President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Kamala Harris

(R) Donald Trump

80%↑

20%

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

(R) V. Archuleta

98%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

(R) Marshall Dawson

95%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Hurd

(D) Adam Frisch

52%↑

48%

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(R) Lauren Boebert

(D) Trisha Calvarese

90%

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Crank

(D) River Gassen

80%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

(R) John Fabbricatore

90%

10%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) B. Pettersen

(R) Sergei Matveyuk

90%

10%

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(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

50%

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

December 11, 2010 06:34 PM UTC

Illinois Yearling, Where Are You?

1 Comments
by: JO

I first encountered him when I was 10. I know this with certainty because it was my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Rosen, who announced one morning, “We’re going to have an Illinois yearling with us today.” I remember a certain sense of wonder: are we having a young calf in class?

Within an hour the answer became clear. Illinois Yearling was a new student. He was given a seat in the First Row, where he squinched down and said nothing. He wasn’t eager to put up his hand to answer Ms. Rosen’s questions–a method of teaching that makes some students feel they are smart and some feel they are not. He seemed a bit small for his age — should have been ten, but maybe he was younger and had skipped a grade or two.

And there was this: Illinois was black. Everyone else–in the class, in the school, in the neighborhood–was white. I think it’s safe to say that Illinois was the first black person I ever met, or rather, sat with in the same room.

At lunch recess, after eating, most of us were outdoors playing four-square. I noticed Illinois standing by himself in the sun next to the door. I imagine that I remember thinking I should invite him to join the game, or at least go over and say hi, maybe make Illinois feel that he had made at least one friend on his first day in the new school where he was the only black kid, give him a reason to smile when his Mom asked him, “How was school?” she hoping, perhaps, to hear that her dream of giving Illinois a shot at the world of White America wasn’t out of reach. But I didn’t.

Illinois came back the next day, but he wasn’t there on the third. Gone. No explanation offered. None requested. Gone, but not entirely forgotten. I don’t remember exactly what Ms. Rosen taught me that year; I do know what I learned from the teacher that everyone has had: Mr. Guilt.

For me, that lesson was: Speak up! Speak out!

Maybe, in time, Illinois Yearling sat at a lunch counter where he wasn’t welcome, where he wasn’t going to be served, wasn’t going to be asked if he’d like some apple pie for dessert, with or without vanilla ice cream. Maybe he rode a bus in Birmingham. Maybe he marched in Mississippi. I don’t know. I did none of those things, but I did join some of the marches, helped organize the transportation to D.C. I did choose journalism over law because I saw it as the best way to change the world using what gifts I might have, whereas, William Kunstler notwithstanding, lawyers by their very nature play by the rules. I did speak out. And I never did shut up, even when invited to do so by some young genius of eminent intelligence and superior literary skills.

But this a personal diary, using or abusing this blog for personal ends. ILLINOIS YEARLING, if you’re out there, please get in touch. I want to apologize to you, personally. Maybe get together for a game of four-square. The Secret Question is: What lily-white elementary school did you attend for two days in fifth grade? Post the answer and give me an address. Thanks, and all the best.

One thought on “Illinois Yearling, Where Are You?”

dukeco1 says:

December 12, 2010 at 6:15 am

My childhood, spent in the Atlanta Ga. area and in eastern Kentucky during the fifties and sixties, led me to develop a lifelong loathing for racists.

Because you did not befriend Illinois, you did not pay the price for doing so. In my childhood world, to associate with blacks was to be reduced to their status. The insults (which I will not repeat), the scorn and derision awaited anyone who transgressed.

I hope you find Illinois. Good luck.

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