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Chapter 06: Fox Lane

By The Architect of NextBlock City February 27, 2026

Thirteen in Four Rooms

Returned to 93 Kisco Avenue. The family now numbered thirteen siblings in a four-room apartment. Clifford Jones had left, Julia was on her own.1

Julian’s dog Champ — who had left when Julian was sent to Kingston and become known as “Lenny” around town, living at Leonard Park — was brought home by Cid after three years. Gone the same time Julian was.

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • You Already Know Who I Am

    The Bedford school system had Julian’s file. Day one, World History with Mr. Lamonica — the teacher taking attendance already knew who Julian was without calling his name.1

    Julian asked to speak outside the room.

    “I told him this was not going to work. He asked what I meant. I told him, ‘You didn’t ask me my name. You already know who I am.’”

    He went to the principal’s office and objected. They weren’t prepared for that. For the whole school year, he wandered the halls during that period — his free period.

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • The Library

    They told him he couldn’t check out certain books — had to be a senior. His English teacher Mrs. Webb wrote a note to override it. She was pregnant and going on maternity leave, so she didn’t care.1

    After she left, Julian stole the rest.

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • P for Philosophy

    One day the librarian found him in the P section and asked if she could help. She recommended Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.1

    He responded: “I was looking under P for Philosophy.” She walked away.

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • The System

    There was a coordinated plan — don’t engage him one-on-one, don’t allow him in class with substitute teachers, redirect him to the library. The librarian would try to steer him to particular books.1

    “No one knew what I was going through — in the classroom, in the hallways, in my mind.”

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • Beep Beep, Bang Bang

    Ms. Cole’s US History class, senior year. Julian was the only Black student. He took the same tests, did the same homework, debated the material about the Black community.1

    When a white girl presented a flawed depiction of men standing on a corner from an article, Julian corrected her. She came to him near tears, claiming she knew what she was talking about. With Ms. Cole standing there, Julian said: “Beep Beep, Bang Bang, Ungawa, Black Power” — and walked out.

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • Mickey Mouse or John Wilkes Booth

    On exam day, Ms. Cole told him he wasn’t taking the Regents US History exam. He was to take the General History exam across the hall — questions like “Who shot Abraham Lincoln: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Porky Pig, or John Wilkes Booth.”1

    “I finished in about 45 minutes and sat there contemplating how I would come back at night with a five-gallon can of gas and set the school on fire. I would not run. I would stand there and let them ask me why I did it.”

    He didn’t.

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • You Proved Us All Wrong

    The guidance counselor, Mr. Hall, never spoke to Julian once in three years. When Greg Fickling at NYU’s registrar called Fox Lane asking about boys who hadn’t been offered college, he specifically requested Julian Reis. Mr. Hall apologized all the way to the phone.1

    Years later, Mr. Hall’s son Doug learned basketball from Julian at the Boys Club. Julian later asked Mr. Hall about the records kept in Albany on microfiche — whether he had a lawsuit. Hall told him:

    “You proved us all wrong, Julian. Maybe it was better for you to go on with your life.”

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • Don’t Need It

    “I told my mother not to buy me anything else. If I don’t get it myself, then I don’t need it.”1

    1. Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

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