It matters. A phrase we’re seeing more and more now that minorities are being forced to make ourselves seen…. again….in 2021. You can never really feel the depth of that saying until you see and feel it for yourself. It’s like you didn’t know you needed to see someone that looks like you doing something you’ve never done until it happens. My first experience with this was when my parents moved us to Beaumont Texas. On my first day of school there I could not believe how many black educators there were! At least half of my teachers were black! Up until then we were doing good to have one each school year if that.
As a little girl I can still remember being taken to a football game at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Ky. All I remember is the sea of faces that looked like mine and as the band played I knew I’d be back there one day. When that happened later on in life being on that campus evoked a feeling that I still cannot adequately describe….pride maybe, but so much more. There I sang in the concert choir where Detroit was a staple visit when we would go on tour. My first trip there I could not believe all the black people I saw in leadership positions around the city. Like how is this possible?! But those that grew up there or in other cities with a large African American population weren’t the least bit phased. It was amazing.
After graduating I began working with children. When I went to work for Head Start I had never seen such a diverse group. I loved it! Then the day came when a little black girl touched my hair and said it looked like hers. Her eyes were wide and mesmerized. Another would see a brown lady on a book and question if it was me. Others would just hold my hand and talk about it being brown like theirs. As time went on I realized I was the first teacher they’d had that looked like them. Now they KNOW if teaching is what they want to do, then they can. And when I became a Supervisor there and gained access to more children they were always so excited to see me in the hallways. My representation even went past those little black kids. What I mean is I’d get questions about my skin color and why it was dark. This gave me chances to educate from a young age and show them that we are all capable of being in these positions.
Fast forward to Barack Obama being elected President I will never forget going into my parents room and they were crying, I mean hard crying…both of them. My dad, my mom witnessing something they never thought imaginable. We so often tell our children to work hard, go after their dreams, and that anything is achievable. When you can give them visual proof of that it can make all the difference. At that point I knew I’d be able to say look son you can be ANYTHING you want and mean it. Then there was Kamala. She’s a woman, like me. She’d gone to an HBCU like me. She’s part of the divine 9 like me. Her hair has a texture like mine. HER SKIN IS BROWN. That matters. At 42, I still needed to see that. Now I can tell my daughter look at what we can achieve and show her living proof. Representation matters.
What’s Kay Saying Today? 