article_snippet.sent: But the mom remained calm and stern.
article_snippet.sent: People are going to use that word and you need to know how to stand up for yourself.
article_snippet.sent: In that moment, my only concern was the safety of my children specifically my son who after spending his childhood in Maine and enduring such language with regularity as a grown man is no longer willing to have a grown man humanity denied.'
article_snippet.sent: Racism is a system, and that silence upholds a system even when we don’t believe we are actively creating harm,' wrote Stewart-Bouley.
article_snippet.sent: For so many people questioning my motives, I didn't share the story for personal attention or to try to stir up controversy.
article_snippet.sent: I was trying to make a positive out of a terrible incident by opening people's eyes to the fact that these incidents do still happen and reminding people to respect one another.'
article_snippet.sent: It was not due to a lack of outrage or sympathy but simply that I didn't know whether the family would appreciate someone interjecting the family into the situation. '
article_snippet.sent: I thought that the way I could help would be by bringing awareness to it by writing about it.'
article_snippet.sent: If I felt there was a place that was safe and where we could be assured that we would never hear that word again, I would move heaven and earth to get we there,' Stewart-Bouley wrote.