A SOUTHERN WHITE WOMAN FOREVER
CHANGED….by the path she chose.
Dorothy and Kaypri read her book together at her surprise 80th Birthday.
Dorothy’s Story
Dorothy Hampton grew up as the youngest and unexpected child in a large (White) southern family in Winston-Salem, North Carolina during Jim Crow and the Great Depression. Her feelings of isolation pushed her to seek her place in the world and after her first inter-racial experience at Meredith College in Raleigh, her life changed forever.
She “fell” into what would become her life’s work determined to do work on the “inter-racial level”. This newfound commitment to do something about the Racism she had only just begun to pay attention to, took her on an unplanned journey where she witnessed several historical moments in history including the founding of a major Civil Rights organization, the Detroit Riots, and observing major figures of the movement well before they were household names.. All the while she put off marriage and motherhood until the age of 40, as she tried to to learn more about the role Race played in her life.
She eventually married and settled in racially diverse Teaneck, New Jersey right outside New York City. When a young Black boy was shot by a white cop in 1990 after years of racial profiling was ignored by higher ups, she once again used her experience to make a difference, becoming a major part of the Community Dialogues that were created in its wake. She continued to serve as a Race Relations consultant at Riverside Church in New York as well as up and down the east coast well until her mid-seventies.
Although she had been behind the scenes from the 50’s, this poignant and honest memoir proves that those that aren’t on the front lines of a struggle often make the greatest contributions.
In her late sixties Dorothy started to write this story but due to memory loss was unable to complete it.
Her daughter Kaypri finished the job for her 80th birthday. The updated posthumous edition will be available to the public in 2021.
Dorothy passed away in August 2018 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 86 and had a smile on her face til the very end.
