Instead of being celebrated, many Black and Brown students often feel castigated in American society.
#Kindergarten graduation ideas during pandemic skin
You see, being Black, Brown, and young in America too often means being forced to navigate a bunch of unsolicited and unfair labeling and treatment that many others-because of skin color, economic status, or some other arbitrary circumstance-are often spared. These special moments matter and even more so for youth who often feel profiled, targeted, limited, misunderstood, and disregarded. As African Americans born and raised in the Jim Crow South, I knew their feelings were so much bigger than me. Nothing will ever fully describe the pride I felt as my grandparents beamed and gushed at the sight of that diploma in my hand. Every few minutes, a different classmate would emerge from the crowd for an impromptu hug. A video recording would later confirm the tears my family and friends shared, passing around tissues among themselves, as I flawlessly delivered my recitation and later received an award for best all-around language arts student.Īfterwards, I felt every bit a bona fide celebrity strutting the red carpet, as loved ones jockeyed to take photos of me and with me. There I lined up with my fellow classmates, nervous all the while about my speech, which would open the evening ceremony. Then came the first round of tears, when my dad surprised me with a gift-my first car.įrom there we headed to the Atlanta Civic Center and met more of my family and friends. On the way out the door, we briefly posed for pictures. They’d crashed wherever they could after a long night driving from New Orleans, to ensure that they would not miss even a millisecond of what would be a monumental moment in my then 17 years of life.Īfter a late lunch, I slipped on my oh-so-’90s white chiffon suit, fluffed my hair, applied my signature electric-red lipstick and next came the shiny scarlet polyester cap and gown to match. I woke up that morning to find a half-dozen of my relatives sprawled across the tiny Atlanta apartment that I shared with my mother. I remember my graduation day like it was yesterday.
This is why we must do what we can to celebrate the graduates in our lives-especially those of color-in whatever way feels safe and special. I do believe, however, that the sting and sense of loss is that much greater for young students of color, especially those in high school or college. My heart aches for all class of 2020 graduates-from pre-K to graduate school and beyond, very few could honestly say they have not been affected. Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, May and June will be filled with prom and commencement cancellations instead of ceremonies, including my son’s kindergarten graduation. We learned early and often that opportunities to be celebrated or positively acknowledged publicly are often fleeting at best for us in American society-especially when sports or entertainment are not involved. In my view, those rites of passages are so much more than that, especially for Black and Brown kids.
To some, graduation day is just a regular day, walking across a stage dressed in crazy attire only to be handed “a piece of paper” in front of a bunch of people.
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