I do identify with some of the things that the people in the conversation with white people, particularly the idea that we have no culture, or that our culture is so dominant that its very existence makes non-European descended cultures seem "other." I can't identify with the white people who are afraid to talk about race, though. I understand where they are coming from, but it takes a lot for me to have patience with that because I feel that it is our duty to learn about and talk about race, even if it's uncomfortable.
But the discussion that meant the most to me was witnessing the Black male students discuss their daily lived experiences with racism. Men like this are the reason I do the work that I do. I had no idea when I became an educator that I would be called to lead young Black men and young Black women as they confront and make sense of the word around them that functions in a very real way to dehumanize them. Malik is the young man who mentions the use of the "N" word in Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. My heart truly went out to him, because I have taught that text so many time and only after years of teaching did I come to a greater understanding that even the texts we choose in the classroom can serve to uphold or dismantle the structures of racism that infuse every level of our society and our very minds.
