First prompt: What was your first awareness of race? — that there are different “races” and that you are one. #racialjustice #teachers #equity #principals
My first awareness of race was when my family traveled back to the states from overseas. Previously, my family lived in Panama, Guatemala, and Mexico. After 8 years, we had a chance to come back to the states and the goal was to land close to Memphis. Welcome to St. Louis. When we arrived, we lived in an apartment building downtown called Gentry’s Landing. The school I would attend was called Benjamin Banneker. My first realization as an elementary aged kid was right there. The school was all African American and there I was…someone who struggled BIG TIME. My struggle was because in the schools overseas, we were sheltered and protected. I attended schools recommended by the US EMBASSY and lived in areas surrounded by other government personnel in a bubble. In that moment, I realized race, culture and how the fabric of our humanity is different from person to person.
