The Light - An Alumni Publication Fall 2014 | Page 9

Faces of YFU

Education:
Ann Arbor Senior High School
Kalamazoo College, B.A., Spanish and Linguistics
University of Rochester, Master of Linguistics, Woodrow Wilson Fellow
Episcopal Divinity School, M.Div., Theology and Scripture Studies
Occupation: Retired Episcopal Priest; still active as a spiritual director, clergy wellness consultant,
and licensed adult formation professional.
Home: Ann Arbor, MI

Joven de Color
A YOUNG MAN’S EXPERIENCE OF EXCHANGE
IN PRE-CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AMERICA
The 1961 Michigan Youth Chorale left home
to spend seven weeks in five countries of South
America and Mexico. By the time we returned that
summer, the Berlin Wall had gone up, and we had
a fleeting encounter with a brother of our youthful,
first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy (Robert?
Edward?) as our respective retinues passed each
other in the Lima, Peru airport.
This was heady stuff for us Midwestern innocents
travelling abroad as musical ambassadors. The
warmth with which our Latin American audiences
and host families greeted us certainly fueled our
confidence, and in a good way, I think, added to
our self-awareness of this unique mission.
For me this translated into a double-selfconsciousness as also being the only joven de color,
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