Posts Tagged ‘Racism’

Last month, one of my Side By Side sisters, Christon Sawatsky, pushed me out of my comfort zone. Christon asked me to post a statement for Side By Side surrounding racism and the death of George Floyd. I am not proud of my initial response to her. Frankly, I was just not sure what to say. I am thankful, however, for her insistence I write the statement. To begin, Christon urged me to examine my own life by looking in my heart for the presence of racism. She had already done this and had been doing research to more fully educate herself. Christon was gentle but insistent with me, pointing out she did not believe that I, a white woman, understood the real truth about the plight of my black sisters. She also said she had heard that Side By Side was not a welcoming place for our black sisters. I did not know why this was the case, and I truly believed it was not true. I never imagined it because I thought I welcomed and loved everyone. Didn’t everyone else?

The teacher asked to meet with me after school. She told me that the fourth grade would be taking a field trip, but the bus was not accessible. Would I mind driving my son Benjamin and his wheelchair behind the bus? I was heartbroken that his experience would look different than his peers. I was angry that he would miss out on the fun of the bus ride. I was sad I couldn’t fix the injustice of life with cerebral palsy.