3rd grade homework assignment was to discuss with the family why we live where we live. I tried to broadly answer, but my daughter kept probing. Qualitative researcher in the making?
The conversation I didn't want to have, that I ended up having, was about the racism we endured.
I tried to focus on us moving from ATL to MD because of my job. But she's old enough to remember that this is not our 1st home in MD.
Why did we move from our 1st MD home, she askes?
Crap, truth or lie? Think quick. Truth won out.
Our neighbors kept calling the police on us.
She wanted details, why? which ones? how often? was she happy or scared to see the police? She had all the probes.
I explained, everytime we'd enter the home through the front door instead of the garage, the neighbors would report a burglary in progress.
We lived in an expensive part of town, and we're the only black family in the housing complex. I feared every night when my husband walked our dog in the rain with a hoodie on.
Final straw, my then 11 y.o niece accidentally locked herself out. She was scared and trying to get in
A neighbor ask her "how can I help? Can we call someone for you?" Nope! instead "Are you trying to break in? You better stop before we call the police!".
We lived there 18 months. The very next day, we put the house on the market.
Modern day redlining practices.
We picked our new house in a part of town with lower rated schools, smaller houses, BUT it had 3 other Black families on the block.
My daughter has been learning a ton about Black history this month, and today she learned that racism still dictates peoples addresses.

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More from @Theresa_Chapple

7 Feb
#BlackHistoryMonth Yesterday's letter was E for excellence.
I was tired last night & just wanted the children to go to sleep, but they came to me asking, "who's our example of Black Excellence mom?"
So, I mustered all the energy I could to enthusiasticly discuss @MichelleObama
Mrs. Obama, are 44th First Lady is the epitome of Black Excellence, and became this was as a result of hard work, parents love, community support, quest for knowledge.

My children were impressed to learn that her mother, Mrs. Robinson stayed home with the children and taught
them so much during their early years, that both Mrs. Obama and her brother skipped 2nd grade. We talked about Mrs. O early academic achievements that led her to one of the top high schools in Chicago. How she traveled by bus 1 hour each way to obtain a good education.
Read 13 tweets
6 Feb
Great article on the 8 different ways to sign up for the vaccine in MoCo, MD. "Montgomery County vaccine registration, confusing, time consuming |

wusa9.com" wusa9.com/amp/article/ne…
Philly people can call this number for the vaccine
"Eligible Philadelphians who lack internet access can call a hotline at 215-685-5488 for help making appointments."
"Philadelphia to open mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics, pharmacies to get doses" inquirer.com/news/coronavir…..
New Jersey
"People who are currently eligible for vaccination in New Jersey will be allowed to book appointments as early as Feb. 9. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com. People without online access can contact CVS customer service at 800-746-7287."
Read 5 tweets
6 Feb
#BlackHistoryMonth Today's letter is D- for drive.
I had an entire plan, but my children wanted to learn about Ruby Bridges.
They said that someone had to DRIVE her to school😆, so, I went with their selection.
Ruby Bridges, born in 1954, the same year as my mother. My children were shocked to hear that when their gma was a child, integrated schools were resisted.

My children learned about how even with laws in place, people made up creative ways to ensure segregated schools.
In New Orleans, Black children had to take an extremely hard placement test in order to get into the White school. 6 kids passed the test at Ruby's school, 2 of the children remained at the Black school, 3 Black girls went to McDonogh school and Ruby went to Frantz on her own.
Read 8 tweets
5 Feb
#BlackHistoryMonth Today's value- "C" is for creative. This was hard to narrow down, so I selected two people to discuss with my family.
1- Issachah James Savage @SavageTenorJI. I read a quote about him once that said "His name is Savage. His sound is sophisticated."
Philly born opera singer, Issachah possesses an expansive, take-notice tenor that has propelled him to the front of orchestras such the Los Angeles Philharmonic and on stages such as Houston Grand Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.
It's a voice both refined and deep in its range, in that rare category known as a heldentenor, and he is using it to crush Verdi and Wagner roles here and abroad.

He's won: The Seattle International Wagner Competition in 2014
The 2012 Marcello Giordani International Competition
Read 8 tweets
4 Feb
#BlackHistoryMonth - today's value is bold.
I talked with my girls about the boldness necessary to be "Unbought and Unbossed", Shirley Chisholm's slogan when she became the first woman and first Black woman to run for nomination of a major party as its candidate for President.
Shirley Chisholm was born in 1924 and died in 2005. She was relentless in breaking political barriers with respect to both race and gender. In 1968, Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, representing New York’s 12th for 7 terms from 1969 to 1983.
As both a New York state legislator and a congresswoman, Chisholm championed the rights of the least of us, fighting for improved education; health and social services, including unemployment benefits for domestic workers;
Read 9 tweets
3 Feb
I often talk about what I learned by asking a group of Black parents what they like about #virtualSchool. 1 thing parents said was that they get a first hand seat to what their children learn and hear. Therefore, if microagressions occur, they can address immediately.
New 🧵
One thing Black folks know about #BlackHistoryMonth is that some schools somewhere are going to get it wrong, really wrong. And often we don't know if it's our kid's school until they come home and tell us about the cruelty that endured at school.
Well thanks to virtual learning, parents in one 5th grade class got to experience it alongside their child.
Here's the lesson from curriculum.
Looks harmless enough. But now, let's add a little microagressions to it.
Read 4 tweets

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