Preparing Afro Babies For The Real World

The morning of November 9th  many educators -- much like myself woke up appauled that we could fail our children.  Amerikkka had made a decision that the "MELANIN COMMUNITY" already knew was a possibility. I walked into work, hat firm over my eyes and our boss called a mandatory meeting. We sat circular, facing each other as he asked us to speak on the details of the election and how we could explain that to 14-17 year olds. 

Meditation music sanctified the backgorund as our boss led us into a meditation process to clear ourselves of the heavy reality, that the "real system" was only getting started. How do we explain to teens who've never even left their building or block that their entire world could crash at their feet. 

How could we explain that everything they listen to has kept them in a box.. entertained as others work to control every part of their life. how could educators speak of hope when they had simply lost theirs? As we ponder we thought the best way to do so was to guide them into a discussion about government and their observations.

As our students piled into the class we spoke  candidly and opened the forum for each teen to express. We allowed them to have a platform to voice concern, outrage, etc. But we also knew that students born in 2008 would be having a compeltely different experience.

I spent my afternoon on the phone with parents I know with young children, trying to discover how they raise their Afro/ Melanin Baby to udnerstand this world yet still be free. Its been over 50 years since Emmitt Till and yet our government is still crucifying melanin chidlren everywhere.

I've been over a week writing this articled, and still their is no one answer. I wil never know how to raise an afro baby to be perfectly complete in self love, effortless in pride, bold, beautful, and brilliant, until the day that I have one on my own. But I will do my very ebst t love each of my students as I have only that energy to give. Continue to build your children. Whether with mantras or self love activities, fuel your afro babies with the ideology that they are the best, that mistakes are okay, that "failure breeds success", and that they don't have to be "twice as good", but they do have to be filled and complete.