This web site will tell the story of how I became involved with Harlem Cab, got my parents and brother involved and what happened with dealing with people in the community that led to the name change.  I will also talk about a few of the many friends that I met along the way that have helped to keep us focused and grounded in our attempt to preserve our Black Heritage and business acumen...  People like Willie Winn, James Norwood, Abraham Hill, Algie Lee Collins, Don Blackmon and Vernon Crayton. 

In the beginning I met Mr. Knox around 1964 when I was about 9 years old.  He had built a house across the street from my good friend and mentor Mr. Theodore Youngblood.  Mr. Youngblood was a former porter with the railroad and bellman of the storied Driskill & Stephen F Austin hotels in downtown Austin.  Mr. Youngblood lived two houses down the street from our house on Astor Place and I took a liking to him almost immediately because he had a wealth of knowledge and insights about life. He had gems of wisdom to share with a young kid like me and I always felt that his house was my house.  His wife Latatlion Richard Youngblood (nicknamed Tot) was very nice too which only solidified the welcome feeling I had.  My parents could find me either at Mr. Youngblood's or Mr. Knox's... learning stuff about life mostly any day that either men were at home. 

Mr. Knox was tall and skinny and very dark complexioned.  He always wore a black hat and a white shirt with dark pants.  He was very neat and walked with confidence, speaking with authority whenever we talked.  He knew a lot of stuff that I wanted to know, stuff that other old men in the neighborhood didn't want to talk to me about, like slavery, civil rights, the Democrats vs. Republicans, Malcolm X, Huey Newton, H. Rap Brown, Martin Luther King Jr. and all of that kind of stuff. 

I recall many of the controversial explanations that today, one might view as radical for a Black man to speak of back then, so I figure that Mr. Knox was simply a man that was way ahead of his time. 

Mr. Knox once shared with me that there were basically 2 types of people, regardless of color or what they did: Shepherds and Sheep.  He said there were many Black leaders in a community but that White people wanted to choose for us who they were, to keep us under their control and "in our place" and so the real leaders who refused to be labeled or made into puppets, he explained, were the true leaders.  

Shepherds and Sheep. 

Mr. Knox also told me of how he had tried to help another Black cab company survive and that the city council leaders of the day refused to let him save his friend's business. 

Deluxe Cab was located at 12th & Chicon and was owned by Mr. Randolph Hawkins and his wife Katherine Walton Hawkins.  Randy, as we called him, was a very unique person who wore a cowboy hat, tucked his pants inside his boots and always tugged his pants up (like Erkle) when he stood up. He even wore the suspenders but he wore them WITH a belt!  He was quite the character and my fond memories keep me smiling. 

Once you met Randy, you would never forget him because he would talk your ears off, voicing an opinion about anything and everything.  I knew him well myself, because he was a friend of my dad’s. 

Randolph was buying the property where his cab company was located but got behind in his taxes and didn't have the money, about $4,000 to pay the bill.  The Austin City Council closed his business so he would lose the property, even though Mr. Knox offered to loan him the money to save his competitor from going out of business.  I culled therefore that Mr. Knox was indeed a Saint and the Devil was in the details that hindered his kindness.  You do the math on what I mean...

In the City of Austin Archives, I read where one of the councilmen stated that Randolph didn't have any business trying to own property, or something to that effect (This statement magnifies the point about people trying to keep US in our "place"). 

When I asked Mr. Knox about it, he told me that he felt like he would be next, but I didn't understand then what I understand now, having been in his shoes going on 23 years now.

I was intrigued because he had so much knowledge to share that was not necessarily school-learned or popular thinking for Black people.

Mr. Knox was a special friend to me, just like Mr. Youngblood was and I appreciated knowing both of them a whole lot.  I value their memory and hope that I can be half as great as they were.

The cars:  Everyone knows I am a car nut...

Mr. Knox kept several plain Black Chevrolet Biscayne cars at his house and he also sometimes drove a Gold Cadillac Deville that was always clean. I was fascinated with the Biscaynes but didn't really like the fact that they were so plain. They didn't have radios (music) in them.  Mr. Knox said that the drivers needed to be listening to the company radio and he didn't want them to be distracted from driving or communicating with the passengers.  He told me that he bought new cars every year to replace half his fleet every other year.  He wanted his customers to be comfortable and safe.  The city had no age limit on cars, so I suppose he did it because he wanted to.

Little did I know that the experiences of knowing the many people that worked for him as drivers and management, as well as the customers that depended on Harlem Cab Company were the real facts that made him rich, not the cars or the money.  He wasn't really that talkative, but when he did speak: wisdom. 

Mr. Knox let me cut his grass and he was the first person who ever tipped me.  I tried to give it back thinking he made a mistake. He explained that a tip meant that I was doing an excellent job.  He said that if I did a poor job, not only would I not get a tip, but he would not use me again either.  I was impressed and the lesson stuck with me, to this very day.  I always try my best.  It's a pride thing.

Mr. Knox had a Coke machine in his garage at home and kept several cases of full bottles.  There wasn't a visit that went by that I wasn't drinking some Coke.  He was very generous.  We never really talked about any of his kids (I think he had two) but every once in a while, he'd mention a girlfriend was going out of town with him or something.

He had a nephew named "TD" that used to come visit him and sometimes we would play together. I lost contact with him soon after Mr. Knox died. I liked him too. I wonder how he's doing.

Sometime before he died, when I asked him who he was going to leave all his stuff to, Mr. Knox told me that he was leaving the company to his manager, Mr. Odis Axel, and his secretary who ran the office, Mrs. Dorothy Heard.  He explained that they were the nuts and bolts of the company and it was best left in their hands.  He said he was giving his children One Thousand Dollars each and that was all, because they would probably lose the business. 

He didn't explain further and I remember the pained look on his face when he told me about what he was going to do when he passed away. 

Mr. Knox praised Mr. Axel and Mrs. Heard adding that Mr. Axel had helped him build the company and he felt that he owed both of them.  He said they worked for practically nothing and he was grateful.

I was disappointed because I wanted him to leave me something too, but as an adult I understand.  He rewarded those that did for him.  

He rewarded me with tips and lessons and advice and insights into the man.  He helped his children, but felt they might squander what he had built.  Mr. George Knox was a man with vision, loyalty and class and he made me feel welcome every time I saw him.  

After Mr. Knox died, I saw him in the company that he had owned. That's when I wanted to buy it!