CLAUDETTE TUCKER DUDLEY

As we approach our 50th BTW Class of 66 Reunion, thoughts of me as a 17 year old walking across the stage to receive my diploma come to mind. Today as I look back, if I could, I would tell that younger Claudette, who was shy, impressionable and somewhat fearful of the future, that her life and the world would be greater than anything she could imagine.

I would tell her that she would marry the love of her life, Darrell Dudley, whom she met at Washington Park the summer before they entered BTW as 8th graders. I would tell her that at 18, she and Darrell would marry and at 19 they would become parents to their first born, Erika and would later have a son, Darrell Edward; that they would live away from Atlanta for many years in several states; that both would go back to college to obtain degrees and that she would become a Social Worker and later, an officer with the US Treasury Dept. She would listen to me in disbelief when I tell her that they would become grandparents and have a grandson whom they affectionately call Teddy.

I would tell that young Black girl who grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Washington High, that she would travel all over the world with Darrell and often times with their children, taking in the beauty of people, art, architecture, foods, cultures, sunsets and sunrises. Travelling would become her passion, as well as photography, and spending time with family.

It would have been beyond her imagination, if I had told her that in her lifetime, a Black man by the name of Barack Obama would become president of the United States of America; that the Dudley family would attend his 2009 and 2013 Presidential Inaugurations. Equally, she would find it amazing that the United States in 2016, would be standing on the threshold of possibly electing the country’s first female president.

I would tell this young woman who walked across the stage with her diploma in hand to believe in the power of God, Family, Love, and herself. I would remind her that the road to her success had been paved by those who came before her. I would also ask her to believe that all things are possible. I would tell her that in her life, as in the lives of others, there will be trials, tribulations and mountains to climb, as well as periods when life will be like sailing on blue waters, without a cloud in the sky. I think that she would find most amazing, as she approaches her 50th year after leaving BTW, that she and Darrell will have been married for 50 years, come 2017! I would tell her to be prepared for a wonderful life!

Finally, I would share with her an amazing quote to help guide her through life:

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”- Eleanor Roosevelt

May God Bless you and keep you BTW Class of 1966 !!