Walid was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1939. He moved North when he was 39 or 40.

On his experiences of racism in the South: “I didn’t really have any of that because I stayed out of the way most of the time. I was the youngest in the family, but my brothers and sisters [had different experiences]. It was something like being mistreated and put down. Stuff like that. Wasn’t nothing physical; just all mental stuff.”