The accompanying photograph depicts the entrance to the Aliso Village complex during the early 1950s, my home for the first eight years of my life. This City of Angels neighborhood was initially integrated, but by the middle of the decade, the Village residents in our section of the projects were predominantly African American. It was at that time that I formed a lifetime bond with my Black peers despite my White appearance. I was unconditionally accepted and treated as one of the brothers, and my identity with them was set in stone, regardless of the physical, psychological, and emotional torment awaiting me.