{"id":1577,"date":"2016-10-06T01:53:34","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T01:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/?p=1577"},"modified":"2016-10-06T02:47:42","modified_gmt":"2016-10-06T02:47:42","slug":"dear-america-black-guy-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/areasontosmile\/2016\/10\/dear-america-black-guy-ii.html","title":{"rendered":"Dear America, from a Black guy II"},"content":{"rendered":"

America, my heart is broken.<\/p>\n

\"sad-man\"<\/a>A couple of months ago, I wrote this letter about how awful it feels to be a Black guy who truly loves this country<\/a>.\u00a0 And you, America, have responded by making things much, much, worse.<\/p>\n

This article has taken longer than any other to write, because I keep having to start over with each fresh new tragedy.\u00a0 I started over with the murder of Terence Crutcher.\u00a0 I started over with the murder of Keith Scott. I even recorded an episode of Rise UP with B. Dave Walters<\/a> where I talked about how it feels. \u00a0But this latest insult is the last straw.<\/p>\n

Eye-tracking technology shows that preschool teachers have implicit bias against Black boys.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mortal sin in the online world to direct people to another web page, but go read that article because it\u2019s important and I don\u2019t want to misrepresent the findings. I\u2019ll wait.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the question I want to ask, and I want you to keep in the back of your mind from now on:
\nWhere would you be in life if you\u2019d been treated like you were wild and dangerous since you were three years old? Literally<\/em> longer than you can remember?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The findings of this study kept me up all night. Here it was in black and white (pun intended) that little Black boys were being profiled from the day they first set foot in the classroom.\u00a0 The study found not only that \u201cAfrican American students are suspended or expelled at more than twice the rate of children of any other ethnicity,\u201d but that \u201cin state-funded pre-K classrooms, 3- and 4-year-olds were being kicked out of school three times as often<\/strong> as older students. And Black children \u2014 boys mostly \u2014 were about twice as likely as Latino and white children to be expelled.\u201d<\/p>\n

So think about that. These kids\u2019 earliest recollections are of objectively provably overly harsh treatment. If you\u2019ve been around a three year old lately, you might notice that they occasionally have problems sitting still and following directions. But little Keith, little Terence, little Philando, little Alton, little DAVE get flagged early as being disruptive influences.<\/p>\n

So besides the fact we already know that a teacher\u2019s expectations DIRECTLY influence student performance<\/a>, what happens when you\u2019re expected to be a problem in advance?\u00a0 At what point do these children begin conforming to expectations, and actually become the disruptive elements that are still going to be overreacted to? \u00a0At what point exactly did they have a chance to cultivate a love of learning? When were they able to invest their energies into cultivating their own unique genius?<\/p>\n

And at what point did they learn that school was a hellish ordeal where they were perpetually treated as other<\/em>?\u00a0 Spoiler alert: Around three years old.<\/p>\n

Another interesting take away from that article is that Black faculty was actually more<\/em> likely to be too hard on Black children. Allow me to explain to you why that is, which is something 114% of Black people will verify. Here is exactly what\u2019s going through that teacher\u2019s head:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis little Black boy is not going to show out and embarrass all of us.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

An interesting reality of being Black in America is we are all connected. If you notice, 9 out of 10 times we always greet each other on the street, if only with eye contact and a nod. All that Brother and Sister stuff is actually true, there\u2019s an innate kinship and connection between all of us.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe me? Here\u2019s just one example of an experience 99.9% of us shared in January 2008:
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