Tonight’s meeting was a total side swipe where I am concerned. I guess I thought that we were to talk about the forms of modern day racism and how to discourage or rather prevent it in our classroom.

            When I was in the 7^th grade I had an English teacher that happened to be African American. Of course her race had nothing to do with it, but what she did to her class did. The first day that she was there she divided her class room. White students on one side, and African American students on the other. She looked at her white students and told us that we were not to speak and we were not allowed to ask questions. (If we did we were put down or talked over, or laughed at) She then proceeded to teach to the other half of the class.

We were constantly called prejudice, that we were greasy and that we were horrible, we were all labeled as bad based off of the color of our skin. If our friends on the other side of the room would try to take up for us, then they were put down as well. This hurt me greatly, because a lot of the students on the other side of the room were my friends. Living in South Louisiana, I and my family were often ostracized for having friends of a different “race” and my mother would get tongue lashed for allowing us to have “them” spend the night at our house.

            It has been a long time since I have been made to feel this way, but tonight brought back that feeling. I understand the message of race, and how it is still alive in America. I do not dispute that issue. What I had problem with, were the stereotype that was put on the “white” students, guest that were present at the meeting tonight.

            I felt as if someone was speaking for me, someone that I had never asked to speak for me. That person was saying that I was ashamed to be white (I am not and nor do I think that anyone should be ashamed of their “race”). That person was saying that, I as a white person was responsible for racism (that could not be further from the truth…he does not know me or where I am from!) I took the notes and at the same time had to disconnect from the words that cut me to the core. I could never fathom making any of my students in my class feel the way I did tonight!

            I teach Hispanic, African American, white and Native American students, they are ALL loved, all taught, all welcomed, ALL MADE TO FEEL COMFORTABLE!! I would never presume to put down a group of students as was done tonight! He spoke of having white people learn from white non-racism people….I would never want to be in a learning environment as such. I have lived in a place all of my life where racism flourished. I have seen what it does to people. Racism is a REAL problem, but it is a problem that reaches across a large diversity of people.

Sure it is easy to say that people on the other side of the issue are just uncomfortable, ashamed, or unwilling to face a subject as was said tonight, I however am not! I am proud of where I came from! I am proud of my upbringing, I am proud that we had nothing growing up, and that was ok. I am proud of the friends that I have made through out my life, white, black, Native American, Hispanic, Italian, German, Irish, Kenyan, Central European, Ukrainian, Creole……ect…. and I would not trade that for anything! I am not and would not EVER deny that racism has, and does exist, but I do not think that ANYONE has the right to link me in or blame me for the “race” that I am. We can never change the past, but rather, we can work to change the future….this can only be done if we are willing to work together, instead of pointing the finger at each other!