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Jamal: Uh, okay, because I didn’t talk, like, the kids that were bullying
me, because I didn’t act the same way as them, they, uh,
immediately resulted to calling me names, like “gay”, and
“faggot”. And just because I didn’t use the same – because I didn’t
talk like them, because I didn’t act like them, because I didn’t hang
out with them, because they didn’t know me. That was their way of
belittling me so that I didn’t – well, I guess that was their way of
trying to put me in my place.
Jamal: And, I mean, it affected me, psychologically. I mean, even today.
But, I mean, I just kind of, I don’t know, I found ways to move
past it. And, I mean, in a way it turned me, I guess, cold, like bitter.
I became mean, and like, I don’t know, it was my way of coping.
So I don’t get hurt.
Researcher: Yeah. Yeah, that was your coping mechanism. When you were
going through this, was it, was it Black kids that were giving you a
hard time? Was it White kids?
Jamal: Black kids. The White kids were understanding. I mean, they were
the ones in Quest with me. And even the ones that weren’t in
Quest, they didn’t view me, really, as a –
Researcher: As a threat?
Jamal: Well, yeah. They didn’t view me as a threat. So I guess the Black
kids that were not in Quest (gifted program) viewed me as a threat.
They thought, um, I guess it hit them close to home, seeing me
being successful; seeing me get to do things that they, as Black
kids, could not do.
As Jamal moved through middle school and into high school, he became further
estranged from his Black peers and more socially involved with his White gifted and non-
gifted peers.
Jamal: I mean, even to this day, all of my friends are White, except maybe
two or three. I mean, that’s who I feel comfortable with. I mean, I
guess after being with them for so long, it just kind of –
Researcher: It seems very natural, I’m sure. Because it’s safe, like you said, it’s
safe. And that’s—those are the people that you’ve grown up with
all this time. So that makes total sense to me.