Curtis Walker Jr.

Even though attorney Curtis Walker Jr. didn't live through the Civil Rights movement of the 60s, his parents made sure that he understood the impact it had not only on their generation but his.

"My mom and dad stressed the importance of education and what people had gone through to give us the opportunity that they didn't have," said Walker. "I always took that to heart."

He recalls stories that his parents told him as a child about demonstrations that they were involved with at an early age.

"Dad and mom were involved in the walkouts at school. Dad was at East and mom was at West Junior High at the time. To think that someone at that age, junior high, could experience that and get involved just amazes me."

Walker said that sometimes experiences such as that get lost on today's generation of youth.

"It's one of those things where I'm glad we have come as far as we have, but a lot of kids that have never had to deal with things like that, they forget what people had to do. It's not taught to them and people don't talk about it to them. There is this sense of entitlement to the things they have. Yes, we may be entitled to things, but a lot of people -- both white and black -- went through a lot so we could have the things we have, especially an education."

Walker said that it's through education that children today learn about the struggles of previous generations and that's why it is important to commemorate Black History Month.

"Black history is American history," said Walker. "It's about overcoming struggles. That's history. That's rich history. It's something that you never need to forget."

Walker recalls two specific historic American figures that impacted him greatly. Booker T. Washington and Thurgood Marshall.

"I look at Booker T. Washington, born into slavery and was able to go on, get an education and later able to help form Tuskegee Institute. That's just amazing."

As for Marshall, the first black Supreme Court Justice, he was one of Walker's inspirations to become an attorney.

"He was one of my heroes. You talk about Brown vs. Board of Education, you're talking about ground-breaking law. I bet he was not the most popular guy in the world for coming in with a case like that, integrating the schools, but I respect the fact that he didn't hunker down. Regardless of the threats he got, he hung in there."

Looking back at the obstacles that those two influential figures faced are what helped Walker get through struggles of his own and should be an inspiration to the youth of today.

"It taught me that I don't have an excuse," said Walker. "If this many can do that with all the obstacles that he had in front of him, then I don't have an excuse. That's what I try to tell some of these young folks today. You don't have an excuse. The opportunities are there. If you don't take advantage of it, that's on you now. You can't blame anybody else any more."

afitzpatrick@blythevillecourier.com