What daily events do you remember from 50 years ago? The ones that are so significant they can’t ever be forgotten. I am a white woman. Living in Amherst in 1968 attending graduate school, my friend, an African-American student, asked me to help her find an apartment to rent. She had followed up on a newspaper ad for an apartment. She called the owner, made an appointment to see the apartment, went to look at it and was greeted at the door by owner “I’m sorry, the apartment has been rented.” Later that day, my friend asked me to call the owner and see if it was really rented or available. It was available.
It’s time for stories like this, hundreds, thousands, to be told publicly. It’s time for all of us to see how prevalent racism is here and everywhere in our country. Other readers, add your stories. Wake up majority community to what we have silently lived with, then get loud and do whatever you can to change us.
Wendy Sinton
Florence