When my kids were little, I put them into a summer camp that was predominantly African American. In my view, this accomplished 2 important things: 1) It was a high-quality, low-cost camp that gave my kids a happy summer experience with lots of sports activities, and 2) My white kids were able to interact and make close friendships with kids of non-white “races”.
What I did not expect was what happened at a local swimming pool and on field trips. At a local pool, the children in this camp were called racial names. Then my own children were asked, “Are you N’s too?” “What’s your name? Your last name is black? Then YOU are black! ha ha ha…” My kids were only having the experience that African American kids have every day in America.
On the way home from a field trip to Chicago, our bus pulled into a small town gas station to use the restroom and buy snacks. . We were on our way home from the Museum of Science and Industry. We were tired. The faces of workers in the gas station fell as about 50 mostly black and brown children loaded off of the bus. We were told the restroom facilities were broken. One of the black mothers on the trip actually decided to kick in the restroom door, which she accomplished, and found that the toilet facilities worked fine! It was an experience I will never forget.
–at that time in Indiana.
Doctor Grandma 
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