Embracing Diversity as a Family Blog #3: Chapter 1. Awareness – 1960’s Wichita
My childhood was foundational to the adult I would become. This first chapter excerpt opens my newly released fifth book, Embracing Diversity as a Family: Preparing the Next Generation to Flourish:
“I was born in 1958, just four years after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision by the United States Supreme Court that desegregated taxpayer-funded, government-run public schools across our nation. Thankfully, that landmark ruling would pave the way for equal access in education to all Americans — at least in theory — and by law.
About a decade later, I would be blessed with the opportunity to begin attending the Accelerated Learning Center (ALC) at Minneha Elementary school on the eastside of Wichita, Kansas. In my fourth-grade class were some 20 white students from middle-class Christian homes, a Jewish girl, and a black boy. We had all taken I.Q. tests to qualify for a pilot program for high-achieving students. We would spend the next three years together with master teachers. It was the best school experience of my life because I was intellectually stimulated every day alongside similarly capable peers. I am glad that those years we spent intensively learning together provided me with friendships I still enjoy some 55+ years later. I also learned that just because righteous laws are passed, does not mean people abide by them in their hearts, the workplace, or at an elementary school.
Mike N. became my friend. I was naive to the idea that a young white girl and a black boy of the same age should not become well acquainted. We were classmates, had things in common, and enjoyed interacting in class and on the playground during recess. I doubt he remembers me, but what I saw him endure changed my life, and I will not forget him.
The main thing I remember about Mike was that our gym teacher always mispronounced his last name. He included the term “nigger” in it. At the time, I did not understand this was on purpose. One evening during my family’s dinnertime, I happened to mention this. My Dad, with a shocked and dismayed look on his face, began to explain that this was intentional and wrong. It was termed racism or prejudice.”
[Chapter continues in the book.]
I hope you will purchase a copy of my book on Amazon. Then read it, watch a few of the recommended films, and discuss with others how your view of humankind might be expanding outside your comfort zone as you learn about this important, albeit controversial topic: Embracing Diversity as a Family: Preparing the Next Generation to Flourish.
