Title: Separate pasts
Subtitle: growing up white in the segregated South
First published: 1987
Description: In *Separate Pasts* Melton A. McLaurin honestly and plainly recalls his boyhood during the 1950's, an era when segregation existed unchallenged in the rural South. In his small hometown of Wade, North Carolina, whites and blacks lived and worked within each other's shadows, yet were separated by the history they shared. *Separate Pasts* is the moving story of the bonds McLaurin formed with friends of both races―a testament to the power of human relationships to overcome even the most ingrained systems of oppression.

A new afterword provides historical context for the development of segregation in North Carolina. In his poignant portrayal of contemporary Wade, McLaurin shows that, despite integration and the election of a black mayor, the legacy of racism remains.
Subjects: Race relations, Childhood and youth, North carolina, social conditions, North carolina, biography, Southern states, biography, Southern states, race relations, Youth, conduct of life
Places: Wade (N.C.), North Carolina
People: Melton Alonza McLaurin