The Counterfeiter Chap 3: The Casual Supremacy of Prep School

Life at Milton Academy was hard for many Black students

Randall Dunn was five years older than me and an amazing teenager. He was popular, charismatic without even trying, and a great athlete — he made varsity in football, basketball, and lacrosse. Everyone liked him and looked up to him. When he was a senior, he was head monitor, a position that other schools might refer to as senior class president. Students voted on who got the job. Dunn was the first Black head monitor in the history of Milton. He would surely get into a great college. That was everything—the entire Milton experience centered around getting students into a great college and if they accomplished that, then their time at Milton was a success. If they didn’t get into some sort of top tier school, well, they’d wasted their shot.

After college admissions letters floated onto campus, Dunn ended up getting into Brown University, a prestigious destination. His time at Milton had been a roaring success. Of course, not every senior got into the school they dreamt of and this moment when kids found out where they were going was fraught. Some were elated, some were crushed. And hurt people hurt people. A white boy who was disappointed about his college prospects told Dunn to his face that the only reason why he got into Brown was affirmative action. That was true. However, not in the way the boy meant it.