Alva Review-Courier -

SALISBURY, Md. (AP) — A racial slur by a white student in her middle school classroom might have escaped attention except for one thing: Taylor Dumpson was listening.

What she heard helped shape Dumpson's sense of duty to confront hatred and injustices head on and with tact. That experience made a lasting impression on the Wicomico High School graduate that has carried into her college days at American University in Washington, D.C.

Dumpson took the helm as president of the student government at the historically white college amid national media attention. Racist displays greeted her as the fi...