State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

CASE STUDY 14STAYING STRONG FOR ALL OF HISHIGH SCHOOL STUDENTSAs a gay Black man, Mr. Roland*describes himself as a “two-spiritmulti-ethnic warrior.” Even thoughhe’s going on his eighth year teachingat his high school, some colleagues still treathim as though he’s invisible.He experiences microaggressions first thing inthe morning, simply trying to greet colleagues.“I’ll say good morning and they won’t turn andlook at me. I’ll say good morning again but theywon’t look at me or acknowledge me.”Roland teaches drama and dance and serves asa resource for LGBTQ students and students ofcolor. He also works with the student government,Southern Oregon University’s Queer ResourceCenter and Multi-Cultural Student Center, as wellas other entities around the state to develop antibullyingmaterial and suicide-prevention training.Institutional pushback is an ever-present reality.“I was told if my name and face were on it, thena lot of other teachers wouldn’t get on board.”When it comes to racism and homophobia atthe high school, he says most of the incidentsrevolve around words. He once received a deaththreat, but for the most part, he deals with Whitestudents’ frequent use of the n-word and thef-word. What makes matters worse is that theirparents often excuse it or refuse to acknowledgethere’s a problem at all.He says, “I don’t think they understand the racething here. They don’t get it. I’ve had a grownman in his 40s coming into my office, saying“colored.” I honestly believe he felt that was anOK thing to say. Not to make an excuse for him,but I feel that because of White privilege, it didn’teven register for him.”According to Roland, the high school has a 1.5percent Black student population. There are veryfew teachers of color. As a result, many studentsrely on Roland for support.Early on, that stress took a toll on his health. Hewas having trouble sleeping, often waking upearly in the mornings. He was also drinking andgaining excessive weight from stress eating.Things reached a breaking point five years ago.Roland decided he needed to find balance byfocusing on his mental, physical and spiritualhealth. “Instead of running away from theproblem, I’ve cleaned up what I eat. I definitelyeat to perform. I don’t stress eat anymore.”Getting his health in order helped Roland focusmore on his students, especially those whorely on his counsel. Before, he used most of hisenergy dealing with the people making racistand homophobic comments. “It’s not my work topolice those things for them. I need to be healthyand be here for myself and for all my students.”* The subject’s name has been changed toprotect his privacy.106