Segregation Across Town
High School life in the 1970's.31 total reviews
Comment from Jesse James Doty
This is a moving story that touched my heart since it was about integration during the 1970s when I went to High School too. Although you referred to it as segregation it was integration and I know it can be difficult to figure out the difference between the two but one keeps them apart and the other puts them together to see if they can get along. Thanks for sharing this touching tale.
Jesse
reply by the author on 25-Sep-2024
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This is a moving story that touched my heart since it was about integration during the 1970s when I went to High School too. Although you referred to it as segregation it was integration and I know it can be difficult to figure out the difference between the two but one keeps them apart and the other puts them together to see if they can get along. Thanks for sharing this touching tale.
Jesse
Comment Written 24-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 25-Sep-2024
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Yes, Jesse. You are so right. I know the difference but when I was in school I am not sure why they called it segregation, but that is what they called it. We did not know what it meant. Thank you for your review. I really appreciate that!
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Kids overhear words and don't get their significance. There is a big difference between segregation and integration.
Jesse
Comment from Julie G1
This is an excellent piece of writing, an apt and evocative response to the prompt. Well expressed, hope all readers are barracking for the underdogs in life. Very talented writer, keep on keeping on!
reply by the author on 20-Sep-2024
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This is an excellent piece of writing, an apt and evocative response to the prompt. Well expressed, hope all readers are barracking for the underdogs in life. Very talented writer, keep on keeping on!
Comment Written 19-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 20-Sep-2024
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Well, thank you Julie. I really appreciate your review!
Comment from Julie Helms
This is a very interesting story of your high school years, a mix of good and bad, but I like how you overall became a stronger person despite the adversity.
A couple comments:
The temperature was -17 degrees below zero
(This should be either -17 degrees OR 17 degrees below zero)
I think you are using the wrong term. Segregation was outlawed by the courts in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education. Just after 1970, President Nixon finally acted on this and instituted the extremely controversial process of Desegregation, also called Integration. This is when kids started getting bussed out of town to change the racial makeup of the schools--an attempt to balance them better. That sounds like what you experienced.
Thanks so much for sharing your story!
Julie
reply by the author on 13-Sep-2024
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This is a very interesting story of your high school years, a mix of good and bad, but I like how you overall became a stronger person despite the adversity.
A couple comments:
The temperature was -17 degrees below zero
(This should be either -17 degrees OR 17 degrees below zero)
I think you are using the wrong term. Segregation was outlawed by the courts in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education. Just after 1970, President Nixon finally acted on this and instituted the extremely controversial process of Desegregation, also called Integration. This is when kids started getting bussed out of town to change the racial makeup of the schools--an attempt to balance them better. That sounds like what you experienced.
Thanks so much for sharing your story!
Julie
Comment Written 13-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 13-Sep-2024
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Well, thank you Julie. You may be right about that. However, when I was going to school all I ever heard was the word segregation and that is what everybody was calling it. They could have been wrong too though.
Comment from joann r romei
This was wonderful, I loved the way you told it, very sad about Chicago and the fire, but you did not despair or turn to crime or drugs, you were blessed and I wish more people in similar situations can find help or skills to survive,
reply by the author on 12-Sep-2024
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This was wonderful, I loved the way you told it, very sad about Chicago and the fire, but you did not despair or turn to crime or drugs, you were blessed and I wish more people in similar situations can find help or skills to survive,
Comment Written 12-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 12-Sep-2024
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Well, thank you so much Joann for your great review and your kind words. I really appreciate that!
Comment from amosajames
This does not feel like fiction which in itself is a deep compliment. Thank you for such a moving story showing the contrast of growing up in two different scenarios. It's unfortunate the beating and violence based on race alone, not to mention the conditions students had to settle for in the inner city. It's a blessing you had the opportunity to discover your gifts and use them. Thank you
reply by the author on 07-Sep-2024
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This does not feel like fiction which in itself is a deep compliment. Thank you for such a moving story showing the contrast of growing up in two different scenarios. It's unfortunate the beating and violence based on race alone, not to mention the conditions students had to settle for in the inner city. It's a blessing you had the opportunity to discover your gifts and use them. Thank you
Comment Written 06-Sep-2024
reply by the author on 07-Sep-2024
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Well, thank you amosajames. I really appreciate your review about my true story.
