Kathleen Gapa

Kathleen Gapa

Kathleen Gapa was a University of Michigan student working in the Detroit School System the summer of 1967. She and a colleague had taken students to Ann Arbor for the weekend and came back to tanks and soldiers.

Detroit Historical Society

07/05/2016

Detroit Historical Society, Detroit, MI

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Written Story

I, Kathleen L. Hanlon, was a Senior at the University of Michigan majoring in French and English with 20 hours to obtain a teaching certificate. In January '67, I requested culturally disadvantaged students-I was assigned to a school on 12th and Myrtle, Pelham Junior High. The student population was mixed-Mexican, White and African American: all were poor, but very well-behaved. My roommate Shelley McCormack did such a good job , we were offered full-time teaching jobs on Monday. The last Friday of the semester, we invited six female students to spend a weekend in Ann Arbor. Our apartment was by the Law Quad. We took them on a tour of that and U of M's campus. When we returned to Detroit, the riots had begun. When we reached Livernois, armed tanks were lined down the street and armed soldiers were on every corner. We had to ask permission to return the students to their homes-it was granted. We felt badly after we dropped them off-what kind of life were they going to experience! My roommate and I taught in Detroit at Webber Junior High for three years.

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Kathleen Gapa

07/04/2016