Free The Cruisers by Walter Dean Myers Page B

It’s also a human issue and we can’t separate it from our history.
    “Also, I don’t like the idea that the Cruisers didn’t just go after the ones who published the article even though I understand from Zander that it was difficult to pin them down. That’s all I have to say except I hope everyone has a nice day.”
    Alvin came up next.
    “I think everybody is still making too much of this whole thing. I’m not saying the Sons of the Confederacy shouldn’t have thought more about how people were going to take things, but I know that none of them are racists or anything. We were supposed to be back before the Civil War and we were putting our minds in that time frame.
    “I don’t know if you have to study history from one point of view. Maybe you can understand it better if you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and try to understand what was going on back then.
    “I’m sorry for the people I offended but I think it’s wrong of people to come down on me so hard when almost the whole country had some connection with slavery back in the day. I guess I’m not too sensitive a guy, but that doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. We should be able to talk about race and maybe even make fun of it. Or that might be in a perfect world or something, I don’t know. It’s, like, a hundred and forty-some years since the Civil War was over and I thought we could treat everything lighter. My bad, but I’m not a racist and I think that Zander should come up and deal with everything people are saying.”
    A lot of students turned toward me and it was one of those moments when I knew I should have put something down on paper. I hadn’t, but I was standing up and headed for the front.
    I was thinking hard and fast. The only thing really cool I came up with was that the Cruisers were supposed to have been peacemakers.
    Alvin was still at the mic and he held out his hand. I shook it and I heard some boos, probably from the Genius Gangstas.
    “Okay, so I would like to thank Mrs. Maxwell for giving us a chance to play a role in studying the Civil War,” I said. “I’d like to thank Mr. Culpepper, too. I knew it was hard on him not to come down on us, but he gave us some slack and that was cool. I would like to apologize to anybody that me and the Cruisers got uptight, because we have to own what we did, too. But I don’t think you can just throw spit, wipe off your chin, and say you were just kidding.
    “If you say something to somebody’s face or behind their back or on the Net or on the phone, you have to own it. And that means you have to think about it before it comesout. As for the Sons of the Confederacy, I have to say that you don’t have to think wrong to be wrong. Not thinking can be as hard as thinking wrong if it hurts people.
    “I’d like to thank the Cruisers for their support and how generally cool they are. I’d also like to thank the Genius Gangstas and all the kids who supported us.
    “Da Vinci is the Da Bomb!”
    I got some nice props, and when Mrs. Maxwell clapped even Mr. Culpepper put his hands together—once. Mrs. Maxwell came up to the mic next.
    “Well, haven’t we had an adventure?” she said. “I think we’ve all learned something very valuable. Because speech is free in America it is still very powerful and must be handled with caution. I think we’ve also learned that there are many issues surrounding the major events of history that make problem solving difficult.
    “I’m very proud of the fact that, although some tempers were pushed to a high degree, the issues were resolved in thoughtful ways. The debates were very similar to what occurred during the period before the Civil War.
    “I would like to thank those students who represented the Union, those who represented the Confederacy, and even those who represented other groups. The Cruisers’peacemaking efforts did bring the arguments forward, but sometimes, as Mr. Culpepper suggested, there comes a time when we need to change