America was founded on the idea of freedom, Though our history is littered with terrible violations of this idea, And those who started our country had such limiting worldviews that They did not extend this freedom to everyone   They were born into a very stratified society where even people of the same race and gender Were categorized into classes, And you might work as hard as you can and as long as you can, But no matter what you did, You would never be noble, And all power in that society came from birth, They believed In the “divine right of kings” And the idea that God chose some to be “vessels of honor” Ennobled, and given all the power While others were “vessels of clay” And they were literally born to be less than   They overthrew that yoke and oppression, Coming to a new land and carving out opportunities away from the stratification of European society, Where even your accent belied your low birth And no matter what your education l

Hearing of another innocent black man dying because of racism, I stopped and wondered Why? Why are some people more afraid of a strange man who is black than a strange man who is white? And I thought maybe it’s because they live in an insular world without diversity, Because we only fear what we don’t know, right? And maybe it’s because they don’t know. I am blessed to work with children of various races from various nations, so I know And I will tell you They are not scary! They are beautiful! Nobody laughs like the Marshallese, These kids smile so much, And they randomly burst into song, And I can’t tell you how many times they’ve brought a ukelele to class randomly, And I’ve had to set it on my desk until the lesson ends, And nobody can braid hair like the Marshallese ladies; I wish I could do as well I love speaking Spanish because I have never once been told by a Hispanic student That their language is only for them, That I’m doing it wrong, That I can’t understa