Author, educator, presenter

Of the numerous presentations and workshops that I have conducted on diversity, I received one negative comment from a White teacher. (I was not always privileged to receive written feedback, so in all fairness there could have been others from similar workshops who shared her frustration and I was not told about it, but I can honestly say that I never got that feeling from other participants. I always try to monitor my audience so that I might address any perception of the anger or frustration that can accompany discussions of race. I did notice her irritation and tried to address it, but she stopped “hearing” me). Her feedback accused me of favoring people of color and of putting down Whites. She wrote that she never stereotyped people, adding that one of her best friends was Black. She emphatically stated that African Americans actually sold their people to the White settlers, so how could I be so judgmental of White people?! (See page 49 regarding this “fact.”) She missed the points I tried to make and chose to hear whatever I said that seemed to support her outrage. Had she listened to what I said without filters, I am confident that she would not have walked away with such derision.

If you allow these feelings to fester, you will defeat the purpose of this book and your purpose in purchasing it. Worse, you will become distracted and miss the message: that all of our ancestors paid a price to be American citizens; that they have all committed horrendous acts against each other; and that exploring history can discourage us from repeating it. Learn and understand what happened from other perspectives, so you may move forward informed. Guilt and victimhood are counterproductive, especially for educators. You’re better than that. You have to be, because your job is to influence minds!