Category: Anti-racist work

Series: White People Homework (2)

This series for June of “White People Homework” I’ll be writing a post a day, sharing resources and readings. Today is Dr. Kendi’s article in The Atlantic, “The American Nightmare.” He reviews the history and impact of Plessy V. Ferguson, a Supreme Court decision that impacts our nation today, and wasn’t overturned until Brown v. The Board of Education on May 17, 1954.

If I was able to teach this unit (and what next year will look like is ever-changing), putting together how-tos on how to annotate texts with big questions. The “then and now” approach to teaching history makes the most sense to me. The essential or guiding question when studying Plessy v. Ferguson is how did this decision in 1896 maintain and institutionalize racism in our nation through today? I believe our nation is broken right now. Truly broken. The nightmare Dr. Kendi refers to is our nation then and now.

“We don’t see any American dream,” Malcolm X said in 1964. “We’ve experienced only the American nightmare.” A nightmare is essentially a horror story of danger, but it is not wholly a horror story. Black people experience joy, love, peace, safety. But as in any horror story, those unforgettable moments of toil, terror, and trauma have made danger essential to the black experience in racist America. What one black American experiences, many black Americans experience. Black Americans are constantly stepping into the toil and terror and trauma of other black Americans. Black Americans are constantly stepping into the souls of the dead. Because they know: They could have been them; they are them. Because they know it is dangerous to be black in America, because racist Americans see blacks as dangerous.

The American Nightmare by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, The Atlantic, June 1, 2020 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/american-nightmare/612457/

When Plessy again refused, he was taken a half-mile down to Elysian Fields Avenue for booking at the Fifth Precinct Station. Members of the Comité met him, and a judge released him on temporary bail. The next day a story in a New Orleans daily described Plessy as a “snuff-colored descendant of Ham.” After a hearing, Comité member Paul Bonseigneur plunked down a $500 bond (raised by putting his own house in hock) to guarantee Plessy’s appearance for trial. Plessy was 30 years old. The future of constitutional rights for Blacks in America would ride on his day in court.

https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/plessy-v-ferguson/

*Snuff-colored descendant of Ham: From Noah’s Curse to Slavery’s Rationale The use of Christianity as a means of racism, bigotry and justification to enslave others will be addressed in these posts. I have no opinion as a secular individual. Many of my friends practice a range of faiths; however, family members who have shown themselves to be Christian Nationalists are no longer welcome in my life.

Further Reading:

Plessy v. Ferguson
Zinn Education Project: Plessy v. Ferguson: The Organizing History of the Case
Plessy V. Ferguson: How ‘Separate But Equal’ Reverberates Through The 21st Century

The offer still stands: if ten people who reach out to me want me to buy them a book on the list, who will read it in good faith and love, I’ll be happy to buy you a book. If you want one for your classroom, you can message me on Twitter @mrskellylove

White People Homework (1)

White People: Do the Work

As a follow up to this post, The Racist in the Classroom, I offer these resources that may help you grow and learn. Growth is uncomfortable. Growth can be filled with shame, guilt, and cringe-worthy memories. But maybe that’s just me. And I understand and accept what Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi said (paraphrasing) –this work is never done. It’s continual growth and learning. And warning: you might lose friends. You might get trolled by white ladies like this one:

This is the fifth conversation in two days where a white white woman has taken on the mantle of trolling. Circular arguments and bad-faith responses, never directly answering the question or topic at hand.
https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/1267642329168400384

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/bryan-stevenson-on-the-frustration-behind-the-george-floyd-protests?fbclid=IwAR2pzRQc39JzrF0Sdxp2OmDdnT82I2nu3HRJD92dCmawcYBBjywgBfugQP0

National Museum of African American History and Culture Releases “Talking About Race” Web Portal

Here’s the next places on my journey:

