Some of My Best Friends Are Black

BOOK: Some of My Best Friends Are Black
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SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE BLACK

SOME OF MY BEST
     FRIENDS ARE BLACK

The Strange Story of
Integration in America

TANNER COLBY

[VIKING]

VIKING
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) • Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published in 2012 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

Copyright © Tanner Colby, 2012
All rights reserved

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Colby, Tanner.
  Some of my best friends are Black : the strange story of integration in America / Tanner Colby.
      p. cm.
  ISBN: 978-1-101-58369-2
  1. United States—Race relations. 2. Racism—United States. 3. Whites—Race identity—United States. 4. Whites—United States—Social conditions. 5. African Americans—Race identity. 6. African Americans—Social conditions—1975- 7. Colby, Tanner—Travel—United States. 8. United States—Description and travel. I. Title.
  E184.A1C537 2012
  305.896’073—dc23         2011043901

Printed in the United States of America
Set in Palatino with Verlag
Designed by Carla Bolte

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

ALWAYS LEARNING

PEARSON

FOR DANIELLE

Contents

     
Preface

PART 1
   
LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM SUBURB

1   Bus Kid

2   A Place Apart

3   Oreo

4   What Can
Brown
Do for You?

5   Go Rebels?

PART 2
   
PLANNING FOR PERMANENCE

1   There Goes the Neighborhood

2   “Have You Seen the Country Club District?”

3   49/63 or Fight

4   Turf

5   Desirable Associations

PART 3
   
WHY DO BLACK PEOPLE DRINK HAWAIIAN PUNCH?

1   The Old Boys’ Network

2   Mad Black Men

3   A Whole New Bag

4   The Inescapable Network

5   What’s Black About It?

PART 4
   
CANAAN

1   The Race That Prays Together

2   The Strange Career of Jesus Christ

3   The Miracle of Grand Coteau

4   In the Wilderness

5   Milk and Honey

     
Author’s Note

Preface

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