NOT-SO-GUILTY SOUTHERN WHITE GALS: Anne Creed sends this email in response to the post below:

A comment about the Guilty Southern White Boys discussion: I lived in West Philly (went to Wharton), straight out of a women’s college in the South. I remember walking down the streets of Philadelphia with my new Yankee friends and having them want to cross the street to avoid some perfectly normal looking black people on the sidewalk up ahead. I wouldn’t cross the street and we all lived to tell about it. (And I thought to myself: And they think I’m prejudiced because I’m from the South!)

I also remember that a Northern white friend of mine told me about the first time her sister had ever seen a black infant. It occurred on their family’s only ride on public transportation, taken while their car was in the shop. Her sister, who was obviously just a child, pointed at the infant and said, “Look, Mother. A baby maid!”

I stayed on in Philadelphia after graduation to work with Turner Construction in Center City, where I had lots of opportunities to get to know Northern blacks. It feels audacious to say this, but I found that I had a much better connection with them that your basic white Yankee. Not only did I not find them frightening, but a great many of the Northern blacks I worked with had South Carolina connections. We had a lot of fun talking about the hot weather and snakes “back home.” I even had a black guy on a bicycle pursue me through Philadelphia, which I will admit made me a little anxious. Turns out he saw the S.C. plates on my car and was homesick.

I’ve gotten a few emails like this one.

UPDATE: Ted Barlow suspects that this story is an urban legend. Well, it’s a reader email, so I can’t possibly say. Perhaps Ms. Creed will reply.