Brian Preston
1 min readMar 7, 2024

I grew up in an all white community outside Detroit. My elementary school was clearly working class-a bedroom suburb that exploded in 1942 as American industry geared up for the war effort. Everyone was like me until junior high, where some kids were better off. I didn't feel that 'till high school, where kids from the west side of town were from a very professional neighborhood. Class distinctions were similar in some ways to your experiences with race: Sitting with my friends from the rich part of town made me feel like the outsider when I was outnumbered by the rich kids. My group was challenged by the wealth disparity and it was hard to feel comfortable among kids with 2 professional parents, unlike mine. Working class vs rich--if someone rich and white "invaded" our territory, we were uncomfortable. Race AND class are dividers for all of us. We continue to see that in today's political divide. Thanks for sharing. Glad your daughter is rising above this destructive divide.

Sign up to discover human stories that deepen your understanding of the world.

Free

Distraction-free reading. No ads.

Organize your knowledge with lists and highlights.

Tell your story. Find your audience.

Membership

Read member-only stories

Support writers you read most

Earn money for your writing

Listen to audio narrations

Read offline with the Medium app

Brian Preston
Brian Preston

Written by Brian Preston

A retired educator with an interest in furthering progressive ideals

Responses (1)

Write a response