Daniel Iggers in Hamilton, Ontario, 2005
“It’s hard to decide what is a real memory or a memory of memories. But I do have fond memories of my childhood and also of the racial issue. When I was a student—I think in first grade—I had to ride a bus. And there were other older children who pushed me and said things like, “Nigger lovers.” But childhood wasn’t just made up of such memories. I remember that once, when I was playing near our apartment, someone pushed me off the swing. Someone was very upset because my parents had Black friends over. And this man—he was a graduate student—tried to get into a fistfight with my father. My father would never do that. I remember that. I think that when I was 5, 6, or 7 years old, my father, or rather both of my parents, were involved in civil rights activities. But I also think that I didn’t have much of an understanding of the differences between Black and white children. My friends were all Black. I think I’m more aware of that now, as a 52-year-old.”