Summary

After "her meeting with the university president," Magna drove around town (191). The streets were filled with small stores and restaurants. She "was trying to escape" (191). She had met with the president because of an incident on campus. She had told a colleague about what happened, and they had contacted the president. Magna felt anxious and excited. In his office, she tried "hard to explain herself" (191). Two days prior, she had been standing outside her apartment building. A car slowed as it passed her, and a white man yelled "Hey, girl!" out the window (191). Magna understood the man's comment to be racist as he was imitating Magna. When she tried relaying the incident to the president, it did not sound like a story at all. However, the experience had reminded her of other experiences "in her hometown, Philadelphia, a heavily black city that was...