My Triumph over Prejudice by Martha Wyatt-Rossignol

Author:Martha Wyatt-Rossignol
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Published: 2016-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

6

The Divorce

In the state of Mississippi, in 1974, there was no such thing as a no-fault divorce. A reason for a divorce had to be presented, one that could be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. And before the court would allow a case to be heard, one had to have a witness, someone who would testify on behalf of the plaintiff to corroborate on the evidence presented.

My divorce settlement also consisted of a custody suit. Lee was trying to prove to the court that I was an unfit mother. His only proof was that I was going with a white man, but in Lee’s mind, that was proof enough. He still had my letters. His first disappointment came when he presented the letters to his lawyer, in the hopes of strengthening his case, and his lawyer advised him the judge would take a dim view of his stealing them. What he had tried to hold over my head for so long proved to be more of a letdown than an asset to his case.

I had problems too, namely difficulty finding someone who would testify as my witness. After all, I had done the forbidden, taken up with a white man publicly, and everyone in town had his or her nose in my business. I’d become the talk of the town. Tongues wagged more than a dog’s tail. I was not the first black woman to ever become involved with a white man; others just did it behind closed doors. All anyone had to do was look around and see all the different colors of children to know that there was a whole lot of race mixing going on. The people who condemned me so harshly seemed to be the same ones with the most to hide. It infuriated me to be ostracized by people I thought I knew.

When my first court date came up, I had my witness lined up along with my uninterested court-appointed attorney. My witness, a black woman who had previously assured me of her friendship, had promised to stand with me and testify. On the day of my court appearance, I got there early, went in, and sat down to wait for her. Fifteen minutes passed, and still no witness. I began looking around anxiously, knowing how much was riding on this person. The judge banged his gavel, saying if my witness didn’t show up in the next five minutes, my hearing would have to be postponed until the next divorce court date.

My witness never showed up, and when I next saw her, she ignored me, acting as though nothing had happened. While he couldn’t rule on the divorce, the judge did make a decision about our children on that first court appearance. He said that I was to have them for two weeks, and Lee would get them for two weeks. That arrangement was to be followed until the next hearing. A final decision, in the best interest of the children, would be made when the divorce was granted.

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