ABSTRACT
Karla, an African American student, told the class about the time a white friend invited her home to play after school. As they climbed into the back of the minivan, her friend’s mother tried to buckle Karla’s seatbelt for her. Karla pushed her hand away, saying she could do it herself. The mother stepped back, looked surprised, and called Karla a painful racial slur. As Karla told the story, her eyes filled with tears. Even though the incident happened five years earlier, the pain was still fresh. At the time it happened, she felt ashamed and didn’t even tell her parents.
