My experiences with blacks began at an early age in Detroit’s public schools. Even in the 1960s, the city’s education system was already in decline. The ordeal that us white students had to go through was harrowing, to say the least. White students did not use the restrooms, as a “beatdown” by multiple blacks was usually the result (blacks never fought one-on-one). We always tried to be in clear view of school personnel at all times in order to avoid being attacked.