I’d Probably Choose A White Supremacist Over Clarence Thomas

Part 1: I’m Accused of Being a Racist

One of the worst moments of my professional life, when I began questioning my worth and character as a black man, came when I was teaching English Language acquisition at an elementary school some years ago. My classroom was composed of forty native English speakers, a significant amount of children for any teacher to manage, and this is especially true for an inexperienced educator.

I’d thought I could muddle through, as I was only required to assist in perfecting the English speaking skills of fluent kids. I had not been placed in the same position as Samantha, another rookie teacher and friend of mine who had been assigned forty English as second language students. Samantha had to teach her students English from scratch, an arduous assignment for a new teacher who spoke English only. But at least Samantha’s students were eager to learn.

Many of my students were restless during this class, citing redundancy as the reason for their dissatisfaction. “This is so dumb,” said a student one afternoon. “We’re not in first grade and we already know how to speak English. A smattering of students nodded their heads.

I smiled and said, “It is true that all of you know how to speak basic English. But there are some facts about English…