Ebony Mom Ivory Tower Blog

What is happening in these exchanges is an unspoken expectation for Black women to absolve (Whites of their racial guilt) and absorb (their discomfort precipitated by that racial guilt).

Government’s willingness to reopen the economy at the expense of Black lives was less subtle and consecutive weeks of live footage of Black death has left the month of May feeling like a tidal wave threatening to crush some of us.

Mrs. Billye’s words marked a pivotal point in my professional development. I was headed into a role where people would attempt to tell me who I was and try to put me in what they thought was my place. I needed to find my voice and own it before it was time to use it.

We teach our children that we have power to defeat monsters, Voldermort, or Penny Wise when we look them in the face. It's my attempt at saying, "I see you". So, here I am taking back a bit of power and recognizing the Ivory Tower for what it is and what it tries to make of me.

Though the school districts were only ten minutes away from one another, they felt like they were worlds apart. I was so overwhelmed by the discomfort that I promised myself never to invite myself into another social situation where I had to absorb that tension again.