'I Had a Black Roommate From ... Newark'
Ms.
Weda
Mosellie,
Phillipsburg,
New Jersey
In September 1971, I left home for the first time when I went away to a college that was 40 percent African American. I had come from a small town (where I still live) that had one black in my whole high school. My family and I weren't prejudiced, we just had no real contact with anyone but white Italian/Syrian Catholics. That was the majority of my community. But now, I had a black roommate from a Newark, New Jersey, ghetto who talked to me of Martin Luther King, civil rights, bigots, and protest marches.
Going home with her one weekend was an education in itself. I came from a poor, hard-working, loving family area. Pat had to fight, grow up, and struggle just walking to the store. Her mom was a wonderful fighter, too. The police and the government didn't seem to acknowledge her neighborhood. So I found myself spending time picketing, writing letters, and having petitions signed for my roommate's causes. This great, intelligent girl taught me more about the real world than the expensive college textbooks we purchased.
Also, this experience gave me empathy in my later 20-plus years of teaching.
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