Comment from forestport12
Well now, this sucked me. Honestly, I would not have read it, accept I noticed it was high-value read. But I'm glad you posted it. It's always interesting to me how white or black, once you get to know someone, you don't think about skin, you find there are things in common. Odd reasoning about busing people away then and now. Thanks for sharing this. Memorable.
reply by the author on 31-Aug-2024
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Well now, this sucked me. Honestly, I would not have read it, accept I noticed it was high-value read. But I'm glad you posted it. It's always interesting to me how white or black, once you get to know someone, you don't think about skin, you find there are things in common. Odd reasoning about busing people away then and now. Thanks for sharing this. Memorable.
Comment Written 30-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 31-Aug-2024
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Well, thank you forestport12. I really appreciate your review!
Comment from barbara.wilkey
I started kindergarten with the same kids I graduated high school with. It was a small rural town in Illinois. That was a good thing. My boys were brought up as Army brats, so moved at least every three years, sometimes more often. The good news was everybody was in the same boat. Moving can be very hard on kids. But often parents don't have a choice. Thank you for sharing this story with us.
The next week we had our first track meet, (The following week)
reply by the author on 30-Aug-2024
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I started kindergarten with the same kids I graduated high school with. It was a small rural town in Illinois. That was a good thing. My boys were brought up as Army brats, so moved at least every three years, sometimes more often. The good news was everybody was in the same boat. Moving can be very hard on kids. But often parents don't have a choice. Thank you for sharing this story with us.
The next week we had our first track meet, (The following week)
Comment Written 30-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 30-Aug-2024
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Well, thank you Barbara. You are so right. Moving is very hard on kids. Thanks for your review. I really appreciate that!
Comment from estory
This seemed to me to a great story of perseverance under hard circumstances. The first part was very unusual because most people today do not talk about how black people antagonize white people. It's mostly the other way around, but I thought your piece illustrated the fact that people aren't really that different from each other; we all have prejudices. The second part, especially the part where you talk about the race, really seemed to illustrate your determination to succeed at something. There's stumbling blocks along the way, but you overcame them. I think if you gave it some perspective, wrote in a third person, it would make a great short story. estory
reply by the author on 28-Aug-2024
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This seemed to me to a great story of perseverance under hard circumstances. The first part was very unusual because most people today do not talk about how black people antagonize white people. It's mostly the other way around, but I thought your piece illustrated the fact that people aren't really that different from each other; we all have prejudices. The second part, especially the part where you talk about the race, really seemed to illustrate your determination to succeed at something. There's stumbling blocks along the way, but you overcame them. I think if you gave it some perspective, wrote in a third person, it would make a great short story. estory
Comment Written 28-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 28-Aug-2024
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Well, thank you estory for your insight and great review. I really appreciate that!
Comment from Sandra Stoner-Mitchell
What a shame you had to move again, when you were doing so well. It's tough being poor, and feeling ashamed, but there are many people who don't think that way, and you found out at the last school how to be proud of yourself, which in turn shows to those who are better off. I really enjoyed reading your story at school, and will look out for the next one. :)) Sandra xx
reply by the author on 28-Aug-2024
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What a shame you had to move again, when you were doing so well. It's tough being poor, and feeling ashamed, but there are many people who don't think that way, and you found out at the last school how to be proud of yourself, which in turn shows to those who are better off. I really enjoyed reading your story at school, and will look out for the next one. :)) Sandra xx
Comment Written 28-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 28-Aug-2024
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Thank you again Sandra. Yes, that next move was a killer. I loved that school and kids so much.
Comment from Shanbreen
I like your write-up about your school years. I am glad you came out of your harassment at school and the poverty you faced to be the school track star. Yours is a good, hopeful story.
Some minor typos and edits---for example,
that mans face... needs a possessive, i.e., that man's face.
Thanks for sharing, Harry. Very interesting.
reply by the author on 28-Aug-2024
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I like your write-up about your school years. I am glad you came out of your harassment at school and the poverty you faced to be the school track star. Yours is a good, hopeful story.
Some minor typos and edits---for example,
that mans face... needs a possessive, i.e., that man's face.
Thanks for sharing, Harry. Very interesting.
Comment Written 27-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 28-Aug-2024
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Well, thank you Shanbreen for your review. I really appreciate that! And thanks for catching my ooppss!
