Jailyn Gladney is a graduate of Boston University where she received a degree in Sociology and African American Studies. Raised in Savannah, Georgia but currently based in Boston, she use the written word as her preferred tool for enacting social change and achieving social justice.
When not trying to change the world, Jailyn can be found sleeping, eating bacon, taking long walks, teasing her brother, and laughing really, really hard.
“Don’t ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go do it because what the world needs are people who have come alive”
-Howard Thurman
Jailyn Gladney 
Dearest Jailyn Gladney…
As I read The Traumas That Plague Us http://gawker.com/the-traumas-that-plague-us-1704785067 I thought of the vicious circle and the endless cycle of blaming Black persons for being, for their own deaths [Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd…] , for thinking, for being Scholars…Blacks are blamed for, well most everything….and especially for what white’s deem “hurtful.” And yet, few white’s consider The Traumas That Plague Us? The feeling of shame .
I think of the experiences you share in The Traumas That Plague Us http://gawker.com/the-traumas-that-plague-us-1704785067
You write…beginning at an early age…
“When I finally looked back up, it was only to find the teacher softly giggling as she restarted her lesson. A few students followed her lead and chuckled while turning back to face the front of the classroom like nothing had happened. When all 17 faces turned away, my friend and I, who were the only two black students in our grade, exchanged silent glances of shame and disappointment….”
And then on into college the same observations and questions remain…That Nick Pappas
a student from University of Massachusetts, in obscurity states Boston University “should be ashamed”and from the President’s action it does…Unbelievable and yet not. I ask as you do in your essay…
“Is it not violent to publicly pillory a black woman for the conclusions that her valid and valuable research has led her too?
Is this not a form of trauma?…”
I think it is. And to subject anyone to endless trauma…I think of your eloquently and palpably expressed pain..
On some days, I can still hear the soft giggle of the teacher who flippantly dismissed the violent and racialized language scrawled into my desk. And when I think of that principal who prioritized the discomfort of the privileged administration and students over the trauma I had so recently experienced, those feelings of shame, inadequacy, and anger all come flooding back.
My thoughts are with you. I think your treatise gives voice to The Traumas That Plague Us http://gawker.com/the-traumas-that-plague-us-1704785067 Thus I request permission to republish.
As is consistent with our beliefs and tradition EmpathyEducates will include all attributions and hot links to the original.
EmpathyEducates acts for equal and equitable [formal and informal] education as an inalienable human and civil right. It is our Mission to expand the conversation and create an appreciation for the commonweal… http://empathyeducates.org/who-we-are/empathyeducates-mission/ We are grateful for the countless whom also serve the vision.
EmpathyEducates is neither a for-profit nor a not-for-profit. We labor for love and to further the vision. We have never asked for; nor do we make even a penny on our endeavors. We truly work for love of the greater good! We are Educators and active participants in curation and learning.
We believe Conversations http://empathyeducates.org/conversations/ are the genesis for change. Journal writings too evoke much reflection http://empathyeducates.org/journals/ Galleries too are the genesis for vibrant conversations http://empathyeducates.org/galleries/ We work to advance the vision, Empathy Educates.
EmpathyEducates works to be “transformative” through conversations. We look at conventions and hope people will join as we make more conscious connections. We understand that there is far more to education than Common Core and testing. There are people living in poverty. There is racial bias, gender bigotry. Economic inequality. And there are feelings about these and many other issues. Yet, commonly we see little more than interpretations of the data. That is why we believe your essay is refreshing. We trust that your thought, your treatise, is an invitation for reflection.
I thank you for your time, consideration,your warm heart and full of thought mind .
May life bring you peace, prosperity, pleasant dreams becoming the best of your reality. May your life reflect the goodness that is you . . . Betsy
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Jailyn, please contact me at WGBH News ASAP: Phillip Martin. 617-300-2348 thanks…p
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