Alright – so, anyone who does not live under a rock knows that Minnesota has some of the worst racial divide and disparities for people of color. We also know that Minnesota is one of the best states to live unless of course, you are a person of color.
We know that over 90% of teachers in Minnesota are white and overwhelmingly female. The question now is why are these mostly white females suspending mostly minority boys who are often black?
Ever since my own son who has nonverbal autism has been suspended by a white female teacher (Kelly Morris) at Jefferson High school in Bloomington Public Schools, I have been struggling with this question.
Now, keep in mind my child could not talk back at this white teacher. Additionally, she took his voice by not giving him his communication device and he does not understand the concept of suspension or even that he was suspended. \Mminority teenagers and even elementary students are suspended by mostly white female teachers like Ms. Morris. Why is that? What do these white female teachers see when they see our children? Why do they think their only option is to kick the student out of school. Why does Minnesota have this horrible record which is higher than most other states? Why do Bloomington public schools have a higher rate of minority students suspended than other districts? Why Why Why?
Is it racism? is it subconscious bias, is it lack of training, its lack of what?
I recently read an article in the NY Times and something a Minneapolis principal said stuck in my mind. Ms. Rathke stated, “We have students that we just haven’t figured out how to support yet.” Think about that sentence for a hot minute. These mostly white female teachers have not figured out how to support, teach, nurture, and educate our children. Instead of learning how to bleeping do their job, they suspend and kick our kids out of school. Imagine that.
You see I have a different take on this. We (minorities) allow these teachers to screw with our children and our families because we have not yet figured out how to advocate effectively through policy. You see if a teacher knew there would be consequences for her suspensions, she would think twice. If a district knew their funding would be affected, they would think twice before they suspend any child.
Study after study after study tells this is real and has consequences for our children and families. This has been going on for decades and generations. We simply can not tolerate it anymore. We should’ve never tolerated it. We must fight it through policy changes that have meaningful consequences and accountability. These teachers including the white female teacher (Kelly Morris) who suspended my son are denying our children their free and appropriate public education (FAPE).
Please start calling or writing to your state and congressional representatives and the governor asking and demanding this racially based disparity is eliminated. We must hold our elected officials accountable to write and enact better laws and policies that protect our children from such harsh treatments. Additionally, these school districts are controlled by school boards who are elected by the people of that city. Only we are smart and strategic because we can replace the board with members that actually represent the students and families. You see the board hires the superintendent who hires the principals who hire the teachers and who the heck hires or votes for the board – us. That is right. We have the power to change the narrative and the landscape if we worked hard and stayed focused.
Above words do not reflect any candidate, agency or committee.
Idil – Somali Autism Mom