Conversation with John Bruce and Ken Bancroft
John Bruce and Ken Bancroft grew up on opposite sides of the Jones Falls Expressway bridge that divided the neighborhoods of Remington and Druid Hill. Back in the 50s and 60s, people grew up hearing to never cross the highway to the neighboring area, and racial tension was the reason. Although Mr. Bruce and Mr. Bancroft grew up quite close to each other, for these reasons they never met until much later in life. Fast forward to now, when both men are leaders of a group called Be The Bridge– an organization devoted to knocking down the boundaries of racial discrimination. The program encourages dialogue across racial lines so that different groups may understand each other better, and leave behind the fear.
The two men told stories from their youth, talked about how they formed the local chapter of Be The Bridge, and why this kind of work matters still to this day.
11th grader Olivia said, “I really enjoyed today’s “Conversation with…” I thought it was very interesting and I learned a lot about discrimination through housing. One of the things that stood out to me was when Mr. Bruce shared his story about the police officers. Another thing that stood out to me and was very moving was when Mr. Ken and Mr. Bruce were choking up because Mr. Ken was explaining how he feels about Mr. Bruce and their friendship. I also think that it is important that people try to end racism and speak out against it.”