By Tony Weaver, Jr. Jun 16, 2020
If there’s one thing Americans are doing right now, it’s talking. Talking even more than usual when schools are out and many are still working from home. Every day, new stories of discrimination and violence emerge that prompt new conversations.
The moment our country faces weighs heavily on the mind of an adult. But one must wonder: What does it do to the mind of a child?
Black students around the country are faced with a reality where they are isolated due to COVID-19, of which Black Americans disproportionately account for 60 percent of deaths. Then forced to adapt to technology-based distance learning—only to watch the same technology used to spread images of people who look like them being assaulted, brutalized and killed by police.
As the harsh reality of racism in the United States is thrust to the forefront, many households, boardrooms and families are talking about it openly for the first time. Some are going further. In the last two weeks, over $250 million of corporate funding have been dedicated to diversity initiatives. Large, influential organizations that have actively avoided speaking about race such as the NFL are retracting their positions, and companies like Starbucks have completely shifted their previous stances on Black Lives Matter.
To the average observer, the current cultural focus on racism may feel like a new beginning. However, for Black people, these conversations aren’t new. At a young age I vividly remember my parents sitting me down to have “The Talk.” Unlike what most non-Black families associate the term with, this talk is a painful but vital set of directions to give you the best chance of returning home safely if you encounter the police. “The Talk” is different from family to family, but core tenets of it are the same.
- Stay calm, don’t make any sudden moves.
- Even if provoked, don’t get angry, be respectful.
- Regardless of how they treat you, remember you have worth.
- Do what it takes to get back home.
The content of these conversations feel eerily similar to some of education’s favorite social-emotional learning (SEL) slogans: mindfulness, resilience and grit. Mindfulness implores students to remain calm, and take 10 deep breaths when they feel themselves getting angry. Resilience encourages students to hold their heads high despite mistreatment. Grit tells students to persevere in the face of obstacles.
Some educators believe that mastery of these traits can guarantee a student’s success. But what they overlook is something that every Black parent is painfully aware of: A Black child can do every single one of these things perfectly, and still not make it home.
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