PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — This past weekend, Portsmouth community members gathered to celebrate the centennial birthday of Horace Savage Jr, a World War II veteran and longtime educator in the city. The celebration coincided with America’s Independence Day and offered a poignant reflection on the significant social changes that have occurred over the past century.
Savage, who is proud of his roots in Portsmouth, recounted his experiences growing up in a segregated school system during the 1930s and 40s. “I went to school in Portsmouth when it was a segregated school system,” he remembered.
He also shared a harrowing instance of racism affecting his healthcare. “I had a physician in a hospital emergency room, and being in real danger as far as saving my life was concerned, [I was] told he couldn’t touch me,” Savage recalled…