We wanted to take a moment to apologize for hasty and hurtful words that were sent out in our last weekly email.
We received this email (permission was granted to share anonymously)
Dear Gianna and "whole FFTC team"
In the intro to this email, you compared "getting through" the weekend celebrating and observing Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday to GETTING THROUGH THE 9/11 TRAGEDY. Was this supposed to be a joke? The least repugnant part of this is your lack of sensitivity to the actual survivors of 9/11 (no, you didn't know "exactly" how it felt, how presumptuous).
The worst is your breathtakingly white-centric "humor" that equates being forced to keep your kids home because of a holiday celebrating racial justice to an event that killed thousands and launched a war. It's clear you assume your audience is white, and their children are white. I fear for the messages you're inadvertently sending to your own children. And no, the links after your intro to MLK day celebrations do not absolve you. You already said your quiet
part out loud - that this is a day that needs to be suffered through at worst, and at best would just have never happened at all.
If you can still be in this place of ignorance after the past several years of racial justice issues in our own state, I urge you to find ways to educate yourself before you speak to the community again. I will continue to subscribe for now because I believe everyone is able to learn, grow, and make amends. But I am truly disgusted with you.
Sincerely,
Troubled Mom of 3 in West St Paul
I know that I hurt more than just this mom in my hurried attempt to finish the task of sending out the email. So I want to extend this apology to all who were hurt by my unthoughtful words.
Dear Troubled Mom in West St. Paul,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me.
I didn't even see [how those words could have been interpreted] when I wrote it. No way did I mean getting through a long weekend was like surviving 9/11. I also did not mean that MLK's work was reduced to one long weekend stuck inside with our kids.
I am so so sorry for my flippant hurtful words.
MLK, Jr and so many others during the Civil Rights work in the 50', 60's, and 70's and continuing into today has been essential for us.
I'm so so sorry for the miscommunication and for hurting you and many others.
Thank you again for taking the time to notify me of the pain I caused you.
I will send out another email because you are right. That was terrible and not okay.
I have been trying to learn as much as I can. Thank you for calling me out and helping me!
You are a blessing.
