Dear New CEO of Prince George's County Public Schools,
Greetings and congratulations on your appointment! I look forward to your work to lead our students into true college and career readiness in the age of common core. I began my career in P.G. County 11 years ago and saw quite a few of you come through and leave no significant mark on the hearts of the children who walked halls, sat in classes, and let doors close behind them with no plan after four years. I hope you're ready! Not that the opinion of a teacher matters to you, but I thinks it's time for true change; MSDE isn't giving us much of a choice in the matter anyway, so let me cut to the chase. I would like to put something else on your mind to help prepare our students for life in the real world, while making school relevant.
I understand you're familiar with the area, so I'm sure you've noticed there are a few Black people in P.G. County (...just a few...). In light of the outcome of the Trayvon Martin murder case, I think we should include a class to prepare our young, Black men and women to defend their lives. I'm don't mean physically; I mean using communication, explaining their social existence, and preparing them for the perception that they will be subjected to, whether in a hoodie or cap and gown. Because let's face it, history keeps repeating itself, so perhaps our education system should be honest and admit that common core is only the tip of the iceberg for preparing our students for what they really need. They need to be prepared to explain their experience in their own skin and that they are NOT what the media and our history has spoon-fed Americans (Black, White, and others) for centuries.
I realize you may be feeling a little uncomfortable right now. If possible, I ask that you endure it for the sake of the children and residents of P.G. County (and Baltimore and D.C., for that matter, because your jurisdiction is located between these two major cities, so P.G. County gets students from them...and they are often Black). I am Black, Mr. CEO; I'm sure you probably figured that out by now. I've been places that people told me wasn't for me because I am. I assure you, it has been an uncomfortable existence at times, so please indulge me. After hearing the verdict, I cried for my kids, many of whom fit the profile of Trayvon Martin and Rachel Jeantel - young, Black, affected by media, distracted by technology, and coping with the history of racism in this country by evolving terms like "nigger" (nigga) and "cracker" (cracker). I get that, and I welcome the opportunity to help them become more informed and assist them in expressing themselves and their ideas about the state of the world - where it is, where it has been, and where it is going - effectively. It is my privilege to do this; only a select few are granted the gift of insight into young minds because only a few are willing to take the pulse of the best and worst of our country by asking those honest enough to answer questions. The least I could do for them is return the honesty.
Contrary to popular belief, this isn't post racial America. I'm not even sure what that term means. When we reside in a country stolen from one race of people already here and built on the backs of those stolen from another continent, shipped here like cargo, mentally manipulated to internalize inferiority, made to work for free under threats of hangings and beatings, and dehumanized and regarded as chattel, I'm not sure if race relations will ever be completely "square." (There I go being honest again, but I digress...) I am prepared to offer my services on Saturdays for free to start the dialogue and the healing of centuries of mental hurt.
I was motivated to write this letter to you because I believe in progress, Mr. CEO. I was an "urban" youth. I live among "urban" youth. I understand the cycle and fear that comes with the territory, but I was not able to understand the effects of that word and its connotation until I left my community seeking the knowledge that the world outside my comfort zone could offer me. If there was someone who had experienced my life (or something similar), left the situation, and returned to tell me how to navigate the intricacies of embracing my experience and it integrating it with what I was learning, I would have jumped at the chance. I would have been IMMEDIATELY ready for the world after leaving high school. I would like to pay the favor forward by giving back! The ruling on behalf of justice for Trayvon Martin affords the opportunity to talk to our kids about who they think they are versus who others might think they are (and these "others" may or may not have a face that looks just like theirs, a stark truth about which they should be informed).
One only has to look at Rachel Jeantel to see this truth. Her testimony was criticized by many people who look like her because they felt embarrassed by her, even though she had a valuable vantage point from which to testify. She was not an eloquent speaker. Many people are not, but many are not made to testify in front of the nation about an emotionally wrenching case in which they were on the phone the night their friend was killed. To add insult to injury, a juror, who didn't want to be identified, admitted to reporter Anderson Cooper that she felt that Rachel Jeantel "felt inadequate because of her education and communication skills" and that the juror "just felt sorry for her." These words speak volumes. What speaks loudest is that Rachel was evaluated as "not credible" because she was more honest than eloquent, which in the juror's eyes was a reflection of "the type of life that they [her word] live and how they [her word] are living in the environment they [her word] are living." If you don't believe she actually said this, Google it. The way she intends the word "they" is debatable, but what isn't is that she clearly didn't find Rachel Jeantel relate-able.
Mr. CEO, I can help our students articulate the complexities of their opinions and their experience. I can help offer them an outlet for their emotions and encourage them to construct solid arguments based on evidence, history, and thorough analysis. I can help them heal the wounds of prior education failures and the holistic education disparities of our country. I can help them constructively deal with the anger that smolders and makes them reject the possibilities in their personalities. I can help them be one form of true justice for Trayvon Martin - successful, confident, thriving adults who can stand their ground by enlightening those foolish enough to challenge their aptitude for greatness.
Please give it some thought or pass it along to whomever will give it serious consideration. We are losing our children. We have a responsibility to scale this mountain of a mess for our them. If I could, I would protect them from being murdered by the hands of the ignorant. What I can do is give them one form of protection - I can help strengthen their minds to deal with all the troubling "isms" that murder them everyday.
If you need to reach me, don't worry. This won't be my last letter and people in your school system know just where I am.
Sincerely and optimistically,
T. Bruce
“Are you the one who is supposed to put me back together when the pieces are all over the place…? All the king’s horses and all the king’s men?”
