We Can’t Open Schools, but the Alternative Is Worse for Black Children

Thanks to the digital divide, remote learning threatens to jeopardize a generation of at-risk youth

Photo: FG Trade/Getty Images

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I’m a glass-is-always-half-full kind of guy. Always have been. My whole life, I’ve accepted a challenge just so I could find its solution. When fear rears its head, I acknowledge the feeling but try not to allow it to take root; instead, I keep pushing forward. But right now, there is a fear that I can’t shake. An anxiety that is wrestling my spirit. As parents and politicians debate sending students back to school this fall, I know that under no circumstance should our nation’s children return to the physical classroom.

This has rocked me to my core. Having spent a good part of my professional life advocating for Black boys, it feels hypocritical taking a stance that in many ways places them at even more of a disadvantage than their white counterparts.

With this issue, at least, my glass is looking pretty half-empty.

My dilemma isn’t based on fear but data. I’m thinking about the intergenerational households that are so much more prevalent in…