broad and deep damage has been done to American culture by racism and sexism over the whole course of American history and that they are still powerful forces today (339). These supporters feel that minorities are still at a disadvantage and therefore need affirmative action to equalize the competitive playing field. When speaking to Linda Miller, a family friend and a former biology teacher from Palmdale high school, I was informed that she once had a 10th grade student who refused to sit next to a colored student. Later that year, that same student and a couple of his clan members were arrested by the Palmdale police department for assaulting a black student during lunch time. As we discussed the book Cold New World, she was very insistent in adding that it was much easier as a white teacher to work in a school full of such hate and violence towards students of different racial backgrounds. She also shared an experience when one of her colleagues (an African American man) was forced out of the high school due to threats made by students such as vandalizing his classroom door, notes with racial slurs in his school mailbox and spreading rumors about him and his family. He did not have trouble finding another school to work at as he did in the Santa Clarita valley. She also recalled the high security team that was brought into the school when some parents, teachers and students feared what some of the kids were capable of doing. In response to this, Linda not only changed the school she is teaching at and is also planning on moving away from the entire valley. When instances like these hit close to home, they bring a sense of fear to those who may be caught in the crossfire of these violent attacks, forcing decent and honorable citizens to change locations.I remember the city of Lancaster, as a place where my cousins could go to sleep at night with the garage door left wide open, doors unlocked and had trustworthy neighbors. It is those...
