Honest and Vulnerable

There is a young girl in the community center I work at that I love. In my three years of work there she has been, by far, the most difficult child I’ve EVER met! I’ve met some difficult children but never someone so stubborn, jaded, angry and defiant. I love her! Our relationship has been rocky so any small victory has been rewarding.

One of those victories happened two weeks ago when we had a real heart to heart. I am animating a program about the different types of careers one can get and how much they pay and the amount of education they normally require. After a long conversation about the different stages of school (elementary, high school, cegep, & university) the young girl looked me dead in the eyes and said “why do I need to know this. I’m never making it to cegep. There is more chance I’ll be in jail before college”. This girl is 11 years old. And she was serious. She honestly believes this. It doesn’t help that none of her siblings have made it to university (she is one of ten) and a couple have done jail time.

Black History Month is about recognizing the obstacles and trials black people have overcome in North America and to discuss the steps society needs to take toward greater equality among the races. We all know about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks and tons of the black American experience but Canada tends to be a little more unclear. The obstacles are a little less overt. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. That doesn’t mean that many black youth aren’t struggling with racial identity.

The conversation with the girl in my program was a victory because she was able to articulate her feelings and beliefs. And with that I can help her see just how many talents and abilities she has and why education is an option for her. But the victory began with her being honest and vulnerable. I hope that this month we can do the same and look at what wrong perceptions we have and begin to discuss with people who can show us how to correct it.