I have one memory that I may have shared before but it is so pronounced in my head that it warrants another telling. I work for an inner city Head Start where, more times than not, I am one of and sometimes the only white person in the classroom. One spring we decided to take the children to a park in another area of the city, a more affluent part, and all five of the classrooms at our site went. It took about 4 buses (the smaller ones) to get us there. I was sitting in the back so I could get children unbuckled once we were parked. As we pulled up beside the park I noticed the parents were slowly lining up along the edge of the playground, some with their arms folded. I don't know if they even realized they were doing it. As children and teachers (none of who were white) got off the bus, more parents entered the line and the stiffer their bodies seem to become. I was one of the last people to get off of the bus and I swear, as soon as they saw me arms went down, bodies relaxed, and all went back to tending their children. The only one of us these white parents would speak to was me and this was to ask where we were from. This is one of the conversations,
Parent 1: "What school are you from?"
Me: "Head Start in Albany"
Parent 2: "What is Head Start?"
Parent 1: "It's a school for poor people (whispering poor)."
I had to walk away before my head imploded!

This whole incident was taking away equality from the children and the teachers. Though nothing was exactly said the body language screamed volumes saying, these teachers and children were not really welcomed here but since I was with them, then it was okay. I know this is vague and all maybe just in my head but it looked so ominous!

As I said, I had to walk away from the conversation I had with those two women before I got angry. I was embarrassed by my association of these white people. Now that I think about it, when I discussed it with my co-workers later on they had not even noticed it. I am not sure if this was because I imagined the whole thing or that these African American people are so used to it they just did not notice.

I would have to change. I have to educate myself to better understand both sides of an opportunity such as this. Because I became so angry and so embarrassed my head was not clear enough to educate those I spoke with about the amazing opportunity Head Start was to educate all children because 10% of our students are considered over-income making it not just for poor people. I could have introduced my students to those children who were already playing there to plant the seed of tolerance. I could have asked my AA co-workers for their advice and their experiences to better educate myself. I feel it was a ripe situation that I totally missed other than using it to educate others.