Goals and Strategies for White Educators
Working Toward Antiracism and Social Justice
Jennifer Serravallo
@jserravallo
June 1, 2020
Last Friday, I shared an article titled, “Teachers Must Hold Themselves Accountable For Dismantling Racial Oppression” by Kelisa Wing. By the end of the day it was shared almost 1,000 times with comments like “Yes we do!” and “This is our responsibility!” and “We have work to do!” Motivation is an important first step. But some may be wondering, “What’s next?” or “What is the work?” or “How do I do it?” In this post I’d like to call in my fellow white teachers and invite you to take action with me. It is crucial that we do this work together, and do not burden our colleagues, neighbors, or friends who are Black, Indigenous or people of color (BIPOC).
Believe me when I tell you that I by no means feel like an expert in this area. Truthfully, I almost didn’t put this post out there in the world. I acknowledge that the voices and leadership of BIPOC should be those we are listening to and learning from most. However, I ultimately decided that my platform may be slightly different from other educators already leading this work, and if even one new person takes notice from this post and says, “I need to listen to this and give it a try” it was worth it. Let me be clear that I deserve no credit for the ideas that follow: they are merely an organized synthesis from incredible BIPOC educators and leaders whom I follow, read, listen to, and learn from every day, and I’ve tried to cite many of them throughout. They have been imploring us to do these things again and again. (I am also not the first to make a list or guide to action; check out for example Tiffany M. Jewell’s This Book is Antiracist or this post by Corinne Shutak or this list of antiracism resources for white people).
I process by synthesizing, organizing, categorizing and creating concrete action steps, so in the hope that it is helpful to other white teachers, I humbly offer some suggestions for all of us as we move from intention to action. What follows is a list of possible goals (the “what”), arranged from things that might be most helpful to do first, moving toward things that might be more challenging or that require some of the earlier steps to do well and genuinely, coupled with strategies (the “how”). While I’ve tried to make things feel concrete, “concrete” is by no means easy. But we can do this, because we are educators, and we do challenging things every day.
1. SPEND WISELY, GIVE Systematic racism has perpetuated wealth inequality, and part of being antiracist and working toward social justice is acknowledging this and doing what we can to contribute to monetary redistribution. We white folks can make a conscious choice to spend our dollars on things we are buying from BIPOC-owned businesses. For example, when purchasing books and materials for the classroom, look to see if there is a store through WeBuyBlack that has what you need, or see if there is a local Black-owned bookstore you can buy from. When able to make monetary donations, look for organizations with social justice missions. We can also consider donating our time and expertise, for example, to tutor students or to volunteer or help organize in whatever way is helpful for a local social justice organization.
2. LEARN We must “start with personal change,” as Debby Irving reminds us in her book Waking Up White. We must start with identity work, and understand that a significant part of that identity involves our whiteness and what that means in our lives and in school. We must work to understand deeply how, as teachers, we have benefitted, and continue to benefit, from a system that is centered around whiteness and continues to benefit and reward whiteness. We need to grapple with the “systemic complexities of how race is lived in America, on its streets and in our classrooms — and even when there are no people of color present,” as Cornelius Minor writes here. We can read widely (here’s a helpful list specific to education by Joe Truss), watch, follow (hashtags like #ClearTheAir led by Val Brown, #EduColor, #31DaysIBPOC, join local and virtual organizations, and follow people doing incredible work), listen, and listen and engage in our own reflection. In addition to understanding whiteness, we can learn more about history, stories and perspectives that we likely weren’t taught in school (and are different, even, from the texts students read for social studies and history class), and immerse ourselves in trying to understand the real pain and ongoing trauma caused by living with racism every day, in every capacity. In doing this, we mustn’t ask BIPOC people to explain or discuss or teach us (unless it is to hire and pay a consultant who does this work for a living). There are many resources out there for us white educators to do the work ourselves or better yet, organize a group of fellow white teachers and study together. (Check out, for example, this brilliant educator’s guide to Stamped by Dr. Sonja Cherry Paul or this book pairing by Julia E. Torres). We must keep learning until we understand in our heads, and feel in our hearts, and then, we must try to learn some more. (And as Dr. Kim Parker says, when you buy books for your book study to learn more, make sure to buy from Black-owned bookstores [see #1]). But be careful not to stagnate in this area alone for too long, and not wait until we feel we know it all because that day will never come--our reading and self-work will be ongoing but we must also move to action. In the words of H. Richard Milner IV, we must “start where [we] are but don’t stay there.” In the words of Julie Jee, “How many book clubs do you need to be in before you speak up against racism against Black people?”
3. AMPLIFY VOICES As we’re doing our own learning and self-work, we can retweet, share, and post articles, blogs, and other pieces by BIPOC. Remember to look locally as well as to national organizations; we can help our neighbors be known outside our communities. In my town, for example, there is a local social justice group run by incredible BIPOC women who donate their time to write, organize, post, and educate. Our network of colleagues, friends, family members and neighbors can then learn as we learn.
4. STEP ASIDE/DEMAND REPRESENTATION If you work in a school, look around to see who is represented on important committees, in the PTA/HSA, in leadership positions, on staff. Who is at the table? Who is making the decisions? We can do all we can to insist that BIPOC voices are heard and in power to make decisions, and step aside if we’re taking a seat that should belong to someone else. For those of us who are consultants or speakers who are invited to be a member of panels, keynote at conferences, or do professional development, we can inquire about who else will be working with those teachers, and if at least half of those in leadership roles are not BIPOC, suggest they use their funds to hire someone else (and provide a list to make it easy to find the right match). We can take a public pledge that we’ll commit to this work.
