Same School, Different Class

Same School, Different Class is the unforgettable true story of two former classmates, one Black, one white, who reconnect decades after attending an elite private school in Connecticut. From 1970-73, they shared classrooms, but not the same reality. In this dual memoir told in alternating chapters, David Waddell and Kim Bancroft reveal to each other how race, confrontations with privilege, hardship, and silence shaped not just their youth but the lives they would go on to lead.

The authors each wrote a chapter on agreed upon topics, such as their first day at this new school, friendships, teachers, vacation time, the school's public speaking event, and family relations. They discovered sharply contrasting experiences even of the same event, inspiring deep reflections on the nature of what it meant to come from their different race and class backgrounds.

Their book speaks to the radical power of listening, facing history together, and rewriting a racial and social narrative with heart. The authors' stories lead us to ask: What has truly changed in institutional integration since the 1970s, and what do schools and other institutions still need to do to be more inclusive? Questions all the more important in a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion are being disputed and when schools are wrestling with identity, belonging, legacy, and truth. Same School, Different Class offers something rare, a deeply personal story that challenges how institutions remember themselves. David and Kim show how honesty and love can prevail.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: SSDC
Published: 09/30/2026
ISBN: 9798234184764
Pages: 244
Weight: 0.73lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.51d