narrator: reverend greg thompson grew up in traveler's rest, south carolina.theegregatesouth, he nev really ought in traveler's rest, about s racialdentity,. until one fateful da in elementary school. i was in fourth grade. myest frie was who had the same name as me. we were know[mus]the two greg's. we're fourth grade boys, soe got in lots of trouble lots of times. we were always joking and i remember this one day the teacher called us wn. we both laughed, but shcame andrabbed him by his shirt and threw him against the chalkboard but shcame andrabbed him front of the wholclass and sa to him, "why d't you we that n----r sle ousicr face?" to be held up in front of the whole class as if there is something fundamentally wrong with him a way that is visible in his face, that our teacher, who we all looked up to, pointed out for us. and i've spent a lot of time thinking about what the trauma of that wasor him. but the other trauma is the trauma of shame because as a child i knew that i didn't come to his defense. i lt embarssedbout that er theourse ofy life win i've