Blavity's story about 10-year-old Malachi Pearson's ordeal with his racist teacher resonated with a lot of people on Twitter. Twitter user Shahem shared our story about Pearson, who was reportedly told by a teacher that he can only blame himself when he's 16 and gets killed by police, and started much needed dialogue about how teachers and other adults talk to black youth. 

I don’t think people talk about the cruel things people in positions of authority say to Black children enough. Black children face this type of stuff from the home to classroom and it’s extremely harmful. This teacher deserves to be fired. https://t.co/veUWJf91a6

— Shahem . (@PettyNegr0) May 21, 2018

Here are some of the sobering responses:

I'll never forget when I was in the 5th grade my class went on a field trip and we were in a dark room. My white teacher said "I can't see any of my black kids." At the time I didn't realize how racist that comment was till I was in High School.

— ???? (@purposezen81) May 22, 2018

Takes me back to second & fourth grade. I wasn’t great in math my 2nd grade teacher would show my failing grade in front of the entire class and the 4th grade teacher was just a mean old lady. Thankful to have gone to black school for middle and high school with black teachers.

— Paige Danielle (@PaigeDanyelly) May 22, 2018

There was a “guidance counselor” in high school that used to tell all the black students they should just drop out now and work at McDonald’s. More specifically he used to tell the girls that they would be good for nothing but lying on their backs ????????

— Crystal ???????????? (@pccarter95) May 22, 2018

He literally stopped me from being able to walk at my 8th grade graduation but I wound up graduating high school with over $300,000 in scholarship offers. I hope he sees this ????????

— Shahem . (@PettyNegr0) May 22, 2018

At my elementary school they used to send black girls home for wearing their natural hair, pull us out of class, call our parents to tell them to come do our hair, even though it was clean and groomed, just natural. I hated my natural hair for 7 years because of that.

— ItsBooFromJeju (@StephApuffwigie) May 22, 2018

In the THIRD grade our teacher told my mostly black all POC class that every kid that didn’t pass the TAKS would have a jail cell built for them. In the FIFTH grade our teacher called a black girl disgusting for wearing a red bracelet cuz she thought it was code for sexual shit

— ????????‍???? (@whymegodwhyam) May 22, 2018

Sub once got fired for lecturing the only black kid in our classroom, saying he was a “clog in the drain of life”that would never amount to anything. 15 min rant in front of entire class. Boy was in tears. I know he was traumatized, but I was sick to my stomach and never forgot.

— betsy (@betcrichardson) May 22, 2018

Mind you this the same man that put up a Trump Pence sign on the whiteboard the day after the election, when a Hispanic student asked him to take it down he said “you people are just mad he’s gonna build the wall” mind you this is a minority majority school pic.twitter.com/Ec2U9oZSaz

— Chun-Di (@Onika_teamminaj) May 22, 2018

I confronted a gym teacher in Baltimore for talking reckless ignorance to students. Telling them they all would be either pregnant or selling drugs. The principle sided with him saying he didn’t mean it that way. I moved two weeks later.

— BlackJacque (@PegramProblems) May 22, 2018

I agree. I used to teach in New Orleans public schools. Kids in my class told me when some1 acted out, some teachers said they were only there to get paid & didnt care if the kids did well. I was new at the time & appalled AF. Middle schoolers, I felt for these babies.

— Ahem.SW????️‍???????? (@What_I_Thot) May 22, 2018

I was once told I’d be pregnant by 15 (I was 12) by someone who worked at my community center. I never forgot that. Look at me now. Not everyone is so lucky though … pic.twitter.com/WN0Bx9m37t

— Thelma (@DamnThelma) May 22, 2018

My high school art teacher told me on multiple occasions that she didn’t understand why anyone even liked me, that my rents were wasting money on me and that I’d never succeed. I declined acceptance at the best art school in SA purely cause of the psychological damage she caused.

— Harmonica Sunbeam (@aphiwemhlanga) May 22, 2018

I had a white teacher that would tell me I must have a disability/speech problem bc I didn’t speak English properly, also said I should relax my hair to look ‘smarter’. I was only 8 back then and hand only spent a few months in the UK

— Ana Carolina (@_peachyangel_) May 22, 2018

since we sharing. I went to a predominately white school, math wasn’t my staring subject but I work everyday in the math teachers classroom after hours and I still didn’t pass the class. it was all in a plot to keep me off the court and from graduating. In my 2 year of college.

— ty$mooth™️ (@imabastar_) May 22, 2018

Protect the kids in your life, fam.

Age ain't nothing but a number for racism and bigotry.