We Trust Our Resilient Children With Too Much
Observations In Blackness contributor, Leslie D. Rose, offers a personal narrative on the traumatic impact children of color face when forced to grow up too fast.
When I was nine, my mother was serving a 30-day sentence for aggravated assault. My oldest brother had long moved out of the house, and the brother just above me was a freshly minted teenager who was never home.
Growing up in a low-income household means quick and easy foods are unlikely inhabitants of your kitchen, so I had to learn to cook a meal. One day after school, I found a note and ingredients on the counter that instructed me on how to prepare the baked chicken dish and sides I was going to be cooking. I had never even been allowed to touch the stove without supervision, but I was expected to be able to feed myself like an adult. When the food was ready, I immediately turned off the oven and checked back like 12 times just to be sure it was really off. After dinner, I let myself watch some TV, showered, and got ready for bed.
The next day, I overdressed in an Easter outfit and headed to school.
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