‘I was told I wasn’t smart enough…’
Liam Simckes’ first language was Hebrew, and his grandmother on his father’s side survived the Holocaust in Germany. His mother is African-American and she remembers her grandfather and grandmother sharing stories of the Jim Crow south. Simckes attended a Jewish academy before graduating from Clayton High School in 2019 and going on to Emory University His transition to public schooling radically altered his perspectives on race and culture. In June, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Simckes stood on a makeshift platform at a student-led rally, removed his Covid mask and shared his perspective in front of hundreds of Clayton residents. Here is an edited transcript of his remarks.
I moved to Clayton the summer before ninth grade from a very privileged private Jewish school. After taking a few tests and meeting with my counselor, I was told I was not smart enough for most every honors class available to me. These words resonated with me for a long time, and my first semester grades reflected that. I had never received such low grades. Luckily I had and I’ve always had supportive parents who put time into my education. They pushed me, and luckily I was able to override the decision of multiple teachers who told me I wasn’t smart enough for their courses.
So much is different with kids whose parents couldn’t have time to do what my parents had for me or what Clayton parents do for their kids. Then the gap only increases as rich white kids get moved into programs and the separation continues all throughout their schooling. Personally, I can name black students who were discouraged from taking honors or AP courses, and some who would have undoubtedly excelled in all of those courses.
So as a community, we should question why we have gatekeeping counselors telling kids they’re not enough instead of helping them reach for the stars, because I know my close white friends will affirm they never had any of these issues. Let Black kids take these courses. It’s not okay that the first day of school for me was always a game to see if I’d be lucky enough to have another black person in my class. The school is roughly 20% black. Why were most of my AP classes one black person for every 15 white people?
Why did I only have one Black teacher at Clayton, and it was the PE teacher? Why was it that the only times Black efforts were cheered on at this school was during sporting events? Why is it that so many light skins who are closer in proximity to whiteness, being me as well, why are we the ones given more of a platform?
I’m not here to belittle anyone’s efforts and yelp nonsense about Clayton’s ignorance. After all, calling out those in your close community is quite hard. Recently, I’ve had a few arguments with my white father as I’ve called him out on a few beliefs I see as harmful, not because I hate him, but because calling out those close to you is necessary. If your community’s beliefs oppress or take other people’s lives, it is your duty to combat that. Go out and change people’s minds, and yes, that means your school, your close friends, and even your extended families. Question everyone’s morals and every system around you. Start small with your community and branch out as far as you can. That is how you can make this protest mean something. Thank you.
