Latin School of Chicago

An article written by Etta Ish about being one of Latin's first black students in the December 1968 Forum. Etta Ish '69 the cheerleading squad her senior year. She, along with another African-American student, Jackie Dawn Evans, and Carole Towne were in the 40-member graduating class of 1969. "We didn't really think about the fact that we were the only Asian-American students at the school," said Towne. "Our family was the first for many things. We were probably the first Asian family to live in the Gold Coast, and we never, ever saw other Asian people in our neighborhood." At the time, the Townes and Louies lived in a large house across from Latin, so it was mostly a matter of practicality that the children would attend the school. Towne's grandfather was able to get an introduction at Latin because of his role as president of the Gold Coast Lions Club.Towne's two younger sisters, Bonnie '71 and Laurie '73, and Louie's younger brother, Alan '71, arrived a few years later. Color and ethnicity, however, were not the only barriers to diversity at Latin. Until the '40s, there were almost no Catholics or Jews at the school and only a handful of students from different parts of the city. Although no records have been found to mark a particular date or policy decision, Jewish students may have first started coming to the school in the '20s or '30s, according to Steve Sommers, retired history and social studies teacher. "To me, that may be the more interesting question: How did those first Jewish students feel about coming to Latin?" According to Miles Berger '48, he was among a growing number of Jewish boys who came to Latin in the post-World War II years and stayed through high school, while many non-Jewish students continued with the tradition of going to boarding school after eighth grade. "There was anti-Semitism, but anti-Semitism was part of the way things were in those days," said Berger. "I remember one of my classmates calling me a name, so I punched him in the nose. It was taken 102 L AT I N M AGAZINE Indebted to Latin "With both my 30th reunion and Latin's 125th anniversary approaching, I often think of how I first came to Latin. I grew up under challenging circumstances. My father passed away when my mother was only 30, leaving her to raise my older brother, younger sister (suffering with spina bifida) and me. Equipped with a high school diploma and no work experience, she settled in as a grocery store clerk in Rogers Park. While my mother worked, I grew up quite independently. In the seventh grade, I took a job in a local sandwich shop and continued working as I eventually entered a local public high school. The school's daily chaos was too much for me, however, and my attitude suffered. One Friday evening my great-aunt heard me complain about school and retorted that life didn't owe me anything – if I didn't like something, I should either change it or remain silent. Deeply stung, I spent that weekend plotting, and that Monday I secretly began contacting private schools. I was soon writing essays, filling out forms and sneaking off for late-afternoon interviews. "Latin eventually accepted me, with the assurance of financial assistance. When admissions requested my mother's tax return, however, my hopes crashed. I hadn't even mentioned Latin to my mother. She barely earned more than I did, and I couldn't ask her for help. Resigned to returning to public school, I told Latin that my mother refused to give me her tax return. That earned my first visit with the upper school principal, David Eaton. When he insisted, I handed him my home phone number and wished him luck. He held me with a long, cold stare, and then abruptly sent me home. "A few days later I was shocked to receive Latin's financial aid offer. I was still responsible for a significant bill, but I had some savings and would continue to work. I soon started as a Latin tenth grader, rising each day by 6 a.m. to catch a bus, a train and another bus. After a couple of months, I finally revealed my Latin secret to my understandably shocked mother. "I continued to work nights, studying when I could and saving written assignments for

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