White community adapts to Obama reality | U.S. | Reuters
WESTMINSTER, Maryland (Reuters) - Worried by racial tensions churned up by the U.S. presidential election, teachers at one U.S. high school braced for the worst in their majority white community the morning after Barack Obama was elected the country's first black president.
To counter what she called "unsettling bigotry" in Maryland's Carroll County, Westminster High English teacher Laura Doolan wrote a 30-minute lesson for all students to give them a chance to discuss the election and correct misconceptions, such as the widespread rumor that Obama is Muslim.
"Several teachers came to me astounded by what they were hearing. They just didn't realize that students would be so openly racist, that students would ... say, 'I don't want a black president. I don't trust black people,'" Doolan said.
Courtney Case, a white 17-year-old at the school, was unnerved by racist text messages circulating before the November 4 election. "I was completely shocked because they were from friends of mine who I didn't even know had those feelings."
In the end, there were no racial incidents at Westminster High School after Democrat Obama beat Republican John McCain, but minor physical and verbal fights did occur at several other county schools.
