Joel Buchanan, a longtime Gainesville resident and noted local historian, reflects on the circumstances and experiences of his high school education, when he participated in public school desegregation by being among one of the first students to integrate Gainesville High School. He graduated from GHS with honors and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UF, later teaching in Alachua County public schools and also working in Smathers Library at the University of Florida. Edited by Chelsea Carnes. For more information about the African American History Project and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, visit Oral History Program.