A Reflection of the Dicersity Speaker Event

I am very passionate about the education of Black and Brown children in the United States and it is my aspiration to work with a predominantly Black, urban population. That being said, when I saw that there was going to be a Diversity Series presentation about public education in urban schools at my university, I was excited to attend the event. I thought this would be a great way for me to get an insider’s look at an urban public school from a teacher’s perspective. I enjoyed the presentation from Dr. Kozol and then the dialogue with the panel. This discussion sparked a lot of my interests and made me think a lot of the public school system.

 Dr. Kozol spoke about his experience working in urban public schools. While he was telling his personal story, I was not shocked to hear that he had been fired from an elementary school for reading the poem A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes to his students. The school made the claim that they did not want him to read Langston Hughes because Hughes did not have more than a sixth-grade education. Dr. Kozol mentioned that he believed the true reason the school did not want him to read the poem is because Hughes is a Black poet. The school’s reaction to Dr. Kozol reading this work can be very detrimental to the poor, Black children at the school because not only did the school reject the notion that a Black person can be a noted poet who is taught in school, but they also implanted the idea that a poor person could not be a phenomenal poet. The blatant rejection of the work of Langston Hughes, feeds into the notion that you cannot be successful if you are poor and Black.

By rejecting the reading of Hughes’ poetry, the school also took away the incorporation of Black writing and Black words in the school setting. There is research now that supports the claim that Black history needs to be taught in schools, especially in Black schools. Neglecting Black history fails to admit to the students and to the country that the United States of America was built by the hands of Black men and women and also from the blood of the indigenous people that had their land stolen from the early settlers. When Black children are being taught Black history, then they have the opportunity to learn that people who look like them have made significant contributions to society and that they have the tools to fight against their oppressions. Even historically, it has been consistently difficult for a Black person to receive an education and there is still systematic racism in place (i.e. predominantly Black schools that are underfunded) that limits a Black child’s ability to receive an adequate education by modern societal standards.

Following the discussion, I followed some friend’s downstairs to attend the reception. At the reception, I heard a lot of the White, Towson faculty members talk about how “inspiring” and “motivational” the discussion was because of the work he had done in public education. Hearing them speak of him like this really irritated me because there was nothing that he said that I had not already learned from Black teachers, professors, school counselors, and school psychologist. I did not get irritated solely because he was a White, wealthy male. It irritated me that Black people have been speaking out about the systematic oppression of the public school system for several years, but a lot of times people do not listen to minority issues until a person of privilege speaks out about them. When Black people speak about the problems and oppressions no one is around to listen and some even say that we are just “complaining” and we just need to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps”. All in all, I am glad that Dr. Kozol is an ally to children who attend these urban public schools because at the end of the day the only important thing is that these children are given opportunities for success.

Education is the first step to being relieved from the oppression of poverty and when that access to a quality education is denied to Black and Brown children, then it promotes the cycle of poverty and it teaches these children to get used to failure. Dr. Kozol is a strong proponent of equal-opportunity education for all students. His advocacy and experience inspired me to also be an advocate for Black and Brown students that are not given equal opportunity to education.

The Invisibility of Black Girls: An Op-Ed

When there is controversy about Black children in the school system, the narrative often revolves around the boys. Black boys are more likely to be placed in special education, black boys are more likely to attend schools without adequate resources, black boys are not reading at an adequate level, and punishment for Black boys is harsher than for any other demographic, but what about Black girls? These topics revolving around our Black boys are very important and should still be discussed. However, the literature highlighting the plights of Black boys while dismissing the victimization of our Black girls, eludes to the belief that Black boys are the only demographic that need saving when it comes to public school systems within the United States. Recent research is showing that Black girls are punished in school "at rates that are even more disproportionate than those experienced by Black boys" (Morris, 2016). While they only consist of 16 percent of the entire female student population, Black girls are disproportionately 33 percent of all girls referred to law enforcement and more than 33 percent of all female school-based arrests (Morris, 2016). 

The criminalization of Black girls in the public-school system is partly due to the fact that the narratives of the public-school system are rooted in "White supremacist ideology that permits racist and sexist conditioning" (Haynes, 2016). This ideology aligns with the belief that "White femininity is the only acceptable standard in public school systems" (Haynes, 2016). It is problematic to attempt to force young Black girls to conform to standards that perpetuate ideals of White supremacy. Making White femininity the normative ideology places surveillance on Black girls because their actions, choices, and appearances do not always fit neatly in these societal norms (Haynes, 2016). These ideals of white femininity also place our Black girls within an anti-Black context which creates tension between Black girls and the staff, teachers, and administrators that hold to these impractical expectations.

