Kathleen Gapa

I, Kathleen L. Hanlon, was a Senior at the University of Michigan majoring in French and English with 20 hours to obtain a teaching certificate. In January '67, I requested culturally disadvantaged students-I was assigned to a school on 12th and Myrtle, Pelham Junior High. The student population was mixed-Mexican, White and African American: all were poor, but very well-behaved. My roommate Shelley McCormack did such a good job , we were offered full-time teaching jobs on Monday. The last Friday of the semester, we invited six female students to spend a weekend in Ann Arbor. Our apartment was by the Law Quad. We took them on a tour of that and U of M's campus. When we returned to Detroit, the riots had begun. When we reached Livernois, armed tanks were lined down the street and armed soldiers were on every corner. We had to ask permission to return the students to their homes-it was granted. We felt badly after we dropped them off-what kind of life were they going to experience! My roommate and I taught in Detroit at Webber Junior High for three years.