Sharing as I learn and grow
“I implore Black people to stop begging for scraps from social systems that continue to reject us and keep building resources that support and celebrate us. It is futile to expect a system that was intentionally built to oppress us to suddenly change its properties and start propelling us to greatness.”
“With perfect pliés and amazing arabesques, these young dancers sliced through the stereotypes of who could be a ballet dancer. They rewrote the often times racist script that dictated who belonged and who didn’t. Without uttering a single word, the choreography, music and costumes whispered, “I see you. You are loved. You are worthy. You belong here.”
“Trust should be earned, valued and protected. Just because an educator has a license to deliver content or a degree that allows him or her to be an administrator doesn’t mean that he or she can be trusted to care for my child.”
“We are our student’s first line of defense and there is too much at stake for us to fall for the age-old “waiting game” or to cower because we might be perceived as disruptive. Disruption is not always negative and sadly, some educators will ignore parents’/guardians’ requests until they give up. Never give up.”
“Transactional meetings are not enough. Our students need real relationships with people whom they can trust.”
“Shortly after legalized slavery was abolished in 1865, one of the first independent acts that some formerly enslaved Black people did was build schools. They wanted to be educated and they wanted their children to be educated. For generations, they had been intentionally denied access to an education because slave owners and those who supported the institution of slavery knew full well that an uneducated Black person was less of a threat to their sick way of life, but an educated Black person could set the world on fire.”
“For me, Wakanda is more than a fictional, global superpower from a comic book. It is a state of mind, a way of living and being. It is excellence, elegance and the manifestation of everything that is possible when Black people combine faith with work and recognize our inherent power.”
“Black mothers understand that while we see our children as beautiful, wondrous, capable and worthy, we are preparing them to live in a racist country which refuses to see them this way. Black mothers recognize that while we know the beauty of our sons and the unique gifts that they possess, the world in which we live was not built for them and rejects their presence, their personhood, and their gifts. But the systems don’t stop there; the systems seek to emasculate and annihilate them.”
“So, what is the dust? The dust is the thick residue of white supremacy and legal, racist structures that were intentionally designed to support White people and subjugate Black people. The dust is omnipresent affecting and infecting all of us. It never disappears.”
“Once you come up with the schedule, communicate it to your child. Practice the schedule with your child and work out any kinks. Stay flexible.”