In honor of Women’s History Month, the Mascaro Womens Auxiliary of the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle hosted a thought-provoking panel via Zoom about raising children of color. Several members of the City School District of New Rochelle were among the community leaders who engaged in honest discussions about their experiences as parents and educators.
The event was moderated by Emma Silva, President of the Mascaro Women’s Auxiliary Club, and William Iannuzzi, Director of the Mascaro Clubhouse and a member of the Board of Education. Other school district team members who attended include:
- Adina Berrios Brooks, Board of Education Vice President, who served as a panelist
- Camille Edwards-Thomas, Principal, Albert Leonard Middle School
- Katie Castellano Minaya, Board of Education Member
- Margaret Bavosa, Board of Education Member
- Francis Cruz, Interim Assistant Principal, Columbus Elementary School
- Aisha Cook, Fourth-Grade Teacher, Columbus Elementary School, who served as a panelist
- Jennifer Pilarte, Bilingual Social Worker, Barnard Early Childhood Center, also a panelist.
The panel covered a wide range of topics from building self-esteem at a young age to the prejudices and injustices that young women and men of color face -- and how to address them with children.
Berrios Brooks encouraged parents to be honest with their children about their own experiences and those of family members. She said, “Letting kids know what the people they love and respect have gone through, and that it might happen to them but that it won’t defeat [them],” is powerful. “It makes them realize that the moment they’re having isn’t the only moment they’re going to have.”
Edwards-Thomas said that as parents of children of color, “We end up having conversations very early on that are really sensitive about how they’re feeling, and how they feel like they take up space, and how people receive them. You’re building up a tough skin early on … through conversations that people may not be happy to see you or have you here.” She said it is incumbent upon schools and community leaders to provide “systemic opportunities for people to learn, grow and discuss” together.
Cook shared that as a teacher, she’s cognizant of representation. “My bookshelf is filled with [books of] children of different races who have different hair,” she said. “I think once kids see people who look like them, they start to feel more confident about the way they look.”
Other panelists included Dr. Rosa Rivera-McCutchen, Det. Melissa Diniz, and Valerie Cadet Simpkins.
The full forum can be viewed on YouTube here.