My partner won’t let me go out in a pair of scuffed or dull boots. He gets out his portable Executive Valet Shine Kit. “Put your foot up here,” he demands. He slides a chamois cloth back and forth across the toe, the upper, the vamp, the quarter, the collar, the counter.

I am transported back to Jennings, La., in 1964, when he would skip school to earn money at his shoeshine shop in front of the local grocery store. Before mandatory integration, Jefferson Davis High was where the Black kids went. Education was important, but earning money was imperative. However, shining shoes wasn’t just about cash for him. It was about looking good. And now? It’s all about love.

– Susan Parker, Oakland, Calif.

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