Know Your Strength
Today was hard because I went for my second chemo treatment knowing how sick I would feel 36 hours from now. But it was 100 times harder because of how sick I feel for my people and our country right now.
Knowing I can’t protest in public crowds I’m raising my voice by continuing to work (even online) with schools to design more equitable learning environments. And making schools better for MY kids also means doing the work so that all teachers and all students see the value, beauty, and awesomeness of Black lives.
Being a mother has made me double down. After having my c-section, I almost died when the nurse treating me refused to believe that I was in distress even though all of the medical instruments said otherwise. She kept saying, “That can’t be right.” It wasn’t until alarms sounded and I lost consciousness that she got help.
My husband and I were stopped by the police for literally no reason (they said I was driving too slowly. I was going 25 mph in a residential area with no posted speed limit). They forced us to roll down our windows to search the car and thrust a flashlight in our children’s faces. Our kids started crying and asking, “Why are the police doing this to us?”
When my son, who is now 13, first saw images of Tamir Rice, murdered at 12 within seconds by a police officer who had been previously deemed unstable, he said, “I’m young. I’m black. Would the police shoot me?”
We are feeling so much pain. I’m hoping our country can turn the corner and finally see that these injustices are not misunderstandings or being overly sensitive. Our lives are threatened on a daily basis, yet we are still here and still strong. We need others to stand up and be strong, too.