Gabby's Hair -- An Issue of Life and Death?

I'm from California. 1972, in boot camp in Memphis TN, the company commanders assumed that all Californians were either homosexuals, surfers, or both. I was immediately assigned as a swim coach to a black guy, Calvin, from Memphis TN. We had special swim sessions and he eventually learned to swim enough to pass the swim test. After boot camp, I became his roomate during school training time. I was the only white rooming with a black. He and I drove all over Memphis area and this ignorant Californian learned what a 'hate stare' was and it was from both whites and blacks. I did ask Calvin why he never learned to swim. He stated flat-out that it ruined his Afro and took forever to get it fixed.