In what is expected to be the first in a series of community conversations related to equity, the Greece Central School District hosted “The Origins of N-Words, Ownership and Impact of Language” Monday evening. It was held at the Olympia Auditorium.
Tasha Potter is the principal on special assignment for equity and family engagement with the school district. She said that as a woman of color, she sees different perceptions of the N-word within the black community.
“Some use it as a term of endearment, and others use it because they feel the word belongs to them,” Potter said. “And there’s a significant group of people who also think it’s very negative, it’s derogatory, and we shouldn’t use it.
Potter said that before this event, administrators and teachers asked for help in finding ways to combat students’ use of the N-word.
Potter intends to bring the conversation into schools to have a restorative dialogue around the topic. She hopes the event will raise awareness of the trauma and history behind the N-word through open, public discussion.
“Our work that begins tonight is to raise awareness and provide this learning opportunity for all of us,” she said. “But more importantly, our next steps will be to hold similar sessions in our schools and work on this topic in a restorative dialogue.”
In her eyes, she said the Greek community was struggling with race issues because there hadn’t been an open conversation on the topic.
“It’s an opportunity for us to have a safe space where people can learn together, listen together and we can have conversations about race that we’ve never really felt comfortable with in the past,” she said. Potter said.
In 2012, the New York State Department of Education issued a citation against Greece Central School District for disproportionate suspensions and referrals to special education for black and brown students. Potter said that years later, she moved from school principal to principal on special assignment for equity and family engagement.
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