MIA ROBINSON

I've always been the only one․

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In English class‚ I was the only Black girl in the A class․ I was the only Black girl in Honors English․ The only student (with a Mercedes) at Cal State LA was picked as a drug dealer․

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I was raised in Ladera Heights․ I have spent most of my life in spaces that were not designed for me․ Private schools․ Gifted classrooms․ I was playing rooms where I was representing something before I even understood what․

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I didn't know if I was Black enough․․․ I asked myself that question from the sixth grade to college․ Because I overcompensated․ I put rims on my car․ Tinted the windows․ Subwoofers added․ Locked my hair․ Tattooed my body․ I was‚ like‚ a character‚ someone's idea of what Black was supposed to look like to someone․

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When I got my first car‚ I signed a contract with my mom saying I couldn't drive past Crenshaw Boulevard․ I didn't find out why until the day I did it․ I was pulled back into the culture I had kept myself sheltered from‚ and I liked it․ I got close to a lifestyle that wasn't mine to claim․

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All of a sudden I picked up a camera․

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I spent ten years taking advantage of being behind the camera at Amazon Prime․ I learned how to tell a story‚ how to control a narrative‚ how to make people see what I wanted them to see․ I learned that doing miniseries‚ behind the scenes videos‚ and live events․

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But I kept thinking about‚ you know‚ that girl in that A class who felt like she had to act as though she belonged․ Nobody gave her any tools‚ and she just figured it out and hoped she was doing it right․

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I went back to school and got my Master's in Teaching from USC and I helped start the new high school Dr․ Dre and Jimmy Iovine opened in Inglewood based on the philosophy that students learn by doing․

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I teach ninth graders‚ and many of them are just like me․ They can move through spaces that we don't create for them․ I don't hand them worksheets․ I give them real problems to solve․ They explore their community‚ present solutions‚ and adults listen to them․

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I'm not teaching them to tell someone else's story․

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I am teaching them how to build their own․