With parents and students navigating tensions and heightened law enforcement in D.C., what are some of your concerns going into the school year?
Ariel Cadwell, Detroit
“As an educator, I’m worried about the students’ mental health, and them just being able to navigate their emotions with all this going on. They already have so much to worry about and now this. Especially for Black and Brown kids, the heightened police puts them in a hard place. I can’t imagine passing the National Guard, tanks and tons of police. It makes your anxiety go up and could make anyone— kids or adults— feel discombobulated.”
Roger Glass, Northwest D.C.
“My granddaughter attends an elementary school in Northwest D.C., with a large Latino and Ethiopian population. I’m concerned that these families might be afraid to bring their kids to school because of the indiscriminate arrests and detention of immigrants, especially Latinos. It’s wrong!”
Lynette Monroe-Wilson
“Heightened law enforcement in the District does not keep the majority of our children safer. Instead it increases student anxiety and I believe will have a lasting impact on their already fragile self-efficacy. My daughter, who is attending Kindergarten this year, was singing a song that she made up about police being ‘all around, everywhere.’ We must never forget that the argument for Brown vs. Board of Education was that the feelings of second-class citizenry, created by a segregated school system, was psychologically damaging enough to Black children that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment that requires states to provide the same level of protection under the law to all people within their jurisdiction. My concern as a parent is that instead of students returning to schools within the usual friendly bustle that accompanies the season, they are returning to school in a city that is eerily quiet and crawling with armed strangers in military uniforms. As American citizens, safety and happiness is chief amongst our goals. While adults debate “safety” measures, children are denied happiness.”
This View Point was so popular, several community members weighed in on the subject. We will publish a second round of answers to this question next week. Thank you to everyone who shared their insights.
Compiled by Micha Green and Jada Ingleton