Some thoughts about racial integration

I was in third grade at Woodland elementary school when the first African-American student showed up in the Oak Ridge public schools in our ostensibly enlightened community. Our teacher prepared us in advance. I don't recall any problems, but of course I'm White. By the time I got to ORHS in 1970, there were a few AA students. Maybe 15% of the student body. Other than in gym, and in extracurricular activities (sports, band), the only class I was in that had a representative number of Black students was journalism/yearbook staff my junior year. I'm glad AA students were "allowed" at ORHS, but at the time, they weren't really "integrated" at all levels.

Flash forward: our daughter attended University City High School, where she was in the 15% minority of White students. Her calculus teacher (two years) was Black, and she certainly had Black friends. When Rebecca matriculated at Colorado State University, she complained that there were no minority students. What she meant is that there were few Black students, although there were lots of Hispanic students. Indeed, it was there she became "woke" to the immigration and human rights issues that put her on her current career as an immigration attorney fluent in Spanish.

Living a long life allows one to appreciate the long arc of change. America is far from being a beacon of justice, and in significant ways appears to be in retreat. I hope the retreat is temporary and that patriotic Americans exercise their franchise at the ballot box in November to put America back on an inclusive trajectory.