After being driven past the White hospital during two previous labors, my Mom was determined to force change. She purposefully waited until her contractions were advanced and called the ambulance, which seeing her state, took her to the nearest hospital, the White hospital. When the White nurses tried to refuse service, the examining doctor said it was too late and ordered, “We got to deliver this baby.” Thus, my Mom defied the “Whites Only” designation and ultimately won as she gave birth to me, the first Black to force the integration of the now closed Seaside Hospital in Long Beach, California. […]