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Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson;896051
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Jermyn, I think you are right.
We had friends who lived across the street from us for several years -Jim and Rose. We are white. They are African American. We both belonged to the local swim club when our kids were younger and we've been to each other's house for social gatherings. He had a degree in Chemistry and a PhD in something and taught in a university in Chicago. They moved to Lexington, KY and could not get a loan approved on a house so someone financed him privately. They had a cross burned on their lawn. Later he moved to the Cincinnati area and applied for a job at Proctor and Gamble. He had to take an entry level job as a lab tech because of his race. He was way over qualified but that was company policy at the time. Later things changed and he advanced in the company. I've been in his house across the street and also in a larger house he moved into a couple of miles from here. He had lots of patents and awards displayed in his den. He is a very sharp guy. He has been discriminated against because of his race and he has also taken advantage of "affirmative action" programs to encourage others to go to college and to go into professions. One man told me he was raised in the projects and because of Jim's encouragement and knowledge of government help available he had gone on to college and was now a dentist. Jim also did minority recruiting for P & G. When I went to his retirement party, the folks from P & G admitted that at the time he was hired he had to come in at entry level because of race but he had since proved himself. Although they did not say it plainly, he actually had to work harder over the years to advance than a white person would. He retired at a pretty high position. I'm sure that over the years some looked at him and thought he only had that job because of his race.
His two sons are older than our sons and were very intelligent. One graduated from MIT. His mother told me about some of the job offers he got. She said he knew that some of them were just because he was black but he got to choose where he wanted to go to work.
His daughter is the age of some of our children and had a crush on one of our sons when they were in high school. He did not feel that way about her but as liberal as he is it was not a race matter, he just did not feel that way about her. My wife told him not to hurt her, that she would find some one else and she did. She married a white guy. I remember her Dad coming over here and talking to us. He just did not like the guy. He said, "It's not just because he's white. I wouldn't like him if he was black." My wife went to a bridal shower and was the first white person there since we lived across the street. After his family had left, the family and friends (all black) heaved a sigh of relief and my wife kidded them and said it was because "those white folks are gone." The wedding was in a church (African American congregation) near here and there was a reception (non-alcohol) in the church basement. Afterward, there was a private party in a nearby motel. My wife and I were the only white people there until the groom got there with his bride. Some of the people there assumed we were part of the groom's family because we were white. The groom was the only other white person there. Later, the couple moved to Texas and her parents were really concerned how their daughter might be treated there because of her race and her husband's race. He wasn't much of a husband and the marriage ended in a divorce. I'm sure the parents were glad to see him go.