Mount Vernon was located near 7th Avenue and West 17th Street, and was a predominantly Black junior high in a gang-ridden neighborhood. Even though my grammar school’s student population was primarily Black, for me, race and ethnicity didn’t have the significance they came to have in middle school. By then, racism had become prolific, as many of the African American males were victims of racial discrimination and vindicated police brutality. Consequently, a growing number of disadvantaged Black youths had become aggressive, combative, and rebellious. My White appearance, but Black identity, put a target on my back and drew violence and animosity from gang boys. For an entire year, I was ganged up on and brutally beaten.
Former friends were made to attack and reject me. Finally, expulsion from the school freed me from what would have ended in fatality.