217A: African-American girl wants to be teacher’s bridesmaid

I read this story in the early 1970s. I believe it was part of an anthology or a school reader, but don’t know if it was a short story or essay or an excerpt from a longer novel or memoir. An African-American girl in a mostly white class loves her teacher and believes she and her friends are going to be in the teacher’s wedding party; she is devastated to find she’s been excluded due to community prejudice. I recall a vivid description of the girls’ fantasies about the dresses and shoes they might wear. I think one of the girls was named Patricia, which is my name, but I don’t think she was the protagonist. Thank you!

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