I grew up on the South Side of Chicago. My neighborhood was labeled high-crime and low-income. The media told one story about places like mine. But that is not the neighborhood I knew. Yes there was struggle and poverty. But there was also love and music and people working hard to take care of each other. My parents taught me to see both truths: to acknowledge the real difficulties that systemic racism creates while refusing the narrative that my people are broken. They taught me to have pride in my Blackness to know my history. As a teacher I make sure my students see themselves reflected in the curriculum. I teach the full history of America including shameful parts. I teach that their circumstances are not their destiny. That education is a tool for liberation.
Growing Up Black in America