  • Finish reading White Fragility: at this point I’ve pieced together too many excerpts and need to do a deeper reading
  • Readings and study with critical race theory
  • Work with Monise S. on our indigenous studies
  • Work to find a multitude of resources to support my students and organize them to promote engagement, curiosity and purpose
  • Create curriculum for staff and students: some have already been doing this work, and some are just starting on their journey. I’ll meet them where they are.
  • Dig deep into STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING by Dr. Kendi
  • Share a post-a-day about a resource or voice that must be heard

First assignment: understand Trump’s use of sacred religious texts and teachings to prop up and disguise his racism and violent, anti-democratic acts. Two places to start:

Do not use this to justify or state “Well, African countries had slaves, too.” Knock it off.
Understand your history of your own nation.
For ten people who want to read these books, and I know you personally, email me and I’ll buy you a copy. I’m not buying these for trolls, white supremacists, or other bad faith actors.

reimaginginginginging

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How Moderate Teachers Perpetuate Educational Oppression

This is one of the most critical think pieces on education I’ve read in a long time, published in Medium by Lisa Kelly.

A moderate teacher often uses the rhetoric of maintaining high standards without interrogating themselves —holding students to high standards of what? As my comrade G.T. Reyes wrote, “Educators …if you’re still asking about how to “hold students accountable,” I would suggest you first ask yourself — accountable to what? This might sound crazy to some of you, but maybe you are wanting students to be accountable to learn their place within white supremacist, capitalist schooling.” Many credentialing programs teach that it is racist to expect that black and brown children are less capable than white children, which is absolutely true. However, this doesn’t mean that the solution is to expect any student to reproduce capitalism or whiteness.

From school uniforms to accountability, how white teachers continue to uphold white supremacy and colonialism comes in wave after wave. During this time of emergency remote learning and teaching, the number of teachers who are aghast at students turning in blank documents (they did this before, by the way), terrified of students cheating, not being accountable, on and on and on…ladies: you are exhausting. And students continue to act like, well, students. The cat and mouse game of “gotcha” is part of the teacher-student dynamic: but does it have to be?

The first answer that comes to my mind would be — schooling that is centered on relationships. Not relationships that are about getting kids to like you enough to want to produce for you. But relationships built on understanding the unique humanity and the community that each child brings to education.

Every year, sometimes at several check points, I give students surveys to express and provide confidential opinions on my teaching, what they liked, what they wish would change, etc. And overarching themes emerge: they want to wear what they want, and learn about things that will empower them in the moment, in an unknown future, and that feel relevant and worth their time. (Gee, almost like this generation understands existential crisis or something.)

As I continue to grow as an educator, I am mindful that I will always need to push against racist ideas and bias. I am fortunate to have a spot on the Wednesday webinars with Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi on their collaborative book, Stamped. I am going to ask my admin if we can use this as a book study for next year: if not the entire staff, then perhaps my immediate ELA colleagues would be interested.The essential piece of all this is as we’re reimagining schools, beware of who’s trying to hold teachers “accountable” and who is building authentic relationships. Those people service in complicity to hold teachers and students accountable, too. Look for those who include teachers’ and students’ voices, who have experience in making those connections. We cannot underestimate the danger we’re in right now. And personally I am struggling to hold onto hope. As the person said in Samantha Bee’s video, I now consider myself to be, as Meehan Crist quotes, an “Undefeated Despair.”

Keep focused: what brings us to teaching, what brings children to learning, and what are the most critical things to teach? That’s it. I am thinking about entire semester of simply reading critically for argument and bias, and how to have fluency and accuracy in detecting bias and agendas. Looking forward to digging into this resource, too: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/

PS Something that popped up from the past — it’s a charter school, but am wondering–you know–https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/47694/to-engage-students-and-teachers-treat-core-subjects-like-extracurriculars

Book Tastebuds.

What happens when we as reading teachers don’t want to read a book?

Deeply interesting and engaging thread in Betsy Potash’s Creative English high School Teachers page on Facebook today concerning American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. And while I’ll post links and resources, the big question I’m left with comes from the pushback I received from another teacher, to the point I should not be allowed to voice criticism unless I’ve read the book.

