MC and Olamae Smith

The MC and Olamae Book Scholarship is dedicated to the memory of my parents MC (1928) and Ola Mae Smith (1931). My parents were born during segregation, the decedents of former slaves. MC was born in Punta Gorda, Florida, the great grandson on Uncle Dan of Punta Gorda history. Olamae was born in Vienna (Dooly County), Georgia. From a young age my parents taught me about Jim Crow and how difficult it was for blacks to obtain textbooks and how during their time they had to go to white schools and go through the trash to patch books together; that always stuck with me. I have always had a love for books. As a child reading was a way to go places that I could have never imagined. I cannot fathom not being able to have books in my life. So, the first opportunity I had to provide a scholarship for students I remembered the stories that my parents told me. My dad passed away in January 2007, and my mother October 2019 on their 48th wedding anniversary. I miss them both dearly and continue to recall all the lessons they taught me.