When Robert Holmes’ parents moved to Edison, N.J., in 1956, they were one of the first African-American families to integrate the neighborhood.
“After we’d moved to Edison, there was a resentment that we had broken into the community,” Holmes says.
Even at the age of 13, Holmes felt the animosity. The neighborhood had a private swim club that opened up to anyone who participated in the Memorial Day parade. Holmes was in the band.
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