"you'll never be black"

When I was in sixth grade, we were assigned to write an essay on someone we wanted to be. It wasn’t supposed to be the typical “hero” essay, or “I look up to ______ because…” We were to write about someone’s lifestyle, career that we wanted. I was pumped. I wanted to be Jackie Joyner Kersee. I knew everything about her athletic career and basically I did want to be her. During the brainstorming part of class, my teacher vetoed my idea, suggesting I pick the principal, my mom, my sister, or the mayor (a woman). Those are more realistic, he told me. Really? The principal? That is not realistic or admirable to most sixth-graders. He laughed (honestly), and said, “Erin, but you’ll never be black.” No shit, sir. I’ll also never be a pro athlete—but isn’t this what the essay’s supposed to be about? Since he was my teacher and this was his assignment, I decided to write about my sister.

I didn’t (and still don’t) know how this reason was ever legitimate to my teacher. Apparently the guys in the class only wanted to be white basketball players, or Brett Favre—or maybe their dads. And the only non-white student—a Hmong girl—must’ve decided to be a family member, because, heaven forbid, she’ll never be a famous white woman.

I hadn’t thought of this for many years, until reading Kathy Jervis’s article “How Come There are No Brothers on That List?” Questions about race (and ethnicity, culture, religion, gender) are asked because students are genuinely curious. Of course these questions are difficult, but that our students ask them means they trust us. As Jervis argues; unless teachers create an environment that is safe to explore these implications, these critical discussions will never occur. To discuss—to combat—racism and discrimination is something that should definitely be part of classroom discourse. (These discussions can create discomfort for the teacher, but professionally and ethically, they should be had.) The world, the United States, the city of Milwaukee—are all very diverse places, racially, ethnically, and culturally. It is part of our profession as teachers to help prepare our students for the discourse of these worlds outside of the classroom…