Today鈥檚 post is continuing a series on the impact ICE crackdowns across the country are having on schools and their communities.
Today, Minneapolis teacher Tracy Byrd shares how he, his school, and his students are coping with the massive influx of ICE agents into his city and in the aftermath of the Renee Nicole Good shooting.
鈥楾he Ripple Effect of Terror鈥�
Tracy Byrd was Minnesota鈥檚 2024-25 Teacher of the Year :
Ever since I changed careers and got into teaching, I have taught through a global pandemic and a community uprising. Needless to say, the education and training designed to prepare professionals for the classroom doesn鈥檛 include lessons on how to navigate either of these situations. In fact, the most recent challenge facing the education profession of protecting students from the federal government and their intent on using racial profiling tactics in order to inflict emotional and psychological trauma onto immigrant families also isn鈥檛 covered.
The weight of anxiety created by the unknown is a burden for so many. The lack of empathy from from the Trump administration demonstrates educating, protecting, and caring for students in Minnesota is not now, nor will ever be, a concern of theirs.
When the first thousand federal agents arrived in Minneapolis, day-to-day activities were slightly modified. Schools were trying to find ways of maintaining learning for the students, while trying to minimize the disruptions of the entire system. What we know in education is, plenty of students thrive when their day-to-day routines are preserved and a sense of normalcy is protected. When the next 2,000 federal agents showed up, it threw our educational world into survival mode.
The onslaught of attacks these agents brought upon numerous communities are new to this generation. However, in Tulsa, Okla., in 1921, the federal government had already flexed its power against its citizens. Be that as it may, this time the current administration is purposefully targeting children and using them as pawns to push their agenda of immigration control.
The recent events in Minneapolis and surrounding environs travel well into the community. The impact of this type of domestic terrorism is felt by all involved. The ripple effect of terror begins with the tearing apart and destruction of families for generations and extends well beyond the overworked and underpaid people who educate or provide emotional support to those students or families, all the way to impacting community businesses. This includes emotionally shocking abductions of their employees to the slowing down of their commerce activity.
That could be due to the fear created by the chaos, with consumers terrified to support their favorite business, or the slow down happens because of the lack of staff. Either way, generational destruction is taking place.
The chaotic climate that is being forced on us gives many community members a reason to pause. It has been made abundantly clear: Our communities in Minnesota are under attack, and personal safety is in jeopardy. Having said that, what I know about Minnesotans is that we stand up and stand in for one another. When moments seem bleak, the resolve of our community gets stronger. It is at that time when leaders do their jobs and lead.
Personal, local, and immediate, my principal, Emily Palmer, reminded us, as a staff, 鈥淲e are defined by who and how we are, not by what happens to us or around us. Our school is defined by community, not by crises.鈥� As we speak, there are people working with the singular focus of communicating ways to supply families with necessities they will need to keep their day-to-day routines intact.
What the current administration in Washington is doing is sheer hypocrisy: promoting the idea that injecting 3,000 people with the sole intent of creating chaos and fear would somehow make Minnesota safer is ludicrous. If the intent is to invoke immigration-based trauma on students in certain communities, the latest mandate from our federal administration is working flawlessly.
The callousness being demonstrated by the elected officials in Washington is disheartening, to say the least. Maya Angelou said it perfectly, 鈥淗ate has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet.鈥� The lack of emotional maturity being displayed to protect our children inherently puts our community members at risk. At what point can this turn itself around and create positive momentum for our communities?
If the greatest assets for our country are our children, what message is being sent to them right now? Our federal government consciously chooses not to protect them at school from mass shootings. And now our federal government is doubling down and choosing to not only not protect but carry out personal attacks against them and their families at school. How can we as a society begin to think the trauma placed on our students will not manifest itself in some way and turn ugly?
I say all of this to say, Minneapolis, like the rest of America, isn鈥檛 without its fault. Are there things we could be doing better as a state? Of course there are? Are there things we could be doing better as a learning community? Of course there are. This is why education is so important. It provides an opportunity for students to learn how to communicate differing ideas with one another that is productive and constructive. Removing the opportunity for learning, or making it unsafe for the students to arrive at a place of learning is the beginning of destroying our nation.
The unknown of how long we will live like this is part of the mental and emotional trauma our federal administration is inflicting on us. They are hoping we tire and give up. They are hoping one of two things happen. Either we act out, which will give them what they need to inflict even more terror into our local area. Or they are hoping we shut down. Without resistance, the oppressor gains what they want.
Speaking truth to power is frightening. Just as living under an oppressive regime and holding your tongue. Being complicit and not utilizing one鈥檚 voice is siding with the oppressor. Having compassion and humanizing everyone, even our enemies, is the beginning of love. My Bible tells me that 鈥淟ove covers a multitude of sins.鈥� This does not mean to ignore how people have wronged you. Rather, it means in spite of being wronged, your actions will mirror those of Jesus. The one who came down to Earth and triumphed over sin, death, and the grave.
Thanks to Tracy for contributing his thoughts!
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