It is so hard to be honest and white while at the same time,plus be the
kind of person who isn’t considered to be prejudice or a racist. In the
late 50’s and all of the 60’s I was born and raised in an all white
neighborhood. I went to school with all white students. The only black
person I ever met “in person” was in the very early 70’s who was a math
teacher in high school. That all changed when I graduated and went off
into the work place world. I had missed the civil rights movement of the
60’s but I wanted to be a part of the movement in the 70’s to make
things right.

In 1976 I lived in a neighborhood that was considered to be a black
neighborhood. It had just recently turned over from a white to black
neighborhood. I watched as the last few remaining white families sold
their homes and “got out” White businesses also moved away and were
replaced by storefronts filled with resale shops, liquor stores and
storefront churches. Many stayed vacant and became places that were
targets of vandalism. Building deteriorated and nobody was there to keep
the street out front clean or maintained, windows got boarded up until a
new business could come in and take over. That took years to happen.

In 1979 my black husband and bi-racial child moved to Oak Park for a
better, safer place to live and raise our family. It was better for me
and my child but not for my black husband, at first anyway. He was
pulled over by OP police on a regular basis. Once he showed that he
lived here, he was let go. He fit the description of someone they were
looking for.... a black man. As time passed things got better. We had
two more children and bought a house in the same school neighborhood the
children were attending. Life was good. Oak Park has been a place where
my bi-racial family could live in peace.

When my children were in grade school, I questioned why they had to be
listed as “black”. There wasn’t an option for “other” at that time. I
was told it was funding issues. I should fight to keep their black
status because it was good for both the school and them personally. They
would be eligible for grants and scholarships when it was time to pay
for college. They were not being treated differently in school because
they were black, it was just politics. Now in that same school,
bi-racial children are counted separate. They are no longer counted in
with the black children. Why? I guess that when you add the bi-racial
kids in with the black kids.... the school would be majority-minority.

Which brings me to the hard part to talk about. Mr. Whitaker was
insulted by the gatekeeping tactics of Mr. Lauber and Mr. McKenzie. Well
I say, as insulting as that may be, if you want to live in an area that includes
both black and white families, the truth has to be said! Even the white
people with the best of intentions will not live in or send their
children to a school that is majority-minority. But I don’t think the
reasons are just because of skin color. They are because of several
things. In my opinion the big reason is the educational testing gap.
That gap forces teachers to change their style of teaching. They are
forced to spend their time going over instead of going on.

Next would be economics. It isn’t a stretch to say that if you live
North of Augusta and West of Oak Park Avenue the median income is
significantly higher than if you live South of the Eisenhower and East
of Ridgeland. That speaks to a class issue – I’ll add on top of that the
density of multifamily housing (renters) is much higher in the SE than
the NW. To continue the hypothesis, those in the higher income class
place education and academic excellence higher in their value system and
thus encourage more homework and higher quality – the teaching methods
and caliber are the same. Contrary the SE class make parental complaints
about workload and hence the students aren’t pushed as hard.
The resistance to status quo comes in if someone were to propose
mixing/integrating the NW and the SE students because the NW has higher
scores. The NW will object because it may dilute the educational
experience – and bring the influence of the SE value system and culture
to their kids.

Not a lick here about race … it’s all about money (economics) and the
value systems of two populations.

name withheld upon request