In addition to ideals of white femininity, Black girls are also experiencing trauma inside and outside of school. In general, people who have experienced abuse and violence commonly experience psychological disorders in addition to other behavioral challenges that can have an impact on learning and relationship building (Morris, 2016). This trauma is often masked as anger and causes others to fear Black girls and interpret them as aggressive which perpetuates the stereotype of “the angry Black woman/girl”. “School administrators in high poverty areas tend to see ‘Zero-tolerance’ responses as the best way to curb negative student behavior” (Morris, 2016). This “zero-tolerance policy does not allow girls to heal from their trauma and in fact only causes more trauma from the victimization in their school systems. Also, Black girls are often condemned and punished further for speaking out about mistreatment in school and so, like most Black people, they often suffer in silence.

I offer a few strategies for change so that these Black girls in public schools can express themselves without fear of punishment for being themselves. My first strategy is to increase methods of healing for our Black girls by providing them with school counselors to allow them to have access to the help that they need before classifying them as delinquents. This policy would eradicate the ‘zero-tolerance’ policy which builds on the trauma and makes it harder for our girls to succeed in school. Focusing on healing will benefits Black girls by helping them heal from the trauma and also find healthier, more socially acceptable ways to cope with trauma in the future. The second strategy is to educate the teachers and administrators about the master narratives of the public-school system; such as ideals of white femininity so that they can educate our Black girls, and Black students in general, in a way that does not dismiss their Blackness and force them into a constraint of whiteness that they cannot fit into.

References

Haynes, C., Stewart, S., & Allen, E. (2016). Three Paths, One Struggle: Black Women and Girls Battling Invisibility in U.S. Classrooms. Journal Of Negro Education, 85(3), 380-391

Morris, M. W. (2016). Protecting Black Girls. Educational Leadership, 74(3), 49.

Morris, M. W. (2016) Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. The New York Press. New York, NY

Weakness vs. Vulnerability

Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”. By this I think she meant that there is nothing more painful than holding onto your pain and not being able to express your emotions.

As a black woman I was always told that I was supposed to be strong. Even when my mother was in the hospital diagnosed with cancer for the second time, I had to be strong for her and the rest of my family. I was a shy and very quiet kid so I already didn’t talk to people, but always being told that I had to be strong made me feel like I couldn’t tell my family how I was really feeling about my mom. For example, I was at school one day (in the fourth grade) and this girl told me that my mother was probably going to die because she had cancer. Looking back, the girl probably didn’t know any better. Cancer is a very serious disease that many people die from every year. But being a kid, to hear her say that – it crushed me. It was the first time that I ever even considered that I could really lose my mom. But I didn’t let anyone know how I was feeling about the girls words because I was trying to be strong. Even when my father came to pick my brother and I up from day care and I walked behind him as he carried my brother and I nearly about to burst into tears – I thought about that I had to be strong and I sucked it up. I was able to hold it in until after dinner when I was alone in the bathroom getting ready for my shower. It was the first time I cried in the shower.

But as black women we have been trained to save our emotions for the shower so that the loud water drains out our heartfelt tears – that’s why we take so long – or for late at night after everyone else has gone to sleep. And no matter how hard or how long you were crying you came out acting as if nothing had happened. We are taught to act as though crying or expressing our emotion is equivalent to weakness. We do not have the same privilege as some other girls to grow up and be able to express our emotions effectively without being told that we have to “be strong”.

Another example: when my boyfriend was in the hospital – he had 3 seizures and no one could tell us what was going on or when/if he would be okay. His mother, grandmother, and I took turns stepping in and out of the waiting room, each of us coming back with blood red eyes – the kind of eyes that had just been crying in pain and fear. I could not admit to them that I didn’t actually have to use the bathroom 5 times in 20 minutes, but in fact I walked down to the end of the hall so that I would not disturb them or appear weak with my uncontrollable tears. Every time I came back, I acted as though nothing had happened and that I was okay. We were all determined to stick to, what I like to call, the “strength script”: telling one another that we knew he would be okay and that we just needed to put it in the Lord’s hands. We use this strength script to give the illusion that we are okay and that we can handle the situation that is really making us want to cry or even scream.

