, well, this should be interesting!

The museum was busy on Saturday, as expected. Church and school buses and vans were parked outside, and families and children arrived from different states and across the country.

We paid for the guided tour and immediately felt welcomed. One of their shirts in the window said, “YOU ALREADY BELONG HERE. Join the movement.“

Well, sign me up.

Our guide, Randolph, was very knowledgeable about what we were experiencing, making the tour even more exciting. A Coca-Cola Machine from the Jim Crow area was there. One side said 10 cents, and the other 6 cents. Randolph explained how these machines were often placed against a wall, and the consumers did not see what the other side paid for it. Minorities paying more for the same drink from the same machine at that time were often earning less. 

Imagine the financial struggles for minorities in those days. It breaks my heart.

Fast-forward to 2025, and things are not much better. Finance rates for people who have had no credit or are just getting started in life are approximately 77 percent of families living paycheck to paycheck. This is not insane to me; it’s unjust.

Today’s car and house payments are so high that it’s almost impossible for individuals to achieve some financial balance. More and more college grads are moving back home with their parents because they can’t afford the sky-high rent rates.

Something needs to change, but I digress.

We took our time viewing the merchandise in the museum store. We are not wealthy, but we are also fully aware that these purchases help support the museum. Plus, we had a beautiful souvenir, so it’s a win/win in my eyes.

While we were in town, I told my family that I wanted to visit Bennett College and the home of the Bennett Belles.

I wanted to see the Annie Merner Pfeifer Chapel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was invited to speak on February 11, 1958, after Greensboro prohibited him from speaking anywhere else.

Dr. Willa Beatrice Player, Bennett College President and the first African American to serve as president of a four-year university in the US, invited King.

We set the GPS to the Chapel’s address, and away we went. As we were pulling up, and it was Misty, I opened the car door to run in the light and ran to the Bennet Bell I saw on campus to take a picture. My husband says, “What are you doing now?” I yell back as I skip through puddles. I captured the moment because I am in the movement and fighting for social justice issues for the rest of my life.

Then, my daughter, Makensie, hopped out of the car and ran with me to the Bell.

Then, I heard a car horn and turned around and saw a vehicle pull up behind my mom, who was driving, and it looked like security was approaching her. As she returned to the car, Makensie heard the security guard yell, “Young lady!”

Not wanting to cause a scene, I asked her to ask the guard if it was okay to take pictures. The man smiled pleasantly and introduced himself as Officer Godfrey, but he said to call him OG.

My mom, Dee, and Demetrius were in the car. OG started saying the national anthem and signing it in ASL simultaneously. He said God was coming soon. Looking closely at this picture, you can see the delightful “OG” hard at work.

Makensie asked again if we could take pictures, and he said, “Yes! That’s civics you got to learn!”

We could have chatted with him forever, but we were interrupted by a car horn behind us.  We glanced behind us briefly, but when we looked back, OG was gone! None of us saw where he went. OG was yet another God Wink; we were meant to encounter him that day. That encounter made the whole trip even sweeter.

So next time you visit Bennett College, look for OG and tell him the Shepherd/McDaniel families say, “Hi!”