The eighth installment in The New York Times race series may be the least narrative, in the sense that it is more an organized, persuasive collection of reporting—quotes, background, information—than a story that moves through time. But like good narrative, it reports on particular people in particular places at particular times: in this case, students at a couple of remarkably integrated public schools in Maplewood, N.J. It focuses on one friendship among three girls of different races. The three face difficulties in remaining friends as they get older, and pressures to stick to their own racial groups grow. The piece lets these girls speak, their inner lives emerge and we understand better the subtle socializations of race.
Read “Growing Up, Growing Apart,” by Tamar Lewin
Read “Growing Up, Growing Apart,” by Tamar Lewin
