Freedom to Grow is a short narrative essay by Major A. Barnett that details his trip to Selma, Alabama with his father and his son to attend the funeral services of a half-brother he had never met. As the trio makes their way down to Alabama, the narrator provides the reader with information about the territory they pass through, including a stop at which his son discovers a small rabbit that he decides to keep as a pet. This rabbit plays a key role in demonstrating the son’s understanding of the past. This information also includes information about the father’s experiences in the Jim Crow South. The timeframe of the story is relatively short, consisting of a day and a night of traveling from New York to Alabama, three days quickly summarized in Alabama and the beginning of the trip back to New York started just at dusk.
The story provides a strong connection between the family and the Civil Rights Movement as well as the great diaspora that characterized the black population as conditions in the South became increasingly restrictive heading into the 60s. This is made clear as the condition of the family is known. The author begins his story with information regarding the impetus for the trip. “We went to say a final farewell to a half-brother I never knew.” Although the family home is considered to be back in Selma, the author admits that he has never been there before. As the story continues, it is revealed that there is a large family gathered in Selma that the narrator has never met illustrating the degree to which families were divided as a result of the social conditions that affected the South in particular.
As they make their way to Selma, the narrator makes several important stops that make further connections between his personal experience and the events of the Civil Rights era and the black experience. “I looked at the countryside and realized those runaway slaves had followed similar paths to the North. I always admired the slaves who chanced the Underground Railroad to seek their freedom, but my view now made me see what a long and dangerous trek they took.” Although his father’s concerns about the empty fields of his youth might seem like the normal concerns of a struggling community, there remain elements to his fear that white people would have difficulty understanding. “I had no flashlight, no candle, and only stars to guide me. I wished I had a car then, but nobody could afford a car. We were lucky to find work, and I just prayed that I would get home safely every night. I used to worry about snakes and skunks and hope that I would not meet any White men on horses.” These would have been members of the Klu Klux Klan riding out to persecute any black people they could find.
As the sister Lucy tells the narrator and his son about her first-hand experiences of the Edmund Pettus Bridge march, her story manages to affect the son profoundly. “During that week we all knew we had to go forward and win the right to vote, just like the White people … I was afraid inside because I grew up here and I knew there were things dangerous for Blacks to do. I knew there were rules we called segregation – I was restricted where I could go and what I could do … Once we were across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, I knew that we would succeed on our march and we did.” Based on what he learned from his aunt’s story, the young boy opted to release his pet rabbit before the family left Alabama.
Through this story, Barnett illustrates the connection he feels between himself and his cultural past. Although he has grown up in the North and has never experienced any of the troubles experienced by his family, he discovers an intimate connection with his race during his trip. This lesson becomes even more profound as it is seen in the actions of the young son.