Emanuele Berry

Sometimes parents are angry about something as small as the email Dr. Whitefield wrote, or a specific book they don't like, or an effort to diversify a library's collection. Sometimes it's a new resolution to promote equity in the school. And a lot of these parents repeat the same talking points in these meetings across the country. They say microaggressions are not real.

Sometimes parents are angry about something as small as the email Dr. Whitefield wrote, or a specific book they don't like, or an effort to diversify a library's collection. Sometimes it's a new resolution to promote equity in the school. And a lot of these parents repeat the same talking points in these meetings across the country. They say microaggressions are not real.

What about reverse racism? And somehow Martin Luther King Jr. comes up a lot. But what these examples boil down to is we shouldn't be talking about racism because it's not a thing anymore.

What about reverse racism? And somehow Martin Luther King Jr. comes up a lot. But what these examples boil down to is we shouldn't be talking about racism because it's not a thing anymore.

This is from Traverse City, Michigan.

This is from Traverse City, Michigan.

I keep wondering, what is it like to be a kid in one of these towns? For kids of color especially, when some adults are saying racism is a problem and other adults are saying it's not one at all.

I keep wondering, what is it like to be a kid in one of these towns? For kids of color especially, when some adults are saying racism is a problem and other adults are saying it's not one at all.

For instance, the meeting you just heard from Traverse City, what's so remarkable about this particular meeting is that what these parents are partially responding to is a clearly racist incident in their schools. I've been talking to a kid who was targeted in that incident, a 16-year-old Black biracial girl named Nevaeh, about what happened to her.

For instance, the meeting you just heard from Traverse City, what's so remarkable about this particular meeting is that what these parents are partially responding to is a clearly racist incident in their schools. I've been talking to a kid who was targeted in that incident, a 16-year-old Black biracial girl named Nevaeh, about what happened to her.

And her story is so much more personal and immediate than what you get from any of these meetings. A quick warning, this story might not be appropriate for kids. Here it is, Act 1. A year ago, Nevaeh was a sophomore in high school who didn't think about her Blackness too much. Yes, she lives in a mostly white town, 90% white.

And her story is so much more personal and immediate than what you get from any of these meetings. A quick warning, this story might not be appropriate for kids. Here it is, Act 1. A year ago, Nevaeh was a sophomore in high school who didn't think about her Blackness too much. Yes, she lives in a mostly white town, 90% white.

And yes, she's often the only person of color in a given room, including her family. She's adopted. They're white. But her journals were not filled with tragic black girl and white town cliches. She was writing fiction, fantasy, young adult, romance.

And yes, she's often the only person of color in a given room, including her family. She's adopted. They're white. But her journals were not filled with tragic black girl and white town cliches. She was writing fiction, fantasy, young adult, romance.

When you say psychology, what is it about psychology that like you're interested in?

When you say psychology, what is it about psychology that like you're interested in?

Nevaeh is a self-proclaimed overthinker. And she does this thing when you talk with her that makes her feel both mature and young at the same time. It's that when she doesn't know something, she says she doesn't know it with such confidence that you feel assured that someday she will know that thing. A year ago, Nevaeh would have described her high school and her experience there as typical.

Nevaeh is a self-proclaimed overthinker. And she does this thing when you talk with her that makes her feel both mature and young at the same time. It's that when she doesn't know something, she says she doesn't know it with such confidence that you feel assured that someday she will know that thing. A year ago, Nevaeh would have described her high school and her experience there as typical.

It's not mean girls situation. No, it's not like that at all. Nevaeh had a lot of friends. She wove in and out of a bunch of different groups at school. And then she had her inner circle. One of her closest friends in that circle, someone she talked to daily, I'll call Katie.

It's not mean girls situation. No, it's not like that at all. Nevaeh had a lot of friends. She wove in and out of a bunch of different groups at school. And then she had her inner circle. One of her closest friends in that circle, someone she talked to daily, I'll call Katie.