“OUR GIRLS AREN’T GROWN AT 5 & OUR BOYS AREN’T WEAPONS AT BIRTH.”
Read it again.
Heartbreaking.
[IMAGE ID: screencap of a series of tweets by Mikki Kendall @Karnythia on July 19 2017. “I am fascinated by how many people have assumed the kid having the tantrum on the train is on the spectrum & thus needs extra patience.
I can say with some authority a Black kid on the spectrum having that same issue wouldn’t get half as much patience nor would his parent.
My youngest is on the spectrum. He had a tantrum in our house when he was 2. My white neighbor threatened to call the cops on me. But okay
When I tell you that my kids couldn’t act that way? That’s totally the voice of experience. Because Black boys on the spectrum can’t do that
At least not if you want to avoid being reported to DCFS or having them handcuffed at school or you know..shot by a cop. Just syaing.
This is the voice of a bitter Black mom speaking though. Because I spend 2-3 days every year at his school dealing with racist assumptions.
Black boys do not get to have tantrums in public. They do not get to have them at school either. No matter what’s going on. Trust me on that
Because (and here is indeed a fuck you very much) they will get killed if they cannot control themselves. No matter what’s going on.
I have to make sure kid #2 doesn’t have a meltdown in public, isn’t too loud at home either. We live in the hood for a reason.
If he’s having a rough day? My neighbors won’t call the cops. They will look out for him. But then they’re Blac & they get it.
We literally work with him constantly on impulse control & self soothing. Because I want him to live past 20.
There’s no compassion for kids like my son. My patience for your white ass feelings about Black parenting is pretty much nonexistent.
I’m a hardass. I know that. I do. But then I’ve had a dozen giant red warning signs that my kid can’t stay alive if he’s not in control.
Get at me when your kid on the spectrum has a meltdown & you get a call about the possibility of charges being pressed for yelling.
Because he’s tall & Black & repeated the same profanity as all the other kids involved in the fight. Call me when you realize he’s at risk.
I want you to sit at a table and listen to an adult white woman tell you she doesn’t like teaching your kid because he’s scare at 8.
Not that he’s been violent or threatening. Nope. He just yelled at her one day after she blamed him for being bullied. Go to that meeting.
Get a call about your kid being a problem because he’s too flat when he speaks. Not that he’s done anything. They don’t like his voice
Have the “We’re going to write him up for trespassing” conversation because your kid sat in an empty classroom to study. Have that call.
My kids get good grades. They don’t do half the shit I did. But I have two sons & I stay in their schools keeping them safe from admins.
Meanwhile one of my neighbors did 10 years for attempted murder. He’s got no training. But he stops & chats with every kid on our block
He warns them off gangs & listens when they’re made. He helped teach kid #2 to throw a football. Because he knows how easy it is to get lost
The grace you show to white kids? Try showing it to all kids. Our girls aren’t grown at 5 & our boys aren’t weapons at birth.
#watching this monkey peel of the stringy bits#drop them on the baby’s head#meticulously remove them#and clean off the stump#then wolf down that banana#is just really great#like a fussy little person
seeing how familiar monkeys’ mannerisms are makes me desperately wish I’d been around when there were other species of humans
