I don't know about that...I was raised in a fairly wealthy suburb of Kansas City, (Johnson County) and had several friends who were Jewish, one - my best friend at the time, was quite accepted. There were however no Hispanics, African-Americans, maybe one or two Asians, and no Native Americans in my suburb, high school, grade school, or junior high. Very few Catholics as well - I had more Jewish friends than Catholic friends (I was raised Catholic).
You had to go to Kansas City itself to find the other minorities. It wasn't until after high school and I worked in legal aid that I met people who were "not" white.
In college, lots of Jewish friends, all doing *very* well. But only five African-Americans, maybe ten in the school. It was a liberal arts college in Colorado Springs. Fairly prestigious. Sidney Pollock's neice went there. And one of my friends from that school just came back from Israel. I remember two of my friends at the time doing a study on diversity, one was new york Jewish, one white Texan - and neither new anyone who was black at the school. There were blacks at the school. I was friends with several of them. But very few. And they didn't have any power. Of the teaching staff - we had maybe two teachers of African descent, but at least ten that were Jewish, if not more. It wasn't a large school. Less than 3,000 students.
In Law School - same situation. One African-American teacher, several Jewish, the Jewish were more prominent on the faculty, and the student body? The same. This was the University of Kansas.
Then when I did legal aid - the lawyers were Jewish, the clients black and Native American, and downtrodden.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-06-15 02:40 pm (UTC)You had to go to Kansas City itself to find the other minorities. It wasn't until after high school and I worked in legal aid that I met people who were "not" white.
In college, lots of Jewish friends, all doing *very* well. But only five African-Americans, maybe ten in the school. It was a liberal arts college in Colorado Springs. Fairly prestigious. Sidney Pollock's neice went there. And one of my friends from that school just came back from Israel. I remember two of my friends at the time doing a study on diversity, one was new york Jewish, one white Texan - and neither new anyone who was black at the school. There were blacks at the school. I was friends with several of them. But very few. And they didn't have any power.
Of the teaching staff - we had maybe two teachers of African descent, but at least ten that were Jewish, if not more. It wasn't a large school. Less than 3,000 students.
In Law School - same situation. One African-American teacher, several Jewish, the Jewish were more prominent on the faculty, and the student body? The same. This was the University of Kansas.
Then when I did legal aid - the lawyers were Jewish, the clients black and Native American, and downtrodden.