In second grade, Noah Reilly was assigned to do an immigration project. He and his classmates had to write short papers about their ancestors’ journeys to the United States and make dolls that represented their families’ stories. But Noah had a feeling his doll would look different.
“My mom said that I would probably be the only one with this [doll], and I was the only one,” Noah said.
For his project, Noah wanted to tell the story of his mother’s family, who are Black. He is a multiracial child who attends a school in the suburbs of Philadelphia where Black children make up only 5% of the student population. Noah’s teacher was white.
“I think it was hard for the teacher to understand why the project was an issue, that not everyone has an immigration story,” said Monet Reilly, Noah’s mother. “There were obviously a large group of people who came here as slaves. And not as willing immigrants.”
Reilly said the project forced her to discuss slavery with Noah, something she wasn’t ready to do. And despite several attempts to raise concerns with his teacher, she was met with general dismissiveness.
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