I often talk about our boys needing more supports and tools. A school in Baltimore is offering just that. Check out: Instead of detention, these students get meditation:
“Into a room of pillows and lavender, an elementary school student walks, enraged. He’s just been made fun of by another student, an altercation that turned to pushing and name-calling. But rather than detention or the principal’s office, his teacher sent him here, to Robert W. Coleman Elementary School’s meditation room.
“I want to speak out on this because it’s important. I’ve been in therapy for the past three years. I want to say that publicly. I want to say that to black men who are listening… There’s a young black boy somewhere. He’s trying to find his space in the world. Nobody knows he cries himself to sleep sometimes. Nobody knows how much he misses his father. Nobody knows what he’s going through. And the world tells him, ‘You have to hide it and you can’t talk about it.’ But I’ve got something to say to that young man that I think about very often. My name is Jumaane Williams and I’m the public advocate of New York City.”
I talk often about the difficulty in being a boy today. Couple this with the toll of racism and microaggressions and Williams speech could not have been more needed. He’s slaying the stigma of seeking professional help and I am grateful for him and his speaking out.
whatsaboymom 