Is that accurate? Do we always have to read the book before we decide something, or what media to consume?

Have you ever tried to make a toddler eat? I know a few wonderful toddlers who don’t like macaroni and cheese, preferring broccoli and other vegetables. My own sons as toddlers has some quirky eating habits. The older one hated spaghetti and most pasta, including macaroni and cheese. He loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The younger one wasn’t picky, and his preference for junk food became a battle. But they did know their own minds, even if they didn’t have the words or vocabulary to articulate their discerning tastes. And over time, they did try new things and expand their palettes.

Our students don’t like to read. They don’t. Why? Many reasons. They struggle, it’s not entertaining for them, book culture seems odd and foreign to some, and oftentimes they don’t see themselves reflected in the novels many districts push. The texts are not ‘window, mirrors, or sliding glass doors’ (Rudine Sims Bishop).

But if you ask them about certain movies, stories, or their own interpersonal relationships and what keeps and breaks friendships, what keeps them faithful or what does betrayal look like and do, they will have plenty to say. And then we can work together on what they might like to read, on what burning questions they have that books and texts can help to inform and enlighten, and challenge, then you can have them try something they might not have before. And they might find that it’s like food they don’t like. (How many teachers have done ‘book tastings’ — did you get offended when a student chose one book over another? Of course not.)

Then why was it that the thought that a grown adult woman, (me), who listened to literary criticism of a novel and found it deeply resonating and informative, and chose not to spend my money on this book or read it, why was that so offending to some in that thread? (They hadn’t read it either.)

So many conclusions jumped to…

If you’re like me, your #TBR pile is miles deep. I’ve probably read over 700 books in my lifetime. Heck, even the scant posts on Goodreads tells me I’m at 396, and that hasn’t tracked my reading life. At what point do we allow students to make these choices for themselves? Rather, at what point as an adult am I allowed to read a critic or review and make up my own mind? Full disclosure: I hate to read movie reviews, and despise trailers that give away too much. But I still love movies, and get most of my recommendations from my sons. I guess I didn’t realize there was a number to being allowed to state clearly “I am not going to read this book.”

And when Esmeralda Bermudez said it reminded her of a novella I bust out laughing in the car. We (me and my students) put on novellas in class during Study Skills the other day, and of course I got my ‘teacher all over it’ because I am compelled to make connections to body language, facial expressions, etc., and themes of love, betrayal, despair, romance, etc. (We had just finished Romeo and Juliet.) And I don’t disparage the girls in my class and watching novellas. I spent countless hours with my mom and then into college watching All My Children and Guiding Light.

But what I am not going to do is read this book. Too many other things to read and watch. If that means I have a fixed mindset, okay. I’m good. In the meantime, I’m going to look for other, better books with authentic voices and perspectives about immigration.

We should allow our students to have their own tastes, too. All we need to do is tell them their tastebuds might change over time, and be flexible. After a few hundred books, I’m still flexible. But I want quality, not quantity, now. And Oprah’s recommendations don’t mean what they used to, either.

Links to the controversy:

Latinx Critics Speak Out Against ‘American Dirt’; Jeanine Cummins Responds

‘American Dirt’ was supposed to be a publishing triumph. What went wrong?

Jeanine Cummins American Dirt

PENDEJA, YOU AIN’T STEINBECK: MY BRONCA WITH FAKE-ASS SOCIAL JUSTICE LITERATURE

The racist in the classroom.

The post where I call out racist teachers and want to scream.

I am not worthy or qualified to write this post. There are far more skilled journalists and education journalists, social justice writers and resources. But I do have something to say, if only for my own little corner of my mind and heart.

To the white teachers who 1. Voted for Trump 2. Continue to support white supremacy 3. Do zero self-reflection or move against their husbands (because it’s often white women who uphold the patriarchal structures) and 4. Maintain neutrality in these times I say you are a horrible excuse for a human and teacher.

