Page 259 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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244 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
as well as to my mother and to my close friends, but
the urge to take that drink was more powerful than
anything else.
After Charlie had talked a while, I knew that this
man had something. In that short period he built
within me something that I had long since lost, which
was hope. When he left, I walked with him to the
streetcar line, which was just about a half a block, but
there were two liquor stores, one on each corner from
my home. I put Charlie on the car, and when I left
him, I passed both of those liquor stores without even
thinking about them.
The following Sunday we met at Ella G.’s. It was
Charlie and three or four others. That was the first
meeting of a colored group in A.A., so far as I know.
We held some two or three meetings at Ella’s home,
and from there we held some two or three at her
mother’s home. Then Charlie or someone in the group
suggested that we try to get a place in a church or hall
to hold meetings. I approached several ministers and
all of them thought it was a very good idea, but they
never relinquished any space. So, finally, I went to the
YMCA, and they graciously permitted us to use a
room at two dollars a night. At that time we had our
meetings on Friday nights. Of course, it wasn’t very
much of a meeting in the beginning; most of the time
it was just Vi and myself. But, finally, we got one or
two to come in and stick, and from there, of course,
we started to grow.
I haven’t mentioned it, but Charlie, my sponsor,
was white, and when we got our group started, we got
help from other white groups in Washington. They
came, many of them, and stuck by us and told us how