Last year around this time, I went to a Christmas program for a first-grade student who attends a small private school grades K-5th. The program was held at the public high school and houses the city’s 9th-12th graders every school day. When I arrived, I felt like I was in a Walmart parking lot on Black Friday. There were groves of people waiting for the doors to open (not the doors to the auditorium, the doors to the school where people would continue to wait for an hour before the doors to the auditorium opened). When the doors to the auditorium opened, it felt competitive. There were coats thrown on chairs, ropes across rows, and before you knew it, there were no seats left. Eventually, the auditorium manager went on stage and announced the room was at capacity and doors would be closing due to fire hazard. People were turned away from their child’s Christmas program which made parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles/etc. super unhappy. I can’t say with certainty, but I’m sure the school received upset emails and phone calls throughout the following days. As a side note, if every white woman approached social justice issues with the same approach they do when it comes to unsatisfactory customer service for something they paid for,I wouldn’t have to write this. I wouldn’t want to hear a recording of me on the phone with Xfinity after getting billed the wrong amount again.
The same Christmas program is being held tonight in a different auditorium. To my knowledge, a bigger one. This time, each child was given 4 tickets, meaning most children there will have at least 4 supportive adults attending their Christmas program. Most will have more because a sibling in school means more tickets. October 2018, a few zip codes away, a local high school played an away game and do you know how many people (without exaggeration) showed up to support them. F O U R. Four people. It made the news. The captain of the team said, “You look at the stands when you’re losing, four people. It just makes you tired. It gets tiring. It gets old but you keep going. Can’t stop.” I remember feeling heavy hearted looking at the photo of empty stands but felt hopeful about an initiative to “fill the stands” their following home game. Fast forward to Fall 2019 and the team could rarely practice due to a variety of issues, primarily transportation and financial. Again, an article was published and the community responded with a campaign to buy bus tickets so players could get to practice. I don’t know if “fill the stands” was successful last year. I don’t know if bus tickets were provided to every player this year. I do know showing up to one game and throwing money at problems without personally investing, although nice and a start, won’t provide long term solutions to these problems. As we approach the holidays, I feel similarly to when I saw the photo of the empty stands. The world I live in and the world I work in are so completely different and I don’t want my kids to live their lives blinded by privilege and unaware of the hurts in our community. Yet, I know full well my kids will receive gobs of toys and be surrounded by family and friends throughout the upcoming month and well beyond the holidays. Meanwhile, there are so many kids I work with whose Christmas lists are the least of their concerns, probably nonexistent. They are worried about basic needs. Food, shelter, financial means to pay bills, child care for their siblings, safety in the community, court involvement, the color of their skin-survival stuff. This holiday season, remember all the tired kids looking up to the stands for support, relief, and encouragement. They keep going, in the hope someone is going to show up. Do that. Show up with the same cut throat attitude you show up to get the best seat at your child’s Christmas program. Advocate for proper education, living wage, and sufficient transportation lines. Extend an invitation for meals, buy warm clothing, provide transportation to extracurriculars week after week. Be in it for the long haul and invest yourself emotionally, financially, and spiritually. If you don’t think little you can make a big difference, I want to leave you with one story. This past weekend I attended a funeral for the father of one of the participants from run club. The youth is also on probation. When the service was over, this young boy and his brother who was previously on probation, who were surrounded by family and friends, scanned the room, found their probation officer, and walked up to him seeking comfort. A hug I was privileged to witness and will never forget. It takes on caring adult. Be the one.
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Hi! I'm Haley. Archives
May 2019
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