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 "Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership" from Diversity in the Classroom, UCLA Diversity & Faculty Development, 2014 Discussing racial microaggression is always challenging. Anyone who is rightfully called out for any deliberate or unintentional act of racism that to them may appear slight will deny their misstep in defiance of being branded a racist. This fear of the consequences of being labeled racist has made having an open discussion about this class of oftentimes unintentional insult difficult. Attempts devolve into a  series of skirmishes in which those at fault react by gaslighting accusers into silence, then flip the script and call themselves the victims of hypersensitive minorities policing political correctness. This is somethin...

One of the most influential images of all time is the photograph of the beaten and mutilated body of Emmett Till, a teenager from Chicago visiting family in Mississippi, in his simple pine casket.Emmett's mother Mamie made a heartbreaking choice when preparing for Emmett's funeral that changed the course of modern civil rights history. "Mamie Till was the mother of Emmett Till, who was murdered in Mississippi on August 28, 1955, at the age of 14, after being accused of flirting with a white cashier woman, Carolyn Bryant, at the grocery store. For her son's funeral in Chicago, Mamie Till insisted that the casket containing his body be left open, because, in her words, "I wanted the world to see what they did to my baby." " - Wikipedia Years later, Carolyn Bryant admitted she lied, and Emmett was innocent. André McCollins with his mother Cheryl in happier times. Image of a light brown African American male presenting teen  with crew cut hair and a sky blue...

The author taking a needed break from pedagogy.Image of a petite brown young woman  in   a Medieval gown, flowers in her hair and beloved puppy in her lap. Credit J. Richards/K.Cevik Y ou are a first-year upper elementary teacher in a self-contained class. In front of you are 12 IEPs. Each was written by a different teacher. Most of the goals are far above the current academic levels of your students and were clearly copied and pasted from grade level state standards. None of them follow the same criteria for measurement, which means you will need to measure each goal a different way. Each of your students has a goal for the four core subjects you teach: math, English, science, and social studies. So in total, you are responsible for 12x4 = 48 separate IEP goals, not counting objectives to achieve each goal. There is very little overlap between your students’ goals, making grouping difficult. Given a good day with no illnesses, unexpected test prep sessions, early releases, ...

Screenshot of a photo of Rebecca X, presented by her twin during a press conference. Image of a beautiful Austistic African American young Woman with center-parted long black hair and a matching black top. © Chandler Family It was 25 degrees outside that Tuesday, January 9th, 2018. Psychotherapist  Imamu Baraka was leaving his office across the street when he saw staff from University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown in the process of dumping a woman at a bus stop in only a hospital gown and socks. Furious, he began recording the event on his cell phone, called 911, made certain the woman was re-admitted to the ER and concerned no one would believe him, uploaded the video. The frightening footage, evidence of a heinous practice called "patient dumping" went viral. A week before, Cheryl Chandler had reported her 22-year-old daughter, Rebecca X, missing.  Six years ago, Rebecca had been diagnosed with Asperger's and a psychiatric disability.  She had been placed in a grou...

The author, surveying the forest and deciding navigation while pondering how to provoke a shift in attitudes towards disabled students on parent and educator sides that would eliminate learned helplessness, encourage self-advocacy and self-confidence through autonomy and understanding of real-world situations.  Winter Cevik  is a small, unusually vocal hen in her mid-thirties. In her spare time, she enjoys laying eggs (usually 500 words or fewer), writing IEPs, and offending neighborhood wildlife.   T wo perspectives plague special education. They’re twin roads paved with good intentions, and fail for the same reason: they reduce a disabled individual’s worth to how they make us feel . We do this with everything, of course, caring about or disliking others, ourselves, even objects, based on personal utility and emotional payoff. It’s a reflex old as language, but when we’re talking about it governing how we decide the futures of other human beings, it merits a closer lo...

Childhood photo of Neli Latson, a young autistic African American male in crew cut 'fro, white tshirt and red, white, and blue plaid shirt, smiling at the camera, cradled in his mother T his is what I know about Stafford County, Virginia. When certain members of the community wanted the Confederate flag removed from flying high above the county in public administration and public service areas, the county solution was to move the pole so the flag was still large and visible from I-95 but could not be removed because it was now on private property where it remains to this day. So the first thing I understood from this is that Stafford County Virginia might be a place where the rule of law can be used to circumvent the law and keep symbols that oppress and offend its marginalized citizens regardless of the will or wish of its communities. Stafford County Virginia might be a dangerous place for marginalized people. Stafford County is the the place where Reginald Neli Latson, #Autistic...