Chalkbeat Editor-In-Chief Nicole Avery Nichols. Courtesy of Nicole Avery Nichols “I need you to be uncomfortable.” — Kayla Park, 17, Washington, D.C. When I was in fourth grade, a classmate and his older brother followed me halfway home from school while calling me the n-word. It wasn’t our first dust-up. But because every time he called me that word I would snap back “Yo Mama!” the boy’s mother joined the battle on this day. She glared at me from the window of her slow-rolling car as her sons threatened me and spat in my direction. A classmate whom I distinctly recall looked just like Snow White joined me in my fight toward home. As the situation escalated, we tried to ignore the taunting, but we made it clear that we would stand our ground if it came to it.