My Los Angeles in Black and (Almost) White

Acknowledgments

xi Acknowledgments i owe a special debt to the following people, without whom this book would not have been possible: my teachers within and without the Los Angeles Unified School District during the 1970s and 1980s, who extended their best efforts toward a dreamy and distracted student; coaches Bob Johnson and Lou Cicciari, and all of my teammates on the 1986 Varsity Basketball squad at Granada Hills High School, for an experience that extended well beyond the realm of sport; Mark Slothower, John Walsh, and all of their colleagues at the offices of the LAUSD, who patiently and professionally responded to my interminable queries and data requests; Paul Ardoin, our graduate research assistant, for his expert sleuthing; the talented editors and readers at Syracuse University Press; my colleagues in the Department of English at Florida Atlantic University, who have always supported my work; my colleagues in the Peace Studies Program at FAU, who provided travel funding for this project; the left-coast Furmans— Richard, Leila, Daniel and Ruth; Buddy and Joanne Bloomfield, for taking me in way back when, and for welcoming me back; Anthony Lockhart, for opening up the basketball gym to all comers Saturday mornings at Boca Raton High School (age, race, gender, and skill level aside); and, finally, my parents, Nancy and Stephen Furman, who never quite knew what I was up to with all of my pestering questions about those hazy Valley days. My Los Angeles in Black & White ...