"At the time, our parents stressed education in our lives," said Robinson, who was a media specialist and primary and elementary school teacher in the Bartow County School System. "They wanted us to go to school and have better opportunities than they had. So we did. We went to school and we had a great time at school. We looked forward to graduating from high school and then to further our education.
"I think everybody knows how it was at the time. It was segregated so that meant you didn't participate in anything other than what was for the African-American community. ... [Today, children] have so many more opportunities than we did when we were coming along. All they need to do is just set their mind on a goal and work toward it."
On June 2, Robinson will highlight the importance of perseverance and education at the first of five summer programs at Noble Hill-Wheeler Memorial Center, 2361 Joe Frank Harris Parkway in Cassville. Also talking about their lives in the 1950s will be retired educators Allen Beavers Jr. and Minnie R. Smith, and former business owner Willie Wofford.
"This is just something we do every year to try to motivate children and to teach them black history because most of the things that we do will be involving African-American history," said Marian Coleman, curator for Noble Hill, a black cultural museum that reveals what life was like for black residents during the early- to mid-1900s through donated items, like photographs, and hairstyling and cooking utensils.
Centering on the lifestyles and notable moments of the 1950s, Noble Hill's free summer offerings are geared toward children ages 5 to 12. All of the programs will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include a complimentary lunch courtesy of the Cartersville City School Nutrition Program.
The seminars will continue on June 9 and 16 with presentations of popular '50s food, music, fashion and hairstyles, and a program about perseverance, respectively. Children will be able to play games from the '50s on June 23 and take a field trip to the Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site on June 30.
"Our character trait this time is going to be perseverance," Coleman said. "So we are trying to get them to see no matter what their goals are they will still need to persevere. If they are reaching for higher goals, they will have to persevere and if their goals are not as high they still need to persevere to keep up with the work that it will take.
"We are using 'Go for Gold' from the Olympics," she said about the summer program's theme. "The Olympic [athletes] have to train for the Olympics and they have to persevere to even just qualify to be a part of the Olympics. So we are comparing this [to] their growing in life and things that they will be attempting to do. [They need] to just keep working. It's going to take hard work. It's going to take motivation and dedication."
For more information about the Noble Hill program, call 770-382-3392. Pre-registration is not required.