Reading White Like Me provided this white American with awareness of certain aspects of my privilege (and that of my children) of which I had been previously oblivious. But, I felt a particularly strong connection to the book's author due to one specific commonality... And, that commonality is a certain middle school in the Green Hills area of Nashville, TN, situated directly kitty-corner from the house in which one of the most successful exploiters of black culture was raised: Pat Boone, who made a name for himself by performing sanitized versions of Fats Domino and Little Richard songs.

John Trotwood Moore Middle School was easily identifiable from the book's description. And, it was particularly interesting to read about the author's experiences in the same building where my youngest child, who suffered from severe ADD, had such a difficult time attempting to learn anything at all. For a long time, I've felt strongly that Moore was long overdue for a serious make over.

Living in Nashville, I was constantly revolted by having to drive by that grotesque, Interstate adjacent statue of Confederate General (and KKK founder) Nathan Bedford Forrest. Now, I find out that the school for which my daughter pom-pommed as a member of its cheerleading squad was named for such a blatant purveyor of white supremacy. That only exacerbates my discomfort and disgust with those pervasive nostalgic antebellum sensibilities.

The school building, which was designed to facilitate a noble, but failed experiment in education should have had a major renovation decades ago... Now, I'm thinking perhaps it should instead be knocked down altogether and replaced with a more education-friendly structure with a less shameful, more inspired name.

Unfortunately, the Boone house will remain lording over the campus from the hill across the way as a reminder of another time during which white folks could blithely borrow black creativity and labor to enhance their own wealth and fame.