Reply to Just in place where I feel it sucks to be the parent of black children.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I’m the mom of a Black boy who is growing up very quickly and I’m so fearful. My adorable toddler that white people loved because he was the cutest thing around, is now a 49” tall kindergartner who looks 8 to them. What is going to happen when he is 12 and looks 16? We already are fighting with teachers to treat him like a kindergartner and not an 8 year old.  How will I teach him to navigate this world?[/quote]

Yes - this a very scary thing. I’m get really apprehensive when my son engages in rowdy, loud play with his non-black friends (all nice kids by the way). All normal stuff, but I’m tempted to tell him to just back away for a bit, or at least don’t hang in more than groups of 2 or 3 boys.  On the other hand, I bristle at having to put those thoughts in his head and crushing his spirit. Then again, I also don’t want him to resent white people for not having to think about these things.  My parents were very blunt with me about all this stuff, but they grew up poor in the Jim Crow south and probably had a different index on these things.  It’s complicated as hell, but I’ve never known anything different and can’t imagine any other world.

[/quote]

White female teacher here. I have to constantly question my own behavior and attitudes. I am really hard to reject some deeply ingrained assumptions. [b]It is all too easy to view the physical activity and boisterousness of black children as somehow more aggressive than that of white children. [/b]It is not, so should not be treated as such. It’s shocking and disturbing to discover that my brain goes there. I understand your dilemma completely. Please know that teachers care deeply for your child and many of us are fighting those assumptions actively. BLM mattered. It woke many of us. Progress has been made and will continue. But it takes a hell of a long time to overcome our past sins. I see you and I care.[/quote]

Are you saying that black children behave differently than white children?[/quote]

I think it’s clear that she’s NOT saying that, but I think you feign misunderstanding for the sake of injecting controversy. Yes, let’s make the [b]self-aware white lady [/b]out to be racist.  People that are capable of being honest about their own biases should be applauded, not derided on the sly. We need more like her and less petty folks looking to score cheap points, which does nothing for my black boys.[/quote]
woke (her word not mine) white lady

FTFY[/quote]

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