Racial issues in DCPS for mixed race kids

[Anonymous]

Heh - I wonder if people will think I am my kid's nanny when he's born later this year!

I can say that as a black woman who went to both public and private schools, I did get treated differently by teachers until labeled as "articulate". It's pretty sad to hear that stuff like what people are describing still happens.

I wonder if it is also name based? ex: Does "Jaquan" get treated than a black kid named Scott?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by this conversation. It's interesting. Many of my biracial friends and their kids identify as black, which is very different from my kid doesn't look black and he's treated as Latino. If you raise your kid as black, they will believe they are black. It's almost as if you don't want them to identify. All of this 1/4 this and 3/4 that is just dumb. Eventually, someone is going to call you kid a nigger and you better be prepared.

You are out of your mind and I hope you are not at my child's charter. My child is technically 1/8th black and looks completely white. I couldn't raise him black if I wanted to. He would look at me like I'm crazy. Why would you try to force a race on a child? That's what's stupid. I couldn't imagine why anyone would ever call him a racial slur, unless they would randomly call a white child the "N" word. It's attitudes like yours that keep the racial status quo going. I'm just glad that my child's school is diverse with people from everywhere and they're all accepting. This is how the world is in my neck of the woods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by this conversation. It's interesting. Many of my biracial friends and their kids identify as black, which is very different from my kid doesn't look black and he's treated as Latino. If you raise your kid as black, they will believe they are black. It's almost as if you don't want them to identify. All of this 1/4 this and 3/4 that is just dumb. Eventually, someone is going to call you kid a nigger and you better be prepared.

Will the person calling them that name be you? Because you sound a little unhinged and I'm not sure what your point is. Regardless of how you raise your kid, other people's (and teachers') perceptions are going to play their own role.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heh - I wonder if people will think I am my kid's nanny when he's born later this year!

I can say that as a black woman who went to both public and private schools, I did get treated differently by teachers until labeled as "articulate". It's pretty sad to hear that stuff like what people are describing still happens.

I wonder if it is also name based? ex: Does "Jaquan" get treated than a black kid named Scott?

It's not just name based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by this conversation. It's interesting. Many of my biracial friends and their kids identify as black, which is very different from my kid doesn't look black and he's treated as Latino. If you raise your kid as black, they will believe they are black. It's almost as if you don't want them to identify. All of this 1/4 this and 3/4 that is just dumb. Eventually, someone is going to call you kid a nigger and you better be prepared.

Will the person calling them that name be you? Because you sound a little unhinged and I'm not sure what your point is. Regardless of how you raise your kid, other people's (and teachers') perceptions are going to play their own role.

This. These whack jobs that talk about all the racists who will be on the attack when it's really them need to get help. There's a lot of haters like the "n" word poster who are the problem for mixed kids. They're fine when they're left alone and allowed to choose their own identity without reverse racists spewing their Jim Crow nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heh - I wonder if people will think I am my kid's nanny when he's born later this year!

I can say that as a black woman who went to both public and private schools, I did get treated differently by teachers until labeled as "articulate". It's pretty sad to hear that stuff like what people are describing still happens.

I wonder if it is also name based? ex: Does "Jaquan" get treated than a black kid named Scott?

It's not just name based.

I know. I have a pretty "white" name and I remember crap like this from childhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by this conversation. It's interesting. Many of my biracial friends and their kids identify as black, which is very different from my kid doesn't look black and he's treated as Latino. If you raise your kid as black, they will believe they are black. It's almost as if you don't want them to identify. All of this 1/4 this and 3/4 that is just dumb. Eventually, someone is going to call you kid a nigger and you better be prepared.

As a biracial person, my experience has been that it is usually AA persons that take this attitude. Its almost like a personal affront if you dare identify with half of your racial heritage. I even had an AA classmate once attempt to change my racial identification on an organ donor form bc she didn't like I had self-identified as bi-racial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my son is half AA/half white. He is at a public charter school in DC. From my experience, along with a child in his grade that has a similar background to what you describe, my child is not perceived as AA, which I find surprising. I have two friends that are also married to white men and have biracial children who are not perceived as AA in public (e.g., mothers are asked if they are the nanny). My son's skin is very light and he has straight/curly hair, which I think has a lot to do with how he is perceived. He is second grade so he has had 4 years of experience being in school and interacting with teachers and other students. His teachers and other kids treat him as Hispanic or "other", almost exotic. Teachers and staff comment on his looks almost everyday day, which I am trying to downplay. I repeatedly tell my son that he is half black/half white; however, he doesn't identify as AA because students do not see him that way (there are several AA kids in his class). He tells me that he is Hispanic! What I have a problem with is that he has told me that some of the AA boys in his class get into a lot of trouble, and don't read as well, etc. and I honestly believe that is because of skin color as there are white boys in his class that behave the same way (I have known most of the kids in his class for years). Although I am relieved that my son is not treated this way by teachers, I think it is a serious problem that AA boys are disciplined more harshly and are not expected to achieve as much as other kids in the classroom.

Can you share the name of the school?

I would but it would out us to the school community/DCUM. It is a HRCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I have a problem with is that he has told me that some of the AA boys in his class get into a lot of trouble, and don't read as well, etc. and I honestly believe that is because of skin color as there are white boys in his class that behave the same way (I have known most of the kids in his class for years). Although I am relieved that my son is not treated this way by teachers, I think it is a serious problem that AA boys are disciplined more harshly and are not expected to achieve as much as other kids in the classroom.

