[0:01] - I played football, I

think it was my junior year.

[0:04] We went not that far out

[0:05] and when we got there we went in as a team

[0:07] and they know what locker

room we're going in.

[0:10] They have to assign that for us.

[0:11] We went in and there was just

like racial slurs all over the

[0:14] board written in marker

[0:15] 'cause they knew we were

going in there already.

[0:17] I wish there was more of

a conversation about it,

[0:19] like our coaches talking to their coaches.

[0:20] Probably maybe after the game,

[0:23] 'cause it didn't have to happen

right before, but probably

[0:25] after just an apology, a

statement or something.

[0:45] - A couple of years ago I was

really noticing an increase in

[0:49] the number of incidences related to race

[0:52] that were happening in

our school districts.

[0:55] When harm was done, we

didn't know how to respond

[0:58] to it appropriately.

[0:59] - Racial harm is when an individual

[1:01] or a group of individuals are harmed

[1:03] or called names due to

their race, their skin,

[1:06] or their ethnicity.

[1:07] It makes them really feel

unsafe, makes them feel as people

[1:11] around them don't support who they are

[1:13] and the environment

becomes a very uninclusive

[1:16] and our goal is really to be

inclusive for all students.

[1:19] - Knowing that maybe my

teacher didn't protect me

[1:23] or maybe this hasn't been resolved.

[1:26] It's hard to go in

[1:27] and put on that face to be

like, I'm ready to learn.

[1:32] When inside you're upset, you're mad.

[1:35] You're feeling like, who

is here to protect me?

[1:37] Who is helping me?

[1:39] When you're sitting in that kind of space,

[1:43] it is really a challenge to

figure out how do you learn?

[1:48] How do you ask for help

[1:49] and how do you figure out

the way in which to deal

[1:52] with the feeling you're

feeling with knowing

[1:54] that this doesn't feel good.

[1:56] - We can't do nothing to

help our children until we

[1:59] as a administration -

district. Get together

[2:03] and lay all the cards on the table

[2:05] because there's a lot of bias going on.

[2:07] I mean, we can't sit down

and try to talk things out

[2:10] because people don't

wanna have them serious

[2:12] conversation on

racism.

[2:15] I've seen in happen at my school.

[2:17] There was no kind of sit down trying

[2:20] to restore, you know what I'm saying?

[2:22] To show the kids. That's why

kids are getting suspended.

[2:25] Left and right, 'cause we don't

sit down and talk to 'em.

[2:29] - I invited several school

districts to come together

[2:33] and to create collectively

a racial harm protocol

[2:38] that they could take back

to their individual schools,

[2:41] utilize their own independent

policies and practices,

[2:46] but be able to take a template back

[2:48] that's being used throughout

the Twin City area

[2:52] to address racial harm.

[2:53] - It's a response guide

[2:55] that helps guide administrative officials

[2:58] and really any kind of staff on

[3:00] how we can combat the racial harm

[3:03] that's happening in our school buildings

[3:05] and the way to do that equitably

and and with integrity.

[3:08] And it also establishes

like a follow up procedure.

[3:12] - Being able to walk through the process,

[3:14] I think is reassuring.

[3:15] Our goal ultimately is to educate people

[3:18] and help them have different tools

[3:19] and processes when they have an issue.

[3:21] When you get people down, sit

'em down, have a conversation,

[3:25] do some restorative work

related to what happened so

[3:29] that they can understand each

other a little bit better.

[3:32] That just reduces the chance

[3:33] that we're gonna have continuing issues.

[3:36] - We have to hold people

accountable for their actions

[3:39] because that's what creates

safety for our children.

[3:42] Accountability really does heal.

[3:44] When you hold people

accountable for that action,

[3:47] what we wanna see is that

action doesn't happen again.

[3:50] - So me as a black person

of course, like hearing

[3:53] that the school district

is trying to do better

[3:54] and just trying to put these things

[3:56] into place, it makes me feel happy.

[3:57] Of course, you know, everybody wants that.

[3:59] Everybody wants to feel inclusive.

[4:00] Everybody wants a place for

them where they can feel like,

[4:03] oh yeah, safe and comfortable.

[4:04] So it really does mean a lot.

[4:05] We seem like we don't care about these

[4:07] things, but we do. Secretly.

[4:08] - I think this racial harm

protocol has the potential

[4:11] to like support students.

[4:13] For the longest time it felt

like maybe this isn't a problem

[4:16] that is very visible.

[4:17] If it's not acknowledged,

then it's all in your head.

[4:20] So that step is like, oh, it's

not just all in your head.

[4:24] It's actually a problem

that we ourselves can see

[4:28] and just validating our experience.

[4:30] - I think when you

actually show that you want

[4:32] to do something, it matters

way more like we're gonna write

[4:35] it down, we're gonna make

sure that there's a healing

[4:36] process behind it as well.

[4:38] You shouldn't have to

deal with things like that

[4:40] and then just go on about your day.

[4:42] - You know, people are

afraid to, to say, you know

[4:45] that there is a racial imbalance here

[4:48] because it, it implies that

somebody is a bad person.

[4:51] How can we change the narrative

to you're bad person too -

[4:54] You have some learning to do.

You have some growing to do

[4:56] and we can't do that growth.

[4:58] We can't do that healing

unless we identify the problem.

[5:02] Otherwise all we're doing around is trying

[5:03] to stamp out symptoms

rather than the cause.

[5:05] - I think that's my favorite part of it,

[5:07] like the making sure they learn something.

[5:08] I think that's what's

more important about it.

[5:10] - It's better to have more

knowledge than just letting it be

[5:12] a mistake and actually

learn like what was bad

[5:16] and good about it and how we're fixing it,

[5:18] how we're not fixing it.

[5:19] - We're gonna have to focus in

on the way we treat children.

[5:22] We're gonna have to focus in

on how we're communicating

[5:25] that information and what that

looks like and sounds like.

[5:28] And we're gonna have to be transparent

[5:30] and real about what's happening in our

[5:31] schools and that's okay.

[5:33] We can't change or help

[5:36] unless we know what we're

helping or changing.

[5:38] - I don't think that we are

at the end goal time yet.

[5:41] I think there's revisions

that can and should be made,

[5:45] but I think it's an incredible first step

[5:46] and I think it's an incredible

promise to our students

[5:49] to continue to better

ourselves and get better.

[5:51] It is good that we have a

response that needs to be done

[5:55] and followed and met with fidelity.

[5:56] - Let's see it done. Let's

not just talk about it.

[5:59] Let's be about it. Just

learn, learn, learn, learn.

[6:03] Don't let nothing stop you.

[6:04] It's not because of the

color, nothing is before you.

[6:08] 'cause that's something

that they can't take away.