[Susannah]

"I'm very sorry about what happened to your son"
Cincinatus' Wife

Thank you for caring. My son and I don't blame blacks for what happened, because he could have been abused by whites too. The SHOOL did nothing! Had this happened when I was in high school, the students involved would have been suspended, parents would have to wrestle with the school to get them back in, and they would have been shunned by their classmates.

Sometimes good comes from bad. My son learned a lot outside of school. Some people even have asked him what college he went to.
Self-education may be the answer for some.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I know. So many from our generation believe schools to be what they were when we went (I graduated from high school in 1965). But they aren't and they haven't been for a long time.

[ntnychik]

The school district in which I worked was terrified of being painted as racists by so-called "civil rights activists" in town. They dreaded disciplining black students and allowed them to get away with much more than other students. Teachers were relieved if the black students showed up and minimally cooperated. There were no high expectations. Counseling was scant because it was assumed bright black students would have the way paved for them.

A group of parents learned of a very capable black student who wanted to be a teacher declining drastically in the midst of her senior year. Her family had no tradition of higher education and told her there was no way she could go. These parents of her friends in an extra-curricular activity helped her explore college catalogs, took her on campus tours, showed her how to apply for scholarships and introduced her to successful students at the college she chose to attend. They lent the help that her parents couldn't and the school didn't. She's been successful in college and wants to be a teacher.

I'm glad for this post and an opportunity to begin a conversation. Mis-assumptions have caused enough damage.