This screenshot is from January 2021. Takoma Park is considered a very liberal and progressive enclave; it has been referred to as the Berkeley of the East. Imagine my excitement when I saw that one of the non-white moderators from the Takoma Baby & Kids 0-5 stuff group created her own private group for older kids. Since my kids are older, I was happy to join a group where I could sell some of my kids’ outgrown clothes for some pocket change since I had been forced out of the workforce in 2019 and had to stay home with the kids during virtual learning. However, being autistic, I made the mistake of being too trusting of this admin, thinking that because she was melanated like me, it was safe to share my experiences of being marginalized in the larger, predominantly white Takoma Baby & Kids group. The fact that she actually asked me to share my experiences with her as feedback to help improve that group makes her actions all the more unconscionable.

I acknowledged that being honest with the feedback I gave her set me up to be a troublemaker, and I regretted sharing my experiences of being marginalized, never knowing she would penalize me for them and try to assume what my mindset would be in her new group. This woman wanted to actually POLICE MY THOUGHTS. She believed that being the Angry Black Woman, I would harbor negative thoughts against the affluent whyte people in her spin-off group.  Wow. And so just as a precaution, she removed me.