Crossing Division Street

September 11, 2002 Issue

By Abbie Jarman

Article Tools

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Crossing Division Street, Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer
"The most terrible thing I can make myself say about white people is also the most wonderful. Somewhere, however buried and refracted by guilt, the truth lives in our souls. We know what we're doing. It's why we are susceptible to improvement. It's why we have no excuses," writes Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer, recollecting his childhood in the pre-Civil Rights North. Schutze's story is included in writer Bernestine Singley's new anthology "When Race Becomes Real: Black and White Writers Confront Their Personal Histories." Schutze spent first grade as the only white kid at Jones School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After a few fights, Schutze actually acclimated to his bizarre surroundings and was crushed when he was forced across town to the all-white Angell School. But the worst was yet to come, when Schutze entered junior high and the two schools merged. Schutze felt the pressure of his white peers to ignore his old friends from Jones -- and he did. That was the hardest part for Schutze then and now, knowing that his racism -- as with many -- "was not guileless or unwitting. It was learned, decisional, and willful."
--Abbie Jarman
Go there>>

Comments

Add Your Comment

You can use this comment form to enter your personal experiences or additional information and resources that you'd like to share with Utne Reader readers. Your helpful advice will be posted on this page. E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments. First time registrants: You will receive an email confirming your email address. Once you confirm, your comment will be posted. Questions about our comments policy? Click here.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to Utne Reader?
Sign up to share comments.

Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.

Name*

Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*

This will be your login ID.

City	State	Zip Code

Password*

Confirm Password*

Have you signed up before?
Please log in before you enter your comment.

E-mail Address

Password

Forgot your password?

Comments

(Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)

Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.

READ

E-MAILED

DISCUSSED

First Name: *	Last Name: *
Address: *	City: *
State/Province: *	Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:	Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds. Canadian Subscribers - Click Here Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here

Crossing Division Street

RELATED ARTICLES

The Art of the New Deal

Homeless Newspapers Head Uptown

The Word from the Curb

City Folk Make Friends With Their Neighbors Preparing for Y2K

Street Art's Street Fight

Comments

Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.

Your name appears next to your comment.

This will be your login ID.

Forgot your password?

(Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)

Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.

Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds. Canadian Subscribers - Click Here Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here

Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here