"A lawyer is a social engineer or parasite on society." (Eyes on the Prize, 1935) Charles Houston was an incredible lawyer and taught a generation of black lawyers. Although he was not well known, Charles Houston played a key role in eradicating segregation in schools. Listen as I share her story. Today is April 22, 1950. I have chest pain and can hardly breathe. I know what's happening. I know I'm having a heart attack. My last heart attack. I just wish I had a few more weeks, maybe a month or two, to finish my case and hold my son one more time. He's only five years old, but I've recorded my life, my love, for him to listen to, even if it doesn't ease all his pain. I feel that the above case will mark the beginning of a new beginning, the beginning of the real war on segregation. I just hope it isn't as long and bloody as the First World War. But you don't know what I'm talking about, do you? I suppose I should start from the beginning, from my birth. I was born September 3, 1895 to my parents, William and Mary Hamilton Houston. My father was a lawyer. He ran a law firm catering to middle-class blacks and was good at his job, so we were able to live in a nicer neighborhood. My mother was a teacher, but she gave it up for better pay as a hairdresser. Mom could easily pass for a white woman, but she was so proud of her race that she wouldn't let anyone make such a mistake. I have been an only child my whole life. My parents only wanted the best for me, so I entered one of the best all-black high schools in the country, M. Street School. I worked hard and when I graduated I was at the top of my class. Unlike most black high schools, which were basically vocational schools, the M. Street School focused on getting you to meet college requirements... halfway... being a lawyer, helping the NAACP so profusely, to name a few. He did so much, changed so many things in his life, even after his death, through his teachings. His life, his actions, just prove that no matter what you're dealing with, be it anything from racial prejudice to something as simple as a mean girl, you can face it and change it for the better. I feel like he really didn't find his true calling until he was in his twenties, and that makes me realize that I still have time to find what I'm meant for. After learning so much about him, I'm surprised that this is the first time I've heard his story. I don't know what I'm going to do with my life, so I guess I just want my legacy to be that I'm a good person and that I helped people. I want to be remembered as someone who accomplished things, or even just something. I want to be someone with a life worth living.