It had been all black until our school districts weak attempt at de-segregation. It was only 96% black after and 2% white, 2% "other." I learned that I did not like to be discriminated against myself! "White Boy" became my name and getting my ass kicked became my game. The injustice of being beaten by multiple black boys was not lost on me, but I knew even then why they did it, I had seen white boys doing the same to black boys before. Still, I was able to make friends with some of the black kids and learned a lot about things I was ignorant about. Most importantly, I learned that other than a few cultural differences, they were just like me. They wanted the same things I did.
I also observed that our school got all of the broken down equipment that the white schools in the district had sent over when they got the new equipment. The teachers were unhappy to be there, and I could tell when I transferred back to the white school (we moved to get to a school for my learning disabled brother since the schools at the poor end of town did not have any programs for this), that the classes were way ahead in every book than in my previous school. There was not the same opportunities to excel in the black schools.
In the South now, poor whites get along with black folks much better than the wealthier ones who avoided de-segregation by moving outside of town or going to private schools. It is easy to sit back and talk about "The Blacks" like Donald Trump and say they are lazy, don't want to work, "had the same opportunities I did," but it doesn't make it true. Most whites have no clue what they are talking about, yet they think they do!
I suppose I could have gone the other way and hated the black boys that would abuse me, but I could not since I grew to know them as individuals. I knew that there had never been any "equal" in the "separate but equal" bullshit that was talked about back in the day, not even close.
Thanks Johnny Reb, enjoy your new name!
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