Trayvon Martin

As I wrote here, the shooting death of an unarmed 17-year-old Florida boy mistakenly thought to be a criminal haunted me from the beginning. This is any mother's worse nightmare, but as a mother of an African American child, it is the possibility you desperately want to keep at bay, I said in this KING 5 television interview.

By the next day when I did this CNN interview, I was writing the The Talk: An Ugly Rite of Passage.

While other parents have the luxury of confining The Talk to the birds and the bees, African American families view it as a moment to talk with their children are race, racism and the way the world views young people of color, particularly black youths.

On the Ross & Burbank Show on KIRO 97.3 FM, I talked about finding the words to bridge the gap between my son's academic knowledge of racism and the reality of it as experienced by Trayvon Martin. All the while I must balance what I know with a mother's desire not to burden his tiny shoulders too much.

Black hair; blank checks

Its raining cats and dogs outside, got fireplace going and a bottle of red breathing inside. Yet I'm still fuming over this piece I wrote earlier today for the Seattle Times Opinion Page blog Ed Cetera.

I took a pretty even tone, the right course of action until we learn more about why a teacher at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Seattle removed an 8-year-old girl from class because the girl was wearing olive oil-based hair products. I still don't think the parents' first step should've been to call a lawyer - that never endears you to school officials so better left as a trump card. But maybe relations with the school weren't all that cordial to begin with. I hope the teacher really examines her conscience and ponders whether in hindsight, she acted responsibly, ethically and with compassion towards a young girl vulnerable to feeling different and excluded. In addition, if this teacher is allergic to one black hair care product, chances are there may be many she's allergic to. Is an urban, diverse school the right setting for her? Accommodations are appropriate, but they must be realistic.

Earlier this week in my Seattle Times column, I took a hard line on an education jobs bill in Congress. I have nothing against more money going into education, Lord knows it is one of the most underfunded mandates out there, but this is the time to press for the change President Obama promised not just write a blank check.