It took me a long time to notice that this was a problem that I had because I spent so many years being commended for my strength. When I did notice that problem within myself, I also noticed it in my sisters. I decided for myself that enough was enough and I decided to start talking with a counselor about how to better express my emotions because holding everything in was only causing me more pain and stress. My problem was that when I was feeling insecure, hurt, or sad I would channel it to anger.

It has been very challenging for me to step outside of my comfort zone and open up to the people I love the most, but it has been so worth it. I’m living in a new freedom. And even though I still struggle sometimes I know that it’ll be worth it once I finally figure things out. Now. . . I am not saying that I cry about everything, but what I am saying is that when I feel the need to let out my emotions I am able to do that in a way that is healthy. I want to make sure that the correct emotion is being let out and that means that when I want to cry I will cry instead of scream or distance myself from the situation as I have done in the past. I have learned to find the root of my anger, be it fear, hurt, insecurity, etc.. I have learned to be comfortable telling others how I am feeling and I have learned to be okay with crying in front of other people. I am slowly recognizing that I cannot always be strong, but I am learning to find the strength in my weakness. It is okay to be vulnerable – especially with the people that care about you the most. Expressing my emotions does not make me weak – it makes me human.

“Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous. Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change” – Brené Brown

Our "Justice" System

Why is it that almost every time I decide to get on social media a white male is getting away with rape or murder or even BOTH?? QTNA!!!!!! From police officers to young people with affluent parents. A young man got into the car drunk out of his mind and hit a mini van carrying a family of four (INCLUNDING CHILDREN) and he did not even have to do the bare minimum of serving community service hours because his family was able to hire the best lawyers to keep their precious little baby from facing the consequences of his actions. Then another white male rapist is only being sentenced to 3 months in prison because the judge feels that prison might be too much for him??? What???? Yet, there are 14 year old black children in jail/prison serving outrageous sentences because they were tried as adults. Our "justice" system is only feeding into the fact that white male lives are valued over all others. They are valued over rape victims because how dare she wear what she wants to wear to a party? They are valued over the black children who are slaughtered at the hands of police brutality because the police officer was "afraid". First, as an officer it is your duty to serve and protect so what do you mean you were afraid? And afraid of what? An UNARMED black teenager? Why is one life taking precedence over another? And why is one person allowed to walk away from the situation without being held accountable for their actions while the other person is left raped, injured, or dead? It's simple: white privilege.

The scariest part in all of this is that these cases are setting the standard for other white males and it is reassuring them of their privilege. Other "men" are learning from these experiences that it is okay to rape a woman or to kill another human being as long as you have the white male privilege and the money to pay for an attorney to get you off Scott free. Our "justice" system is saying, "yea, it's okay that you raped the girl. She probably deserved it anyways because of the way she was dressed." or "It's okay that you killed that unarmed black teenager who had his whole life in front of him. You were scared and your fear definitely counts more than his life." They are teaching us, as a society, that "justice" only exists for those who can afford to pay for it. Meanwhile, other poor black "criminals" are given under paid, over-worked, stressed out, and fed up court-appointed attorneys that meet with them for a few minutes before their hearing. And unfortunately, many poor black people are pleading guilty to crimes that they did not commit, without a trial, in order to get a lighter sentence because they cannot afford to pay for a lawyer that will actually work to prove their innocence. But who would blame them, no one believes that they are innocent anyway. The "justice" system coddles white men and delegates external attributions to their behavior. Yet, on the other hand it demonizes and dehumanizes black men, women, and children. If our "justice" system cannot keep us safe, then who can?

"[criminal justice/legal] television shows [such as law and order] . . . are the modern-day equivalent of the old movies portraying happy slaves, the fictional gloss placed on a brutal system of racialized oppression and control" (Michelle Alexander in The New Jim Crow)

Why Ancora Intervengo?

Hi! So I just created my first blog! Most of you may be wondering why I called it "Ancora Intervengo" and what in the world that means. Ancora Intervengo is Italian for "still I rise". This phrase, coined by the late and great Maya Angelou, has been very prevalent in my life. It has been a constant reminder that no matter what happens and what obstacles I may have to get through in life, I am still able to conquer and rise above them. "Out of the huts of history's shame / I rise / Up from a past that's rooted in pain / I rise / I am a black ocean, leaping and wide / Welling and swelling I bear in the tide / Leaving behind nights of terror and fear / I rise / Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear / I rise / Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave / I am the dream and the hope of the slave / I rise / I rise / I rise" (Still I Rise by Maya Angelou)