This story was shared by an NPS student.
Image ID: the background of image 1 is orange (upper one-third) and purple (lower two-thirds), with a large white square with rounded corners overlaying and within that square, this story in purple font: “I was walking down the hallway after lunch when a big group of 6th graders walked by. A girl yells the N-word at a boy, who doesn’t seem to care. I freak out and start crying when a WHITE teacher comes up and tries to comfort me with saying it’s okay. In my head I was saying NO it’s not okay cause you have no idea what it feels like to be me and hear the N-word all the time. After that I hear the N-word at least 3 or 4 times a day.”
Image 2 has the same orange/purple split background, with the white text “STORY THEMES” running up the lower left side and two columns of white boxes (four per column) displaying our eight story themes. Here, the themes “lack of understanding,” “race & identity,” “emotional response,” and “hurt and exclusion” are emphasized with bright/bold colors and the themes “educational challenges,” “whiteness,” “the future,” and “actions & strategies” deemphasized with paler colors.