I have noticed this problem as well in my child's class. The AA boys (higher and lower SES)are always in trouble: have to miss recess for being too rowdy, etc. I volunteer in the classroom and it is very disturbing. It has been bothering me a lot but since it isn't my child, I don't think it's my place to say anything.

I don't think the teachers realize that they are treating the kids differently.

I saw this as well with my DS's first school. I was shocked to see this attitude in DC but I believe it is subconscious. It showed how important it was for me to stay extra involved in my child's classroom - helicopter label be damned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by this conversation. It's interesting. Many of my biracial friends and their kids identify as black, which is very different from my kid doesn't look black and he's treated as Latino. If you raise your kid as black, they will believe they are black. It's almost as if you don't want them to identify. All of this 1/4 this and 3/4 that is just dumb. Eventually, someone is going to call you kid a nigger and you better be prepared.

Will the person calling them that name be you? Because you sound a little unhinged and I'm not sure what your point is. Regardless of how you raise your kid, other people's (and teachers') perceptions are going to play their own role.

This. These whack jobs that talk about all the racists who will be on the attack when it's really them need to get help. There's a lot of haters like the "n" word poster who are the problem for mixed kids. They're fine when they're left alone and allowed to choose their own identity without reverse racists spewing their Jim Crow nonsense.

I think the difference is that my brown Latino kid if called a nigger would just laugh, my white Latino kid would laugh a little louder, but a kid who identifies himself as black might be hurt emotionally. And believe me if you go far enough down south they will call you a nigger even if you are Latino as long as you are brown. My white kid would absolutely be treated as white and will be probably until people notice the accent in their last name and even then. But I agree - as much as you try to define yourself and your kids on your own terms, you will have to cope with how different groups identify you and your kids, and if your kids will be identified in different categories by everyone except their family I think the world will get more complicated. Certainly if you have a white looking Alejandro you may get some push back outside of your community. Since they have done studies on people applying for jobs where those with names like JaQuan do not get to the interview stage I cannot see handicapping my kid that way especially if they might end up looking white - because everyone would find that funny as heck and think the mom crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I have a problem with is that he has told me that some of the AA boys in his class get into a lot of trouble, and don't read as well, etc. and I honestly believe that is because of skin color as there are white boys in his class that behave the same way (I have known most of the kids in his class for years). Although I am relieved that my son is not treated this way by teachers, I think it is a serious problem that AA boys are disciplined more harshly and are not expected to achieve as much as other kids in the classroom.

I have noticed this problem as well in my child's class. The AA boys (higher and lower SES)are always in trouble: have to miss recess for being too rowdy, etc. I volunteer in the classroom and it is very disturbing. It has been bothering me a lot but since it isn't my child, I don't think it's my place to say anything.

I don't think the teachers realize that they are treating the kids differently.

I saw this as well with my DS's first school. I was shocked to see this attitude in DC but I believe it is subconscious. It showed how important it was for me to stay extra involved in my child's classroom - helicopter label be damned.

Yes, I think the teachers are not aware of their bias. One of the main "problem" kids in the class is white but doesn't get in trouble on the same level and other white parents complain about his behavior (highly disruptive) openly in front of me. Still, based on my observations (volunteering in the class) and my son's stories, the AA boys are punished more often, loosing recess and other punishments. And kids notice. For example, my biracial son has made comments about black boys being bad, gross generalizations that I am constantly addressing. He is learning that being a black boy is not good and that is one reason why I think he doesn't want to be considered AA. Interestingly, the AA girls in his class are not treated the same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it might be helpful if you specify what schools you're interested in. For example, in DC are you only interested in JKLM schools? Or are you trying to decide between majority white, majority minority, or somewhere in-between, depending on the racial dynamics? If you provide more details on what your looking for, people could probably offer better advice.

I'm also biracial and also had racial dynamics in mind before we bought our first home in DC. We happened to end up buying IB for a great EOTP school (Deal feeder) where there are several multiracial families (black/white, Asian/white, etc.), but we also looked in WOTP and close-in MoCo as well. So more details on what you're looking for might lead to more informed opinions.

OP again. A lot of the houses that work for us commute-wise are Janney-Deal-Wilson. We've also looked in the Takoma Park, MD neighborhood (don't remember those schools but I think it's at least Takoma Park Middle and then Blair). Also we've looked at a couple places that feed to Bethesda-Chevy Chase but I can't remember the lower schools.

EOTP biracial PP again. Someone dropped the "n" word and no surprise, the thread got a bit derailed, lol. Back to the OP's question re: schools/neighborhoods, some of this may depend on what vibe you want in a neighborhood (AU etc. being very different from Takoma Park, for example), and your price point. I've read good things on this forum about Takoma Park for biracial families. Here's one thread, although I'm sure you'll find others if you do a search:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/174397.page

[Anonymous]

3 years of school at 2 different HRCSs and my child has been one of a small proportion of white boys in each case.

The majority of each class has been mixed race. OP, I don't think you will find yourself in an unusual situation at all.

I'd also disagree with this perception of the black boys getting in trouble disproportionately. I guess my son's schools have been outliers, but in each of his three classes the only boy who really had difficulty following rules etc was one of the other white kids.

[Anonymous]

Remember when Fenty was mayor, the powers that be (including a number of members of the WTU) made negative remarks about how he wasn't "black enough."

[Anonymous]

Schools can change a lot in a few years. I'd suggest considering Cleveland and Shepherd elementaries as places with a fair amount of racial diversity and middle/upper class black families. Shepherd feeds to Deal and Wilson; Cleveland has Spanish immersion. Beers ES in SE also seems to be pretty stable and middle class, but less diverse.