Let me guess. You’ve read Night by Elie Weisel or The Diary of Anne Frank, you have a poster of a whitewashed Martin Luther King, Jr. or have shown and/or read Freedom Writers with Zlata Filipovic and Erin Gruwell. You discussed All the Light We Cannot See by Anothy Doerr in your bookclubs and felt very literary and aware. Your favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and you wished you were Scout when you were little. And yet: you still voted for Trump. Or your husband did. Maybe you cherry-picked his words until he hit just the right chord. You may have watched him on The Apprentice and been entertained by his brash, and seemingly “tell it like it is” style while low-grade celebrities dashed around for his favor. What you may not have realized at the time is you were engaging in a culture war against your very students.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
–Real estate mogul Donald Trump, presidential announcement speech, June 16, 2015
“I can never apologize for the truth. I don’t mind apologizing for things. But I can’t apologize for the truth. I said tremendous crime is coming across. Everybody knows that’s true. And it’s happening all the time. So, why, when I mention, all of a sudden I’m a racist. I’m not a racist. I don’t have a racist bone in my body.”
–Trump, interview on Fox News’ “Media Buzz,” July 5, 2015
“What can be simpler or more accurately stated? The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/08/donald-trumps-false-comments-connecting-mexican-immigrants-and-crime/

You don’t think Brett Kavanaugh is that bad of a guy, because you have a son and sure would hate if he was falsely accused of rape and sexual abuse. You don’t know why the liberals want Trump impeached, and what’s the big deal that he has colluded with foreign agents, or profits and completely disregards the Emoluments Clause? You also probably conveniently forget that the Founding Fathers put those protections in place for exactly these moments, owned slaves, and were all for separation of church and state. In other words: paradoxes. Lots of paradoxes.

And after a thread on another social media group, where a teacher asked humbly and respectfully how to approach conversations about white privilege (her students didn’t
believe it existed versus how does it manifest itself) some of the responses and racists underpinnings left me in despair.

There are others besides myself who spoke up. We all need to speak up.

“My view of it?”

My view of it? Make their own choices? Teachers: first, get a grip on what ‘false equivalency’ is. Yes, all issues have two sides, and if you choose the side of the oppressor, giving them equal status, you are the oppressor, too. Does that taste bitter? Do you reject that? If you’re uncomfortable or angry you may need to rethink your stance. You’re wrong.

“One citizen”

Yes, this teacher misspelled ‘border.’ But okay. This was in response to my statement about US Citizens are being detained. This surprised this woman. She had never heard of this. But no shock since she thinks they ‘are trying to sneak in illegally.” She doesn’t seem to have heard of asylum laws. But let’s think about that for a bit: she thought this ‘one citizen’ was ‘playing both sides’ (whatever the @!*! that means) and not realizing even ONE means ALL. But go ahead and say your pledge, lady.

Hear me: if you bristle at being called a racist, no one cares. No. One. Cares. Your measurement of yourself in this moment is not at stake. If you are a teacher, and you’re in a classroom with humans–you have a sworn duty to work at anti-racist work for all of your students. Do not uphold the white kids’ privilege: it does everyone harm.

You have some work to do. Start with these:

https://timesevents.nytimes.com/1619NYC

Other links and resources:

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2019/advice-for-new-social-justice-educators-i-wish-i-had-known?fbclid=IwAR17-xYlpWIe-PSBe5DJePrtN0H5Hv5cP7fbO4r1rxguCDEhm2_QjFzOj9g

https://disrupttexts.org/

https://www.facinghistory.org/

https://www.pbs.org/weta/reconstruction/

13th

When They See Us (And this is a pivotal example of Trump’s deeply embedded racism)

Guess what? If you stop your hypocrisy (you are not allowed to read Anne Frank and feel “woke”) and start to evolve, you may lose some friends. You may alienate some family members. But you will also have your integrity, and moreover, do what’s right by the students in your care. If you can’t do that, please stop teaching.