[Sorry, posted the quote by itself just now!]
I can relate. I read a slave narrative to my class the other day. It was particularly painful to me because it took place in the town where I grew up, which was too small to have a high school or a post office.
There are sad chapters of history for every location, but recounting all of those may be opening a pandora's box. Eventually, I had to come to a place where I recognized those dark chapters as well as some really positive things that Southerners have done.
Then, I left the South, but that's beside the point.
I told my sixth graders the story of a Pentagon cop I knew who was a hero on 9/11/01. The story of one person instead of thousands is easier for humans of all ages to process. We spoke of death without focusing on it.
