Most of the blacks in our community were not able to attend school during the planting, cultivating and harvesting season due to the fact that they were sharecroppers. My parents, however, made sure we received an education by making us attend school anyhow. There were four families residing on this rented land. All of us were related. I called it a village, because looking back, all the adults took part in raising all the children. In modern day language, whether near or far, I guess it really does "take a village to raise a child." We all went to school together. Our school was one large...