This morning, I read the story of Ahmed Mohamed and his clock that he took to school and was arrested for suspicion of making a bomb and it's been bothering me all day. I can imagine that he packed this clock that he built all by himself carefully and was full of pride and boasting as he showed his science teacher how he had figured out the gears and wires all by himself. He probably couldn’t wait to see the teacher’s eyes widen, impressed by how smart the kid was. Instead, the teacher told him to hide it from the other teachers and the next teacher had him arrested.
This brown boy, like so many Black and brown boys, is guilty… until proven guilty. “Police say they may yet charge him with making a hoax bomb — though they acknowledge he told everyone who would listen that it’s a clock.”
As a mom, this story hurt my heart. As one who advocates for education for all children, it struck me as a ridiculous reaction by educators, but as a mother of Black children, it made me sad.
My own son is one of those tinker-er kids. He says already that he wants to be an engineer and is always imagining his next greatest invention. I don’t really raise an eyebrow as he explains why he needs to order an electro-magnet or some wires or more batteries, or asks where the wire cutters and hammer and pliers are. I imagine that Ahmed Mohamed is like my son, his parents like me, who wonder and are amazed by their child’s creativity and curiosity.
Unfortunately, though, a parent’s own amazement of their child has to be tampered by the reality that everyone may not see their child that way. Everyone does not see my Black son as the beautiful, intelligent, funny, hopeful kid he is. We keep finding that out, on the streets and in our schools.
There’s lots wrong with what happened to Ahmed and his clock project. This is only a short list.
The boy was taking this clock to an engineering teacher. Engineering. Like, this is what the teacher is supposedly teaching him to do. Or if not, what the heck are they doing in class? Instead, the paper reports that “He’s vowed never to take an invention to school again.” How is that the purpose of school? Are we going back to plants growing under cups and bread blooming mold for the science fair?
The policeman said that if it had been left under a car, it would look like a bomb. Yes, sir, you may be right. But it wasn’t left under a car. It was in a child’s hand as he said “look teacher.” And it was in a backpack after the first teacher told him to put it away. And if you, Mr. Officer, thought it was a bomb, was interrogating a high schooler and trying to get him to admit that his clock was a bomb proper bomb-in-the-building procedure? Aren’t you supposed to evacuate the building, bring in a bomb squad, or something?
The police or school administration did not contact this boy’s parents before dragging him to the police station. Really? I get called when my daughter bumps her head on the playground. Are you telling me that the police coming to search a kid for a bomb and arresting him does not warrant a phone call to mom and dad? I’m sure there is a legal answer, but isn’t there a school discipline answer, too?
Who in this school was on the kid’s side? Where was that science teacher or the school counselor who watched him walk past in handcuffs? Not one teacher stood up, because obviously the Principal didn’t, and say “Hey, the kid said it’s a clock, let’s talk this thing through.” Not one? So is this kid, and all the others, in a school where not one teacher is on his side? Maybe I don’t want to test the theory, but I’d like to think that if one of my kids was being walked out of the school in handcuffs, some teacher, counselor, lunch aide – somebody – would say, “Hey, what’s going on here? Let’s call his/her parents and figure this out.”
Okay. Let’s say, for a moment, that he was making a bomb. Just for a moment, let’s side on the police. Let’s say it was a bomb. Because, yes, unfortunately and heart-breakingly, there are kids who make bombs and shoot up schools and pose a threat to their fellow students, and when these terrible things happen, everyone says, “Hey, why weren’t his parents paying attention” and “Why didn’t the science teacher tell somebody he was practicing building bombs.” Got it, yes, that’s all true. So, I don’t know what a real bomb, or even a hoax bomb, looks like versus the inside of a clock. But I suspect that there are probably some smart bomb squad people who do. Apparently, the teacher doesn’t, so let’s not even mention him. (And for the record – I like teachers, I respect teachers, but I acknowledge, from even my own experience, they are sometimes wrong.) I trust that there is someone in the state of Texas who can look at the thing and say “nope, it’s a clock.” Right? Wouldn’t that kinda settle this whole thing?
Going to meet my lawyer. pic.twitter.com/YCxOOeOz3Z
— Ahmed Mohamed (@IStandWithAhmed) September 16, 2015Am I stepping around the big brown elephant in the room? That glowering suspicion that if this boy was paler and his name was “John Miller” and his parents were born-Americans, that his teacher would’ve said “nice, save it for the science fair” and we all would be none the wiser. Yes, maybe I am, a little bit. Because some of the things that are wrong with this story, the part that came after the adults in his school thought he had made a bomb, aren’t right for any kid. Every kid should have adults in his or her school who believe in them, who sees the good in them. Actually, every kid should have this person outside of school, too, but the reality is, all don’t. Every kid should have someone who will say “hey, this kid is in some kind of trouble, how can I help this kid.” And it didn’t seem like that person was in this school.
So, now, let’s look at that big brown elephant. I wish there was enough space and breathe to talk about race and culture and religion and all the entwined prejudices and injustices and fears and perpetuated wrongs. Because if I could capture all those nuances, we could solve this thing. But let’s try to narrow it down to this one piece of the puzzle, this young brown boy who was arrested for bringing a home-made clock to show his science teacher.
There’s a lot of things wrong with this story. But probably the worst part (and it’s hard to really rank these things) is what things like this can do to a kid’s inventiveness, creativity, pride, and self-esteem.
Instead of the “great thinking & inventiveness” message this boy is getting the “this is surely some illegal thing you’ve got going on here” message. This is another example, further “proof,” for Black and brown kids that no matter what you do, no matter how smart you are, the first thought is you are up to something suspicious. This isn’t the direction that we are supposed to be taking this country. This isn’t the world I want for my own Black children or for anyone else’s.
Its this – crushing the spirit of our kids – that’s the worst part of this whole story.
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