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My son walked across the stage to receive his diploma from Belmont High School yesterday. Belmont High is located in a predominantly white town, a high school that is rated top three for education statewide.
This opportunity was afforded by the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, Inc.(Metco Program). The METCO Program was founded in 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts, the program is the longest continuously running voluntary school desegregation program in the country and
a national model for the few other voluntary #desegregation #busing programs currently in existence. While my son has recieved an extraordinary #education in #Belmont, It did come at a cost. The cost of experiencing #racism at an early age and throughout the years to come.
Three years ago he marched in a protest against the racism in Belmont with his classmates and a group formed by black students called Black in Belmont (BIB). The group was created so that black students could have a safe space to discuss their experiences and to build a sense of
community among each other. Some examples of his experiences include the mistreatment from teachers; while building blocks on color day in kindergarten, his teacher purposely knocked over his blocks, saying “that’s not how you build blocks.”
This is the beginning of invalidating black males. She didn’t see me standing there. She immediately became flush when she saw me. What else did she do to my child when no one was looking?
He has been attacked by white students and was punished for defending himself. The school justified it by saying “the consequences were based on the last reaction.” A sorry explanation to excuse the behavior of #white #students.
A white female teacher reported that he was “aggressive,” and that she felt threatened because he walked up to her desk to ask for his graded assignment. Some how she did not feel threatened by white male students who did the same. There are #AmyCooper s everywhere.
This is why #black #mothers live in fear for their black sons. The school administration accused him of “smoking marijuana/vaping” his red albuteral inhaler (used for asthma). They went as far as saying they smelled marijuana and taking the inhaler apart three times.
Belmont residents have called the police to report black kids on their street when he visited friends. There are many more stories but I’ll stop here for now.
My son and I have been through a lot together. Today is bittersweet for many reasons... I am proud of him for his strength, resilience, perseverance and determination to succeed. He is a powerhouse and no one is going to stop him. 
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