Friends Disappear: The Battle for Racial Equality in Evanston (Chicago Visions and Revisions)

This is an important book. It should be required reading for all Evanstonians — we who tend to consider our city to be an enlightened beacon of progressivism. This is a painstakingly detailed account of a town that really (sorta) tried hard to do the ‘right thing’ to rectify it’s past inequities, but that ultimately failed miserably. It details the public squabbling, the mistakes and failures. But the book also is the poignant, true story of an inter-racial group of vibrant middle school friends, and follows their lives through to their completely disparate outcomes. The personal stories of the kids are what make this book so compelling.This book was originally written as a doctoral thesis. It is painfully factual. And also heartbreakingly personal. It’s compellingly readable.

This is a great book for those interested in Evanston history or more generally the history of school integration in America. I grew up in Evanston and attended King Lab in its early years. I learned a great deal from reading this book. In particular, the happy and self-satisfied myth of a seamless process of integration, supported by the entire community, was made less plausible but more interesting by Barr's telling of the story. She sticks to the facts, and this is not a story of good guys and bad guys. It's a story about a community -- or maybe two communities -- trying to find solutions in a turbulent time. The book is well written and generally clear, although there are stretches of jargon that will be unfamiliar to those, like me, who haven't formally studied these kinds of subjects. I strongly recommend it to anyone who lived through that part of Evanston's history, and to those who want to understand that history honestly.

Very well written and excellently researched, Dr. Barr managed to successfully write of her experience and give insight to the lives of other Evanston children that played an important part of who she is and who she has become. I too am a product of Evanston’s two school districts, District 65 and District 202 in the 60’s and 70’s. The difference being, I was very familiar with the racial and class divide in Evanston. Mainly because my parents made sure my sister and I participated in and attended events that effected our future as African American adults. My father, Bennett Johnson and my mom were very prominent in the integration of Evanston. Because of this and because my parents were both college educated, my sister and I moved freely between the two Evanstons, unfortunately, many of our African American friends did not have that luxury.In this book Dr. Barr’s sociological study not only sheds light on Evanston’s integration struggle at the time, but it also reflects the issues America struggled with and is still currently grappling with.

I devoured this over the past two days. Sometimes the sociology-speak tripped me up, but the core emotional storyline of the "group" and the carefully researched history of Evanston's battles to integrate schools and housing kept me going. We moved to Evanston in 1997 and have raised two kids here – both at ETHS now. So I have lived this reality, albeit 30 years later and as a parent, not a kid, but so many of the core dynamics remain the same. The story of Evanston shows that Racism does not require racists from central casting. And Ms. Barr's account of the different trajectories of her group's members underscores a core truth about how class and privilege function in America (would that it were just Evanston). I am sorry that I missed Mary's appearance at the EPL. I would have loved to hear the conversation that ensued. Thank you for writing this book!

Dr. Barr's study on desegregation and integration in Evanston, Illinois in the 1970's is both enthralling and eye-opening. Utilizing many sociological study techniques, Dr. Barr organizes an excellent analysis on the history of racial tension, desegregation, and the true nature of "integration" as she and her friends experienced firsthand. As Dr. Barr explains, things in one of America's most socially and racially progressive and tolerant towns are not at all as they seem.Friends Disappear is not only an amazing sociological study, it is a thoroughly well-written book. I would advise the reader to dive into the book ready to learn and question everything about both the society of Evanston at the time and their own society.Thank you, Dr. Barr, for sharing your experiences and knowledge with us in this great book!

This book provided an amazing trip down memory lane since I knew all of the characters. What was astonishing was the fact that my experience during this time were so radically different as a black child during this period. The struggles for integration were very real and this book provided a context that I think is important for every Evanstonian who speaks about their reason for living in Evanston is the diversity. The segregation still exists but Evanston has done a great job of creating "drive-by diversity". Thank you Dr. Barr for providing subtext for racial divisions in Evanston then and now.

Great history of discrimination in Evanston, a town I've lived in for 20 years and never heard about.

Just reading about home was great. Evanston was the city with the small town feel and if you're from here, you can almost smell the love, the failures, the triumphs and the life. I love my town and I'm sorry it's turning into an extension of Chicago and not remaining independent and holding on to the culture that makes us special. This book shows how Evanston was doing things in the world long before the world caught on, but it also shows that Evanston is not perfect. If you're from Hevanston.... then buy the book just to have. Thank you Mary Barr!