Some of the fears I have as a mom
Recently I posted about some of the fears I have as a mom about Anti-Black racism in schools.
If you saw that post you saw me express concerns for my daughter who was just starting Kindergarten.
One of those fears related to whether her teachers would send harmful messages to her, as a Black girl in this world.
Well here we are. Already, I have to begin the advocacy process for my children and for all the Black kids in her class.
Why? Because last night at an Open House I walked through my daughter's classroom and saw this wall.
Guess where the only three Black children are in the entire class?
You guessed it, on the bottom.
In this time of hyper vigilance and awareness of Anti-Black racism in schools this happens.
My daughter is right there, with her first name that starts with A and her last name that starts with B in the bottom.
I racked my brain to think how this could have happened and I saw no order to the wall. I quickly deduced that children had to be randomly placed.
These are the unconscious ways that teachers tell the students that they aren't as good or valuable as the other students in the class.
This wall tells me that they won't be paying special attention to my child and they absolutely should.
This wall tells me they already have model minorities.
This wall tells me they've already decided on who their teacher's pets will be.
This wall tells me that despite our best efforts to inform globally about the impacts of Anti-Black racism, my daughter's teachers don't get it.
They don't get why they need to actually think about everything they do with respect to Black children and the messages they send.
They don't understand how white supremacy is operating.
So here I go... off to advocate again another day. *sigh*.
It's exhausting.
It makes me seem like the "angry" Black woman.
But I'm not crazy or angry and I'm not delusional.
I'm pretty sure the parents of the other two Black children felt some type of way upon seeing this wall.
So don't gaslight me and tell me I'm too sensitive.
This is an environmental microaggression and if white allies (other parents) don't see this and call it out, what am I to do?!
About Janelle Benjamin: Janelle Benjamin, B.A., J.D., is the Founder & Chief Equity Officer of All Things Equitable Inc. helping employers make workplaces more diverse, inclusive, and safe for equity-seeking groups. Learn more about Janelle and how she can help you!
