She left my elementary school and went to a predominately white Catholic school. Her name was Caroline Murray and we spend out first grade arranging to sit next to each other during group classroom activities and all of recess turning cartwheels in the grassy area around our playground. I can still see her at six years of age with her blond Dorothy Hamill hairstyle and her beautiful blue eyes.
I was in first grade in 1977 and my neighborhood was starting to see a boon in young, hard working African Americans who could afford the American dream of home ownership in a clean quiet, family oriented neighborhood called College Hill. We moved to College Hill in 1974 and my street was a good mix of black and white families with kids. By 1979, all of the white families moved except for one elderly widow, Mrs. Bill, who stayed until she was forced to go into a nursing home in the mid eighties. I never gave much thought to why the white families left or why Caroline went to Catholic School. My elementary school was very good and had excellent teachers. Some may say that she left because she was Catholic and I would agree except my other best friend was black and Catholic and went to my elementary school just for kindergarten because the same school Caroline ended up going to didn’t start accepting student until they were in the first grade. As I grew older and I realize that my street was experiencing "white flight" and that maybe, just maybe, I can‘t say for sure, that Caroline‘s parents didn‘t like the changing demographics of the school.
I write this diary for many reasons one is because many of us who grew up in communities that had minorities could probably relate to making friends with anyone irregardless of color when you were a kid and also because I see the same pattern being repeated by nieces and nephews that range in age from 25 to 7. But with one striking differences, their friendships are lasting. My niece, Camryn is absolutely in love with her little friend Michaela. They are like peas in a pod, inseparable. They spend the night at each others houses and in the summer they are stuck to each other from sunrise to sunset. I know that as time goes on, my sister’s or Michaela’s family may move and their friendship may wane but it will not be because of any racial divides. I can honestly say that no matter what happens, Camryn will always be able to befriend and maintain healthy relationships with white, hispanic and anyone else irregardless of ethnicity well into the future.
Times have changed. I think the most important change came with my generation. Cincinnati is probably one of the most racially conservative cities in Ohio (we are on the Kentucky/Indiana border) and we now see the value in our children having strong diverse relationships. For those of you who may have wonder what ever happened to Caroline, at this point in time, I don’t know. But we did meet up again in the ninth grade. She transferred to my high school, which by the way is one of the top College Preparatory schools in the country, Walnut Hills High School. We exchanged pleasantries but of course our lives had changed dramatically. We were no longer friends but I accepted it for what it was at the time and moved on. But it did give me a firm foundation when it comes to me choosing friends as an adult. I judge a persons character before color and I know we have more in common than different. I just glad my seven year old niece is learning the same lesson.
In closing, I would like to say Obama is possible and I know that for sure because of Caroline Murray, Camryn and Michaela and all the other parents and kids in this world that see us as one people united and not divided.
This is my first dairy and after months of amazement at the ground swell of support for Obama, I was compelled to bring my perspectives as to why hope and change has been long overdue in America. By the way, I hate writing so I apologize for any grammatical errors in advance!