When I was 11 I wrote a fan letter to Sarah Michelle
Gellar. To my surprise, I got a response. At the time I was obsessed with her
show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
wanted to let her know how much I loved it. Looking back, writing a letter with
anticipation of getting a response was naïve but I believed something would
happen if I did, so I went for it. (Imagine what would happen for you if you
possessed that kind of faith as an adult.) Even more surprising was the fact
that my parents let me watch the show.
I was raised Christian and remember a church member at the time referring to
the show as “demonic”, but if my parents didn’t have a problem with me watching
it, I was unbothered. At the time, I thought there was no one cooler than a
butt kicking teenager who fought vampires, went to high school, and had close
friends. Buffy Summers was awesome. I
can’t remember exactly what I wrote in the letter, but I do remember how
excited I was to see a letter from California waiting for me when I got home
from school. With excitement, I ripped open the sealed envelope and there was
an autographed photo of Sarah Michelle Gellar that read, Best Wishes xoxo. I thought I was the coolest kid ever. I took the
autographed photo to school, showed all my friends and teachers, and was told
that it probably wasn’t really hers, but
as an eager 5th grader, it was
real to me. As a kid, I can’t think of a cooler fan moment than getting the
kind of response I did. Although I no longer have the photo, it’s a fond fan
girl memory I’ll never forget.
I’m a Black educator in my fifth year of teaching middle school English, and in my third as the 8th Grade English PLC (Professional Learning Community) Lead. And while I genuinely enjoy the purposeful work I get to do, seeing the growth of my scholars, and continuing to hone my skills in a content area I’ve loved since I was a little girl, I’ve had to confront some unpleasant experiences in this space. I’d been through much worse when I was an academic advisor at a Christian university. Racism, sexism, harassment, and workplace bullying were sadly norms in that environment. However, some of what I’ve experienced as a Black educator hasn’t been normal … It doesn’t seem normal to be the only Black educator in my department – in a predominantly Black school. One of my Black colleagues once said, “It should look like a Tyler Perry movie in here.” But it doesn’t. It didn’t feel normal being reprimanded in a meeting (during my second year of teaching) by an administrator who went in on...