ABSTRACT
The morning headline in the local newspaper read, “Five Youths Strip Searched at Local Junior High School.” Everywhere I turned, it was the hot topic of discussion. A relatively quiet and calm community and school district were now in turmoil, at odds with each other on how to handle and react to the recent events. Most of the families in this semirural area are working class; a number are below the poverty line. The community is 70% White and 30% African American. That the five boys searched at the middle school were African American appeared to ignite feelings of mistrust and despair throughout the town.
