Aim_Michael+Faith+Incident

Pua Trice

The Michael Faith Incident occurred during a time of desegregation in South Boston. Tension was high in South Boston- racial slurs and crimes were common. Thus, the incident between Michael Faith, James White, and a couple others began conventionally yet ended quite different. At South Boston High School, “The atmosphere inside the classroom was tense. You can't imagine how tense it was inside the classroom. A teacher was almost afraid to say the wrong thing because they knew that that would excite the whole class, a disturbance in the classroom. And the teachers didn't want that in their classrooms” (Shearer). Simply “saying the wrong thing” would incite a riot in the classrooms; hence, undercurrents of violent ran throughout the school. The incident with Michael Faith was no different: James White stabbed Michael Faith due to racial prejudices. With the help of a teacher aide, James White was able to bring a knife into the school that he was going to use to stab another student that was bigger than him. Michael Faith stepped in after seeing this situation at its commencement. He stepped in to try and end the racial aggression, but had little to defend himself with and got stabbed.

Through this incident, it became clear that racial violence was truly an issue and numerous steps would have to be taken in order to change that. Moreover, in an interview, Barbara Faith said, “ But it was such a crazy time. It’s this culmination of everything that could possibly go wrong, all happened at the same time and there had been an escalation of violence inside the school …We had people being attacked, we had aides that were getting attacked” (Gamelin). Racial prejudice was so prevalent to the culture of South Boston; the idea of desegregation seemed impossible. This stabbing was a “culmination of everything,” clashes were constant at the school and in the area. “Attacks” were innumerable. In this way, the aim of this incident was to declare the war of desegregation. To truly display what aversion and ignorance can cause in others. However, although the aim of this incident changed from negative to beneficial, in a certain way, over time. This change occurred because the conflict exhibited the dangers of prejudice and the necessity for change. A horrendous event, like this stabbing, was necessary to show the need for change, knowledge, and gained understanding. Therefore, the aim of this altercation helped to bring a change of attitude to South Boston.

Works Cited Gamelin, Emily. “Oral History Interview of Barbara Faith.” //Suffolk University//. John Joseph Moakley Oral History Project, 1 March 2006. Web. 8 January 2012. Shearer, Jackie. “Interview with Phyllis Ellison.” //Washington University Gateway Texts//. Washington University Libraries, 21 March 1989. Web. 8 January 2012.