Summer of '69: Robert Gray

Gray, 57, of Hempstead, is a code inspector for the Village of Hempstead

I graduated from Long Beach High School in 1969. I didn't attend the graduation ceremony. Most of the African-Americans didn't show up, that was our own little protest. We were probably no more than eight graduates in the class of 1969 that were black. We didn't feel a part of that system, not at all. We grew up in it, we were made to believe that sometimes we were part of it, and then there were other times that they were emphatic about letting us know that we weren't.

In the summer of '69, I was going to the Martin Luther King Youth Center in Long Beach. We were making sure the younger kids had things to do. We stayed involved. It wasn't the type of turmoil in 1969 that there was in 1968.

Nineteen sixty-nine was a cool-out year. It was still tough. The [civil rights] violence on Long Island had subsided, giving people the opportunity to sit down and talk like people. We were only people trying to communicate.

The Mets, that's something that kind of brought the town together. You saw a group of black and white men playing together, and for a moment, you saw the possibilities. But then again, who knew what was going on behind the scenes? The truth of the matter was that the Mets at that time in 1969 did have something to do with bringing people together throughout the New York metropolitan area.

Nineteen sixty-nine was a great time in my life in many respects. My 40th high school reunion is in July. I'm absolutely looking forward to it.