“Please, I Can’t Breath.”

The words cried out to officers before George Floyd was taken from his mother, family, and community ripples through us all.

The tragic and horrifying murder of George Floyd two weeks ago, together with the slaying Breonna Taylor and Sean Monterrosa by police, has continued to illuminate our country and the world to the relentless police violence that the Black community struggles to defeat. These events manifest pain, transgenerational trauma, anger, and deep distress in all of our lives, especially for those of us who look like George and Breonna. As the Emerson Elementary School incoming PTA President, I am unable to hold my voice in silence while Black and Brown people continue to be harmed, terrorized, and murdered for existing. I have to challenge the ongoing disrespect for life, while bearing witness to our country’s potent flavor of policing, which supports the implementation of policies that further exacerbates the inequalities in Black and Brown communities. I very much hope that our incoming PTA Board members and community have the resilience to stand with our PTA to sever the hold of white supremacy culture, and its impacts on us all. It is all of our responsibilities to step up and stop state supported violence on Black and Brown communities. The students at Emerson, along with every youth across the country need us to not “try” but to DO! We cannot let hate and injustice overpower the desire to achieve a higher, better expression of humanity, which grants everyone the right to exist free of discrimination, disenfranchisement, and threats to our lives.

 

Sonomia Byrd, PTA President 2020-21

A Note from Outgoing (2019-20) PTA President Ingrid Hogle

It's time to take a step back and let those who have waited 400+ years take the lead. In fact, it is long overdue. I am so inspired by our incoming PTA Board members who have organized a space for our students to express themselves through art, safely, during this pandemic as we witness yet more police brutality against our Black brothers and sisters. This is not the kind of thing I ever thought an outgoing elementary school PTA President would be addressing. But here we are, and I am darned if I am going to let this moment go by without addressing it, for the sake of our students and our collective future.
 
This moment of increased visibility of the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement is heart-breaking, exhausting, invigorating, and long overdue.
 
If you came to a PTA meeting at Emerson this last year, you may have heard me mention race. You may have heard me mention that I have a complex about my complexion - which is white. You may have felt uncomfortable. You may have felt I was overstepping by talking about what we are taught to be silent about. Or, you may have felt supported to hear this white lady standing up and struggling with these issues. Whatever you felt, I can tell you that it was and is very uncomfortable to discuss the long and continued history of racial inequities and how these manifest at our little elementary school. And it feels so important to do so.

Now we find ourselves in a time when a lot of people are talking about race. Long overdue apologies are happening. Bold commitments are being stated. How much of this will be just talk, and how much of this will lead to meaningful change, remains to be seen. And a lot of it is up to you and me. How we engage with one other. How we hold one another accountable. Whether or not we vote. How we vote. Whether or not we show up for our kids. How we show up for our kids. 

It feels uncomfortable but vital to support our kids with community healing and a safe space for self-expression at this time.
 
I hope you can drop by with your kids during this Healing Together Apart art space event. And I know there are many good reasons why you may not be able to do so. I support your decision, either way, and I ask you to please stay home if you are sick, coughing, or have a fever. If you can make it, I hope to see you in person, listen to how you are doing, and see what your child creates.