Children of a Troubled Time

     Fam, those of you who have stuck with this blog that long may recall that back in '19 we explored Margaret A. Hagerman's White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America. I learned so much from it. So when I first learned of her Children of a Troubled Time: Growing Up with Racism in Trump's America I kept trying to borrow a copy by Minerva and MaineCAT to no avail. Finally I bought a copy because I believe you need to know about it. 

     Never let it be said I neglect you. 

     Hagerman calls bullshit where she sees it. She shreds the myth of childhood (or at least white childhood) as a time when kids are naive about grown up stuff (like politics) and need to be kept this way for as long as possible to keep them from experiencing negative emotions. Her interview subjects (10-13 year old kids growing up in Mississippi and Massachusetts) were very aware of current events and expressed quite strong opinions about them.

     Some of the white kids were quite troubled by Trump's 2016 win and the number of people who voted for him. They "had no idea the country was so racist". But they saw Trump as a disturbing aberration, a bad apple. Things would go back to normal when a good president was elected. 

     Some of the white kids were thrilled that Trump won and shared in his mission to make America great again. They felt that he was the only one willing to protect them against the bad people (such as Blacks, immigrants, and Muslims) who they perceived as out to hurt them, to take what was rightfully theirs. They made openly racist jokes, chanted "Build the wall. Build the wall." on the playground, and looked forward to enforcing Trumpian mandates as adults.

     For children of color the predominant feelings were fear and anxiety on two levels. Trump's win emboldened racists. The children experienced violence at the hands of their classmates and saw family members encounter violence in their communities. And they understood how Trump's policies have devastating consequences. Just try to imagine living with the daily fear of returning from school to an empty house because ICE has taken your parents. 

     Hagerman shows how encountering Trumpian influences in a time when the worst manifestations of white supremecy have gone mainstream can have devastating long term consequences for the children and our country if we don't do plenty to intervene. All of us that is. Because no less than the future of our nation is at stake. Fortunately she gives some well thought out ideas on what we can do.

     I recommend Children of a Troubled Time to everyone who gives a damn about raising kids who can resist racist thinking and actions, work to dismantle rather than reinforce racist systems, and participate meaningfully in a multicultural democracy. Remember it takes a village. 

On a purrrsonal note, at UMaine we're coming up on Pride Week. I'm looking forward to all the events. Of course the grand finale will be the drag show in which I'll be performing two numbers. All week I'll be rocking flamboyance, cos playing as my drag persona, Gotta Believe We're Magic, to publicize. Yes, I promise pictures. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who will participate this week.

Jules Hathaway 

     

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