Dr. Hester S. Petty, 99, is looking back at her life journey of fighting racial injustice, writes Aaron Farrar for News 4 Jax.
Petty noted a few instances where she had to fight racism. More than 50 years ago, she and her husband Leon were ready to buy a house in Chadds Ford. The couple was told it could not be sold to them. This was 1960s America, but Petty did not back down.
After consulting with their lawyers, the couple were able to move into the house (which they had already paid for). They lived there for 45 years.
Petty earned a doctorate in education, working as a college professor. She was also a doting mother to her two daughters; Lisa and Leonora.
During school, Lisa was accused of stealing an instrument by a teacher. When Petty went to speak to the headmaster and the teacher about the accusation, they couldn’t provide proof that Lisa was the one who stole the instrument. Petty temporarily removed her daughter from school, threatening to call her lawyer about discrimination. The school subsequently fired the teacher.
“The situation today will not be the same [as before],” Petty said. “They will improve and then they don’t. That is a pattern of human behavior. I have seen that over these 99 years. We make progress and then you go back. You make progress again and then you go back. This country has done that.”
Read more about Dr. Hester Petty and what she and her family experienced at News 4 Jax.
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