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SUN FEB 28 1993 ED: FINAL
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: 18A LENGTH: 24. 39" MEDIUM
ILLUST: photo: Lessie Ross with her. niece*Olympia*DUHART ,*
Lessie Ross ' Photo ID Beach pass (n>
SOURCE: *OLYMPIA*DUHART*Herald Staff Writer
DATELINE:
MEMO: PAIN AND PROMISE
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
VISIT TO BEACH UNLOCKS MEMORIES OF PREJUDICE ENDURED .
...
When I was a little girl , I waited outside my home in
Liberty City for Aunt Lessie to arrive home from work. She
worked as a domestic for an affluent white family in Miami
Beach , and often the family ' s chauffeur brought her home.
`
I wanted my friends to see her step out of that big, black
Lincoln Continental . I wanted my friends to see the driver , Jim,
in his chauffeur 's uniform and cap. I wanted them to see that my
aunt worked for millionaires.
What none of us saw was the tattered ID Aunt Lessie kept in
her purse all those years. It was her pass to Miami Beach ,
RANK 1 OF 16. PAGE 2 OF 4, DB MHP
clearance from the whiteestablishment , and the only way*blacks*
could visitthe Beach a that time.
My aunt was part of a long line of*biacks*who made their
own contributions to South Florida 's history, people who endured
. hardship and prejudice for many of the same rights we now take
for granted.
•
Aunt Lessie and her sister raised me from the day I was
born; they also had raised my mother. The two sisters taught me
Christian values. They told me not to judge or stereotype people
who are different. And they instilled in me the value of
education. I followed their lessons: I was the first in my
family to ear/� a bachelor ' s degree , and I got involved in our '
family 's church in Overtown. ,
But I never really comprehended the importance of Aunt
Lessie 's 40 vears as a domestic -- until she visited my
apartment three years ago.
Thirteen years after Aunt Leesie retired , I moved to Miami
. Beach. In 1990, I rented a studio apartment on Ocean Drive. No
ocean view. Only four Windows. Two rooms. Rent was $550.
On a Saturday afternoon , Aunt Lessie stepped inside. `
I apologized for the tiny quarters.
She just looked aund. She smiled proudly. `
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I had made it , she said. I was living in Miami Beach.
She began to tell me her history, an anecdotal history of
*bLacks*in South Florida. "Young people today don 't realize what
things were liPe for us, " she said.
When she started working for the rich white family in 1937 ,
4blacks*couldn 't live in Miami Beach. They needed a pass fb enter
the island -- even to work. `
To prove her point , she pulled out. her wallet.
She said they had to carry this: a orn card from 1957 with
a black-and-white mug picture of her , a thumb print and a
signature that now shows only "Lessie Ro" -- the rest of the •
signature, like the need for such a pass, had faded with time.
On the back was her full name (Lessie Mae Ross) , her
employer (Patton Res. , 1525 W. 24th St. ) , her address, age (then
52) , height (5-feet-4) , weight ( 189) , eye color ( "mar. " -- short
for marble) , hair ( "b/k" -- short for black and kinky) and build
(stocky) .
The ID card was issued by the Miami Beach Police
Department. .
" If they caught you .without it , " she said , "they would
carry you to jail . "
I asked how she felt about it.
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* " It didn 't bother me at the time because that was the law. "
N She loved her job. She loved the family she worked for.
"They never did call me a maid , " said Aunt Lessie, 83, now
slimmer and living in that same house in Liberty City. " It was
really wonderful . "
She seems to have no anger about having to carry the card
solely because of her color .
To this day, she keeps it in her wallet. .
" I wanted to keep it to show it to my children. " she said.
" It ' s something from a long time ago. "
*Olympia*Ross*Duhart ,*24, has a degree in English from the
University of Miami . She has been a Herald reporter for nearly
four years.
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END OF DOCUMENT.