Franklin also spoke of a more mundane act of ubiquitous racism. "A black high school student... worked for weeks on a paper for class and submitted it to his white teacher. It was a first-class paper. You know what she said? 'Who wrote this paper for you?' He was destroyed completely by a casual comment by an insensitive teacher," Franklin said. "He was dragged through the streets and killed, too." Franklin related the same story ten months prior at a nationally televised forum in Little Rock, noting that the child subsequently quit school and started living on the street.
After reading of the incident, Charles Geshekter, professor of African
history at California State University, wrote to Franklin to find out
when and where the incident occurred and what was done to discipline
the teacher. "I was appalled to learn about this incident," he
wrote. "As a university instructor and a member of the ACLU and the
Southern Poverty Law Center, I am always distressed to hear about such
incidents. Thank you very much for providing me with more
particulars." But after five months, Franklin had not replied to the
query, so Geshekter wrote to him again. "I realize that you are
extremely busy... but I wonder if you would please take the time to
answer my questions."
After five more months, Franklin replied to Geshekter. "I can provide no more details about the incident," Franklin wrote. "I do not feel free to reveal the name of the school or the name of the young student who was tragically mistreated. I do not wish to expose either him or his family to further unauthorized disclosure." It was Franklin, of course, who initially disclosed the story. "As a fellow historian deeply concerned about race matters and historical accuracy," Geshekter wrote back, "I was distressed that you would voluntarily 'cite' such an inflammatory 'incident' to a member of the press... yet be unwilling to provide further specifics." Franklin did not reply.
