This is not the right title, but close enough. It may not be exactly accurate as the story happened decades ago and my information is from a third party. But right now, in this place in time, it needs to be told.
In 1970, in a small rural town in Western NY, a group of friends became activists in the fight for racial equality by doing the right thing.
This group of mostly quiet, very intelligent teens stepped up to get a foreign exchange student moved to a new home when her host family revealed themselves as being racist bigots. They moved to have the student relocated to a new host family.
The host family had hosted a an AFS student from Germany a few years before and was therefore already vetted and ready to take another student. The host teen was a part of the friends group. She had not been spending as much time with them as she had a boyfriend that occupied most of the time that she wasn’t in school. They were already certified as an AFS home and did not go through the rigorous scrutiny a new family would have. They received notification that they would be hosting Judy, a teen from an African nation.. When asked about who the student was, the host teen told her friends, some nigger! Judy arrived ready to learn about the US and to be a student at BBCS. She arrived in clothing appropriate for the African climate including sandals. Being that it was soon to be Fall in NY these items were not enough. Her host family would not buy her any clothing for the cooler weather. They received money for Judy, but being that they had not yet received it yet, they wouldn’t help out.
Students from other countries were always welcomed to our school. We didn’t have a lot of exposure to other cultures. Our parents didn’t fly all over the world for work, so AFS was our window into other cultures. Judy arrived and made friends, some in her classes, and some like my sister, were younger. Unfortunately, her host was spending all her time with her boyfriend , and wasn’t really a part of that. She would go out and leave Judy at home. When the parents also left, Judy stayed at home with a list of chores to do. When she wanted to attend school dances and athletic events she had to get her own rides or stay at home doing housework. What this young girl was learning was that the US was that she was not valued because of the color of her skin . She was considered a servant by the host family.
Her friends became very aware of what was happening. Not because they were activists or because of what was happening in the 70’s , particularly in Southern states, but because it was the right thing to do. They spoke up to the adults that could help. They stood up for their friend and took action.
The school officials and sponsors acted immediately. First they had to find a family that had already had a student. They called a farm family that had hosted a Scandinavian student 4 years before. They were excited to have another student and Judy was moved to their home. They welcomed her, loved her , and made sure that she had what she needed and was taken to school events. The problem was that they only had one child and she was in college and not living at home. Judy stayed at their home until a third family could go through the vetting process for AFS. She then moved into a third family. They had 3 students, and Mom worked at the school.Their family welcomed Judy and that is where she lived out the remainder of the school before returning to Home
That this even happened is abhorrent to me. Why did the first host even take a student from Africa if they were that bigoted. They should have declined. Maybe the goal was to get their daughter to spend time away from her boyfriend and not spend all her time hanging all over him. The mother of this familyhad been my release time religion teacher when I was in 4th grade. How could a Christian treat another person like this? What this young girl was learning was that the US was a place where she was not valued and would not be considered an equal.
Judy, I hope you have more good memories than bad of your time at BBCS. I hope that by the end of the year, you realized that you were a part of the student body and the community. I hope that you realize that your first family was an exception to how the community felt. Your friends spoke up for you.
To Denise, Ron, Nancy, Teresa, Linda, Gregg, and others ( I just don’t know all the names) thank you for being brave and compassionate enough to see this huge injustice and be part of the solution. To the 2 families that agreed to be hosts, one with a few hours notice and the other that went through the vetting process at warp speed, You are also heroes. What could have been a horrible year for a young girl, instead taught her that she had friends and people that saw her as they should, as a brave young girl that traveled thousands of miles to learn in another county.
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