It is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today and I have agreed to participate in a Twitter chat with some educators from Australia. The time difference (11 hours) has me realizing that I’ll be late to the online chat, but I’m not concerned. Asynchronous learning has so many benefits and I’m anxious to listen to more voices.
This personal interest in equity and racism is not new for me, but my intentional self-education is. I’ve read more and listened more and have purposefully acted more for inequities in the system for racialized students. And it was unnerving when I realized the extent of the resistance to listen to student voice and reflect on the changes required for equity in education.
I overhead several pockets of discontent and grumbles of White teacher discomfort following our school’s Black History Month assembly; Black students had publically called out White teachers for erasing them from the curriculum. They called them out for teaching books with the “n-word” and not providing historical context or recognizing how they might feel when a White student reads the word aloud. They called out their classmates for asking for the “n-word pass”. And, teachers knew that we had helped with this assembly. They saw me and my colleague in the student video. They saw me say that we should decenter Whiteness for equity. They saw her say that White people should never say the word.
I was ruffled too, but only by their response. The students were voicing their truths. I resisted my own capacity for fragility. But, I had a series of questions and wrote an email to Adrienne Coddett, a Black teacher who runs the Black Youth Forum and just casually mentioned the disruption that this event had initiated. She wrote back and reminded me why it’s important to resist the pull to comfort saying,
“For those people who are challenged I say, ‘It’s just your turn to even briefly experience what it’s like to not be the centre of attention’. It’s important for people to sit with those feelings. Doing nothing about it means they are part of the problem. Not wanting to transform that experience means they are part of the problem.
Students will know the difference between those who stepped up to the challenge and those who want to promote a “status quo” that continues to stifle the opportunities for Black students.”
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We have to have difficult conversations and we also have to acknowledge our complicity in acceding to the status quo for too long. I appreciate your post today–a reminder to us all to do more and to be more.
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I hope others at your school are still sitting in the discomfort that assembly caused. I hope they are thinking about the words the girls used. I hope it makes a difference in their lives.
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Keep moving in the direction you’re going. Adrienne is correct: Students will remember you fondly for taking a stance. I know because I’ve heard from LGBTQ students from back in the 90s about how my advocacy for them is something they remember and value.
I think you know I retired last August after teaching 38 years. The only regret I have about that is not being in my school to push for equity. I worry my department will and has regressed.
What you do now may make all the difference later. Bravo to those students for finding their voices. Also, love the photo effect.
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Thank you, Glenda. It can difficult as an island of few, but knowing it is right helps.
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Thank you for sharing this. There’s so much more I need to do and learn, and hearing from other educators on the journey is really helpful.
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We are focusing on this very discomfort as a district now. Our librarian group did a book study on “Whistling Vivaldi” that left me with more questions than answers. I’m hoping that when I read “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”, I’ll get another perspective and maybe those answers I seek. Thanks for being brave enough to post your own discomfort!
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Thank you, and I’d highly recommend you consider Ibrahim Kendhi’s book, How to be an Antiracist – this and White Fragility was transformational for me. I’m happy that there are other White educators educating ourselves and supporting one another in this learning.
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So many things to learn in our global and social media connections. Asynchronous learning is a thing we are all going to be exploring and testing in coming days.
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Thank you for sharing your journey in leaning into discomfort and disrupting implicit and explicit bias. Student voices are key to this conversation.
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