“
My teachers ain’t even know my name,” I say.
“I go to an alternative school. It’s real small.”
“Damn. Alternative schools is for bad kids. How bad was you?”
She turn ‘round to face me. “I wasn’t bad,” she say. “I was at risk!”
We both gotta laugh at that shit. Starting in first grade, them teachers took one look at me and started putting me in programs for at-risk kids, then at-risk boys, then at-risk teenagers. Personally, I ain’t never knew what the fuck I was s’posed to be at risk of, except growing up Black, but ain’t no program I know of gonna change that.
”
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