Dante & Jared

This is Dante's best friend back in Kentucky. They're definitely cut from the same cloth. Both boys played baseball this year and ended up playing each other. Dante's team won by one point. Afterward, I invited Jared to play in the backyard. Nana's house is literally right next to the ballpark. While they were playing, I noticed the irony...




When the boys realized what I was doing, they looked at each other. "You're not black," Dante said. "I know," Jared laughed. And off they went again. The exchange reminded me of their history as friends. This same boy is growing up with a racist family, who've become milder since Dante has been in their lives. I hate that he always seems to bear the cultural brunt of changing people's minds. But he takes it well. When they were first becoming friends, there was an incident on the playground where a playful and well-intentioned Jared yelled after him, "Run, nigger, nigger, run!" Likely from some song he'd heard or from his dad watching football on Sundays or any number of inappropriate sources for kids. Dante stopped short and turned around and said, "Don't say that anymore. You can't say that." And nothing more was ever said about it. He also informed Jared that calling him "D-tay" was not his name and that he didn't need a nickname. It was likely a case of "acting black" that seems to happen with white kids who have black friends (you know it happens, don't deny it! The fake ebonics, the copying of rap star attitude & clothing, etc.)

They're close now. I like to think that Jared's world view was shifted a bit because of his friendship with Dante. His entire family showed up to Dante's birthday party. They were part of very few white kids there. The party was mostly made up of black kids and biracial kids. The parents were uncomfortable, but they relaxed over the next few hours. The kids were uncomfortable too--except for Jared--but I think they mellowed by the end. It's hard to imagine that things like this still exist in the year 2007.

-- Virgil