When I was still a young teenager, going to school our cities started a brand new experimental school system. In Junior High they did some sort of test on me, and told me I was a number of years ahead of my grade.
I did have some issues in school and one of them was some boredom. School officials asked me if I wanted to try out a new experimental situation, whereas, I would be bussed into a Black area to go to a new school there. I said ok.
I started to bus out to another area. Although at that time we did have a mix of races, our school was predominantly filled with White students. I was already close friends with the Black students, so close we spent a lot of time together. After school we would go to my apartment, set up the music in the living room, and we would dance dances. No, we didn't study after school; we danced.
We went all types of places together and in between sessions it was all about music and dance. Even though I was maybe only 13 or 14 at that time, my old close buddy asked my mom's permission to marry me, but they never told me until later in life. Of course my mom couldn't give my hand in marriage to a 14 year old when I was 14 so I believe she chuckled a bit.
At this new school, which didn't seem so much like a school, I brought my radio (also called a ghetto blaster) to school everyday. I brought that radio with me everywhere all day long: To the park, to the market, walking anywhere, or on a trip anywhere.
The new school was actually an old church, sort of worn out and the classes only had couches very casually situated, no blackboard, and the couches sort of faced each other in conversation mode.
We had new type of classes, not the usual typical classes we had in regular school with bells, but it was more relaxed. Also there was hiking hills somewhere near where we'd hike to and turn on the tape player or radio and listen to music together, talk, and eat lunch.
We would take trips on a bus to other experimental schools to see how other students were doing things. I remember one experimental school where all the students were working in one huge room (not separate small rooms) but all the students were working on art together. This impressed me. I had never seen anything like this in all the schools I ever went to. In some of the schools that were regular schools, there were cliques sometimes, even bullies, and there was separation. For instance, the Hispanics, Chicanos, & some Cubans would gather in one corner of the yard at recess and lunch all together and wear the same style of clothing. Even though I was very close to some of the Hispanics, they all went to the same spot everyday at lunch and stuck together. It wasn't violent like that in those days though as it may be today.
There were no gang fights on the playground or anything like that. There was soft separation according to what clique you belonged to or group. For instance, Carol King's daughters, Louise & Sherry Goffin went to school with me there, but Louise & Sherry had a little clique whereas they had rich parents, so they were always sort of separated typically by their status in life. Louise & Sherry though were two of the nicest girls and although we didn't hang out on the playground together, we did perform on the school auditorium stage together and I remember doing a play with Louise for a little production, whereas, I danced as the role of the "Wind".
In the experimental school though, there was no separation; just kids working together or discussing everyday issues inside of class. At my school we did spent much time going up on the hill and listening to music. I immediately made friends with a Black girl and every day from the first day we did everything together: Ate lunch together, climbed hills together, went to class together, and listened to each other's music together. Every day I looked forward to seeing my friend and spending time with her. We were two little girls, real sweet who loved music and our lives surrounded around music.
In the experimental schools there were no cliques actually or anyone that intimidated anyone else. It wasn't about gangs, who was stronger, who was richer, or who wore the best clothes. It was just about being there.
In those days, I didn't know about any race wars and I did not view people in separate categories. I mean, I never saw someone as Black, Hispanic, or separate; less than, or more than who I was. There was no real difference. I didn't think I was better, worse than, or somehow separated from others by color, religion, history, or economic status. I didn't see others in a race, class, height, weight, looks category sort of way. I didn't categorize or label people in separate categories the way I realized the world did when I got much older.
I didn't have any issue bussing over to the Black area and when they asked me, I didn't think of any difference than being at the school I was at. I didn't even notice at all that everyone just about around me was Black and I was a different color. I really didn't. I didn't even think about it. I didn't worry about whether they were going to hate or like me based on my skin color either. No one there worried about whether I would accept, hate, or like them due to color. We were there and enjoyed life together is all. There were no pretences, lies, games, or racial name calling. We were kids.
I had a boyfriend, a little older I was seeing at this time too. I worked also at that time whenever they would hire me for the catering company.
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