At times like this, I almost wish that I were more conceited. So often is it that I get the desire to spit a petty word (or two) as I’m watching some of my peers become so suddenly accepting of the things that they disliked about me for years. I haven’t spoken discourteously to anyone yet, and for that, I speculatively award myself the prettiest bouquet of sunflowers. Let me further explain my frustrations.
This summer, after the traumatic publicized murders of a few such as Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, a lot of my former classmates, black and white, went from big “Wisdom! How dare you be so unpatriotic and sit for the pledge of allegiance?” energy, and big “I’m not going to say anything to her, but I am gonna give her my dirtiest side eye” energy to big “LEt’S alL aGReE tO KnEel iN soLidaRiTY dURinG tHe NAtioNaL AntHeM aT grAdUAtIoN” energy. I’m not being dissatisfied, but I’m afraid that I do have to laugh at the irony of it all.
dURinG tHe NAtioNaL AntHeM aT grAdUAtIoN”
I saw more “Black Lives Matter” posts than pictures of Starbucks drinks on snapchat for a change, and let’s not forget the black squares or the social media activism that overwhelmed instagram. Considering the many times that I remember sitting in the classroom feeling almost uncomfortable by some of their what is now considered “anti-ally” behaviors, I can’t help but wonder whether or not these transformations are manifesting from the genuine intake of information that we’ve always had access to or if everyone just hopped on a trending emotional train for the time being.
This is not a bitter blog post though. I graduated high school, I got through it, I had plenty of classmates who were respectful of my right to have an opinion in the first place, and most importantly, I became so strong within myself to the point where I didn’t seek solidarity. I think that if this wave of activism is more than just a wave, then a drastic changing of academic environments will be a direct result of it. In fact, if this is all more than just a trend, then it becomes our responsibility to make sure that our academic environments are changed forever. As someone who has been in both healthy and unhealthy classroom spaces, I was able to come up with 3 actions for us all to implement this school year. Personally, it’s my first year attending an HBCU (Historically Black College/University), and I’m too lit
at the fact that I’ll be no longer considered the “minority” in my learning environment. While that is now my case, everyone’s situation is different and regardless of your race, position, religion, beliefs, school demographics, etc. remember that your newly found activism can make its way into the classroom if you choose to bring it along with you! Please do, and let this offer you some suggestions!
1. Have the healthy but uncomfortable conversations in school! Quit acting as if outside problems disappear after the bell rings!
I don’t know about you, but something about schools being considered forbidden environments to have radical conversations just doesn’t sit right with my spirit.
Imagine having a group of growing people who all come from different upbringings or who may possess different opinions all together in one place and instead of encouraging them to learn how to engage with others who may be different from them, you ask them to forget about everything controversial happening outside of school premises! For 8 whole hours! To top it all off, you ask them to use those 8 hours to focus on “core” subjects that could very well be related to the topics that they’re being asked to disregard. It’s the blatant waste of a great opportunity to be raising individuals who know how to have tough conversations about reemerging social issues for me.
Some of us may have been members of a student abolitionists club or a debate team that gave us a taste of healthy discomfort, but too many of us weren’t exposed to anything like that in school. Movements such as the ones that have taken place over the summer reveal it. Don’t act like there aren’t things happening outside just because they’re uncomfortable. If schools are safe, “No Place For Hate” zones like the posters hanging on the walls suggest, then they should also be the perfect place to conduct educational real world conversations between unlike people. Period.
2. Stop giving others the short end of the stick because it makes you more comfortable! Stop being okay with receiving the short end of the stick because it makes the majority more comfortable!
Some of you on both ends of the deal will read this paragraph and say “I didn’t realize that it was that serious”, and I’m here to tell you beforehand that it is indeed THAT serious. Yes, diversity is highly sought after, and yes there are sometimes culture clubs or other inclusive efforts like that, but assimilation is still very much a part of schools. It’s sneaky because it comes in various forms and can look like something as harmless as making fun of and ridiculing your own native accent so that other people can’t do it first. It looks like abandoning your traditional style of dress because it’s different from the majority’s. It looks like readily shortening your “exotic” name to make it easier on the people who struggle to pronounce it during attendance.
As for myself, I speak fluent english, and my name isn’t a difficult read for most people, but whenever someone tells me theirs and I don’t quite immediately pick up the pronunciation, I never say “well, okay Bobyishamaloka, imma just call you B.” I say “Forgive me, I may not initially get it right but I will keep trying” and do just that. Bobyishamaloka is understanding of my mistakes, but not willing to compromise any parts of their identity, and I’m not expecting Bobyishamaloka to just change their name to Bobby for my convenience. Whether I realize it or not, doing so would be supporting the misconception that school is a place for traditional people and traditional names only. There is no such thing. I encourage you to join me in examining our actions more carefully this school year. Is something that we are doing giving someone else the short end of the stick and making us feel better? Are we settling for things because they make the majority feel better? Let’s go ahead put an end to that this school year.
3. Don’t just turn the other cheek! Ask questions to subtly make people realize the flaws in their logic!
When a teacher or a classmate says something that we don’t understand, we’re supposed to ask questions. That’s obvious enough. But what about when they say something that we believe to be false information or don’t necessarily agree with? I learned this method from the supposed-to-be-lawyer-Queen herself, my mama, using it on me so many times.
Asking questions is for more than just gaining clarity. It also never fails to be the most effective way for me to lightly check somebody or put them in their place without accusing them. I’m not the type who is quick to raise my hand and be like “Ma’am you are wrong! The Black Panther Party was not a terrorist group! I don’t know what agenda you’re trying to get us to adhere to, but I’m not falling for it and anyone who does is weird because here are the receipts!”
I’m more of the type to sit at my desk, tune it out, doodle flowers on my paper, and then go home and cry because they were really disrespecting my ancestors like that. Neither is effective. Whether you’re extremely non-confrontational like me, or just knowing of something not adding up but not wanting to seem unintelligent for not having all the hard facts together, asking the right questions is a good way to gently force someone into realizing the flaws in their logic. If you do so respectfully, and you’re engaging with a reasonable person then I bet that they’ll take your challenge and probably be grateful for it. “Ma’am, what is the difference between being a terrorist and being a fighter for self-defense? How do we know that the Black Panther Party didn’t act as one more than the other?” seems like more of a conversation starter. We don’t have to be disrespectful, but we also don’t have to shut up and be fed what someone is giving us just because they’re in a position of authority or saying something that the majority believes in. Once I learned how to implement this questioning tactic in the classroom, it was over with! Try it this year, and let me know how it goes.
These are three things that I would have loved to have seen considered in my classroom environments before all the talk of becoming a “better ally” was even a thing. Prior to all of the recorded murders and before all of the heartfelt posts were made, these struggles were still very much reality, whether they were acknowledged or not. Let’s not confuse any of this for new, and let’s not pretend that they were never ignored.
As much as I get to feeling like I wish I had records of my peers looking at me weird because I was once considered “racist to white people” and “disrespectful” or “unpatriotic” for just saying that Black Lives Matter, the fact is that a major shift has taken place. Better late than never. The possibility of the summer’s traumatic events making it even a little bit easier on the next generation of “minority” kids this school year, almost makes the trauma worth something. Furthermore, the possibility of them not having to learn in an environment that teaches them that their voice is inferior just because no one else agrees, is everything. If everyone is as dedicated as we claim to be, then we all have a part in making sure that the activism energy is upheld. That could mean holding your neighbor accountable, that could mean holding ourselves accountable, that could mean standing up for ourselves. Either way, the classroom is a perfect place to start finding your voice, using your voice, and listening. Always love.
xoxo, Wisdom