I will never forget what my Riverview Gardens elementary principal, Denis Dorsey, told my parents. He told my parents that I wasn’t smart enough for college. I didn’t have what it took, he said.
I was in the second grade, and I had already developed a healthy dislike for school. Sure, I wasn’t a model student. I flunked the third grade, and I was suspended several times for fighting. However, despite my downfalls, I didn’t deserve to be written off. New studies suggest black students are disciplined and removed from class at a higher rate than white students, ultimately hindering the quality of their education.