All is well...

An update about the "I'm not allowed to sit next to anyone with black skin" incident...

The hubby was home today, so I decided to drop by the gymnastics place rather than make a phone call. I was armed with a solid prayer and some good advice from two of my sisters. I met with the director and told her that we'd had a little incident on Sunday, and explained what had happened.

She nodded as I spoke, and then told me she had heard about the incident first thing this morning from another member of the staff, who is the wife of one of Kai's coaches. She explained that immediately after class, the coach discussed the incident with the boy's mother, and the child's mother was "mortified and embarrassed." She told the coach she had no idea why her son had said that, or how he had come up with it. I can understand that. He was probably only around 6, and you never know what kinds of strange ideas your kid will come up with. 

The director apologized and assured me that they had taken care of the incident. I thanked her and told her that my main reason for coming was just to ask that the child's mother be notified so that we can avoid any further issues. 

However, I also suggested that 1) if any further incidents occurred--with my son or with anyone else, for that matter--the parent of the child should be notified (I never would have known if Kai had not told me about it); and 2) that a different approach be taken should another such incident occur. 

I told her that in trying to diffuse the situation by allowing the child to move, the coaches inadvertently signaled to the other children that maybe moving away from my son, or anyone with black skin, was the right or okay thing to do. The director wholeheartedly agreed, and told me that following the incident, she had begun to make preparations for the staff to undergo "sensitivity training."

That said, I am relieved. I am happy that I did not jump the gun and freak out, and I am happy that the gym is taking my concerns seriously. I hate, hate, HATE confrontations. The very last thing I wanted to do this morning was enter that gym and bring the issue up. But we do what we have to do to protect our children. And hopefully I won't have to do anything like this again for a long, long while.