Britain declared war on Germany and began sending troops into France. Hitler had his eyes on Norway to secure a foothold from which to launch an attack against Britain.
Rumblings of the war going on in Europe were starting to be heard in the U.S., but Charles and other young men his age were vaguely aware of them. For the most part, they were more absorbed with recovering from the depression and getting on with life in this country. The trouble abroad was too distant to have any real bearing on a young black man working to get into college.
"Even though things were building up in late '39, there was no emphasis on the war until later when the draft started in 1940."
Charles' thoughts had not yet turned skyward to imagine adventures there. Though they would become his heroes, he was unaware of Bessie Coleman’s determination to fly, which led her to France when no flying school in this country would admit a black woman, and Charles Alfred Anderson’s record as the first black to complete a transcontinental flight. He did not know of unprecedented advances made in aviation in the 1930s or that 125 black Americans held pilot licenses in 1939. In fact, nothing in his childhood or early experiences foretold what was to come. No memories of crop dusters over the sugar cane fields or stunt fliers in newsreels at the cinema. As he packed up his few belongings, took his savings and headed for Champaign-Urbana and his first year at the University of Illinois, his greatest passions in life had not yet been revealed.
II: College Years
1940-1942
•In 1940, Congress passed a law requiring all males between 21 and 35 to register for military service.
•President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 banning discrimination in companies doing business with the government and formed the Fair Employment Practice Committee.
•Against the wishes of the War Department, the U.S. Congress, bowing to pressure from Negro leaders and media, activated the first all-black Fighter Squadron at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama.
•On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed and the United States declared war on Japan.
•Allied forces fought Italian and German forces in Northern Africa in 1942.
Black students at the University of Illinois in 1940 were few and far between. There was no housing for them on campus so most, not being locals, had to find rooms in Champaign's North End, home to the majority of the Negro population. Charles took up residence with the Brown family who lived on the corner of 6th and White Street. At first, his "room" was in the basement in a finished space by the furnace, but soon after he moved up to the second floor room with an outside entrance added to accommodate a boarder. He had a place to stay, along with his own shelf in the Browns' ice box: the basic necessities, once he provided the food.
A new engineering student on campus, he soon was introduced to a small group of fellow classmates in similar circumstances, who left the black neighborhood to cross town to the
white university, a trek that set them apart from most who lived in the North End. Bonds developed as they shared universal college experiences, from study and intellectual debates to social activities and romance.
Though Charles’ head was deep in the books, Frances Edwina Nelson was able to turn it. He never forgot the first time he saw her. She was among friends who had gathered on the college green known as the Quad. A tall, brown-skinned beauty with long legs, long hair and penetrating dark eyes, she made quite an impression.
To his great disappointment, those unforgettable eyes did not look his direction and he didn’t even manage an introduction.
The next time Charles saw Frances was following Sunday school services several weeks later. Shortly after coming to Champaign, Charles had joined Bethel AME Church continuing to practice his family's African Methodist faith. Frances and her immediate family were members of Salem Baptist Church which was one block east of Bethel. In time honored tradition, young people would gather after services in the block between these prominent pillars of the black community. A weekly ritual, the purpose was to see and be seen before parents whisked their sons and daughters away. On one of these occasions, Charles maneuvered his way over and managed an introduction to Frances, but by her account she did not find the meeting memorable. She was enamored with another young man, Welton "Ike" Taylor, who with her held the campus title for king and queen of jitterbug.
"She had her eye on Ike, so she didn't remember our first meeting."
Frances' family had standing in the Champaign-Urbana community. Her father, Franklin Joseph Nelson, had been a successful businessman and land owner, who left his widow Nellie Carter Nelson (Momma Nellie) and their two children, Leonard and Frances, well provided for after his death in 1935.
Among the land holdings he left his heirs was the large family home at 607 N. Hickory Street, which still had the attached general store Franklin operated for decades. The home served as a boarding house for permanent residents as well as transient visitors. Charles learned Frances was living at home while attending the University. Focusing on the business of being a student, he stayed in the background and waited for her jitterbug partner to fade from the scene.
Living in a relatively small and close knit community had its advantages. Before long their paths crossed again. Not all the Nelsons were Baptists. Frances had a older half brother, Cecil, who was born to Franklin and his first wife. Cecil Nelson and wife Carrie were members of Bethel AME, a circumstance which worked in Charles' favor when they invited Momma Nellie to attend a Sunday afternoon program and she brought Frances along. During the program, a Tom Thumb wedding was planned for the following Sunday afternoon. By a stroke of fate, Charles and Frances were chosen to play the bride and groom. Charles allowed himself the luxury of imagining he was the reason she agreed to participate. At that affair they became acquainted.
No one suspected the Tom Thumb Wedding was a harbinger of things to come.
Life at the U. of I. was a great adventure for Charles his first semester. The discipline that got him through high school was being challenged on a new level. It was a time to apply himself to his studies. No matter what lay ahead, Charles knew education was the path to personal growth and scholarly pursuits the key to professional success.
Another goal of his was to be a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and to do that he had to make good grades. The fact his dad and uncle were Alphas may have influenced him, but beyond that, Charles liked the things the fraternity stood for. The fraternity motto summarized it: "First of all, servants of all, we shall transcend all."
The "Big Brothers" on campus were a principled, studious bunch which also appealed to Charles. Some members like Dunbar McLaurin were graduate students, a rare occurrence for young black men of the era. The Alphas had a house near the campus which was another attraction. Living there would eliminate the long walk from the North End. Charles along with six other Alpha aspirants joined the line of pledges.
The road to brotherhood had its obstacles. They were set intentionally to test the mettle of Sphinxmen, the name given to Alpha pledges. Entry was the objective, pledging was the pathway, and hazing was the norm. No matter how smart and savvy Sphinxmen were in other settings, when "Big Brother" was around, there was no questioning his authority.
The inferior status of pledges subjected them to various demands they had to carry out on the spot.
"Recite Invictus."
"Recite If."
Being prepared to perform more "erudite" orders was essential, but not all commands were so scholarly.
"Count all the bricks in the north wall of Huff Gym!"
"Yes, Big Brother! No, Big Brother! And no excuse, Big Brother!" were replies expected from the pledges.
"Drop and give me twenty (push ups)" and "assume the position" (paddles were not merely ornamental) were frequent commands from the already inducted Alpha Men.
All and all, the hazing by Tau Chapter was not as vicious or extreme as some Greek organizations. The pledging was more directed toward discipline, bonding,