After a forty year career in diversity recruiting, Gene Washington plans to retire from 3M later this year. Following, Gene reflects on coming of age before desegregation, his academic achievements and his professional accomplishments. 

Gene grew up outside of Houston, Texas in a segregated community.

When I began ninth grade, I was bussed 10 miles to all-black George Washington Carver high school in Baytown, Texas. There, I was introduced to football, basketball, and track and field. I could only participate in sports because the coaches dropped me off at home after practice. If I missed the bus, I would have had no other way to get home. Busses weren't available for athletes who stayed for practice.

During football season, I played wide receiver and quarterback. We were state champions my junior year during some really tough segregated times. The movie theaters were segregated and the balcony was the designated black section. The hotels were closed to us, and we had to drink from black only water fountains, live in black only communities and we could not be served in local restaurants. 

I learned to accept the situation because my family's livelihood depended on my parents doing a good job working for white employers. I really understood our limitations and will forever be very thankful to my parents for the tremendous sacrifices they made.

Segregation pushed me to excel because we were treated so unfairly. I will always have a special place in my heart for my teachers and my coaches because they made us feel that we were valued, that we were expected to learn, and that we were expected to work hard to be the best that we could possibly be in whatever we pursued in life.

My wife lived in Highlands, Texas and we were bussed to the same school in ninth grade. We met that year in 1959. We will be celebrating our 43^rd wedding anniversary this year. Our meeting and dating was the only good thing that came out of segregation for me.

Wanting to go to college, Gene knew he had to leave the South. At that time, Texas universities did not admit African Americans.

I understood that my parents did not have a chance to pursue an education. I am really grateful, however, that I had an opportunity mainly because of my academic and athletic background.