5. VOTE From your local school board to the office of the president, check out the words and actions of those you are giving your vote to. What is their record when it comes to supporting Indigenous, Black, and students and community members of color? Every vote you cast has a direct effect—what effects are your votes having? Consider volunteering time for candidates with a proven track record of issues important to BIPOC students and community members. If you aren’t sure where to start your research, look to organizations led by BIPOC to see whose candidacy they are supporting (see #6 for some suggestions).
6. PROTEST Join a local social justice organization, or get hooked up with a national one with local chapters. Find out when protests are, and join in person and/or pay attention to when they ask for other actions (calling representatives, signing petitions, etc.) and do it. Crucially important is that we follow the lead of the BIPOC activists and don’t become a cause for their burnout. (Here’s a short list of organizations to check out: The NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center, United Negro College Fund, Black Youth Project 100, Color of Change, Black Lives Matter, Showing Up for Racial Justice, Association on American Indian Affairs, , National Indigenous Women's Resource Center, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, National Council of American Indian, RAICES ....)
7. POST/SPEAK OUT/RESPOND The “friends” we are connected to on social media, and our friends and family in real life, need to know where we stand, and we all have a responsibility to call out racism and white supremacy when we see it. Finding the words to write our own post can be challenging; it can be natural to fear saying something that comes across the wrong way, or is incomplete, or reveals some of our own misunderstandings. But we must try, and if we make mistakes, accept feedback from those who care enough to call us in. You may be sharing your thoughts on your own page/timeline/wall, sending thoughts to friends in emails or memos, or commenting on posts where other friends, family, or “friends” have said something that is harmful, hurtful, or inaccurate. The #BreakRank chats and hashtag on Twitter can be a great help for this. If you need a “mentor text” of white educators who do this well, check out Christie Nold, Jessica Lifshitz, Shawna Coppola, Chris Lehman, Paul Gorski, Donalyn Miller, Lizzie Fortin, Scott Bayer, Kass Minor, Franki Sibberson. While we do this, we must have fellow white friends who can hold us accountable**, and not put this burden on our BIPOC friends and colleagues.
8. DISRUPT TEXTS Follow the #DisruptTexts hashtag and the brilliant founders (Tricia Ebarvia, Lorena Germán, Dr. Kimberly N. Parker, Julia E. Torres) to learn more about their mission to “challenge the traditional canon in order to create a more inclusive, representative, and equitable language arts curriculum that our students deserve.” Scour the We Need Diverse Books website. Inventory your classroom and school library. Eliminate problematic books from your shelves. Invest in books that center the voices of BIPOC people. Check every single text you choose to read aloud to children or include as part of your literacy units – how many are #ownvoices stories and what will you swap out this year? Make sure that the books you have to represent a particular culture, race, religion, or ethnic group are not only telling a “single story” as Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche warns us against, and especially be on the lookout for stories that share Black, Latinx, and Native joy (and not just oppression and discrimination). BUT – as Tricia Ebarvia warns, ““Diverse” literature in the hands of racially unconscious teachers can do more harm than good.” Make sure to do your own work first (See #2) and then once you have worked to understand your own racial biases, check out concrete strategies for talking to children about race from Raising Race Conscious Children, Being the Change by Sara K. Ahmed, or Not Light But Fire by Matthew Kay. And if you are an educational leader or author, check your publications and presentations for what books you recommend, who you cite, and make changes.
9. DISRUPT CURRICULUM Social justice is not a unit of study, and learning about Black history shouldn’t be stuck in February alone. In every unit and across content areas throughout the year, we must consider whose voices and stories we’re centering (and therefore assigning importance to). When we talk about scientists in science, mathematicians in math; when we choose which perspectives to include in social studies curriculum, or what books to center our literacy units around. What will we eliminate and what will we add? Even teachers of very young children can and must do this: check out Akeia Gross’s Woke Kindergarten, and everything shared by Aeriale Johnson. And of course, we also need to consider how to help all children access this important curriculum: a favorite guide for this goal and more is Cornelius Minor’s We Got This.
10. DISRUPT YOUR PEDAGOGY Learn about culturally and linguistically -responsive, -affirming, and -sustaining pedagogies, reflect on your own teaching, and make changes. (See here, here, here, here, here, and here to start--links are to sites that allow for book previews, but please buy from BIPOC-owned bookstores). Learn about how well-meaning teachers perpetuate racism subconsciously, and try to work to combat it.
11. DISRUPT YOUR SCHOOL BEHAVIOR POLICY The “school to prison pipeline” has many aspects, but one of them is rooted in the response to student behavior in school. Look into restorative justice and learn how to bring it to your school or district. Stand up for how district monies are being spent: in too many districts, more money is spent on police or SROs than school counselors, and this has a disproportionately negative impact on BIPOC students.
12. NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS We should be doing this all the while, but it will be challenging to sustain loving, trustful relationships with our Black friends and friends of color unless we are a real ally and an accomplice/co-conspirator. Would you want to be friends with someone who holds feelings of fear or prejudicial thoughts toward you? Or with someone who tells you that race (an important part of your identity) doesn’t matter and that they are colorblind? Authentic relationships with friends and colleagues of color matters tremendously. As Chad Everett says, “We must move beyond our shelves and into our lives, because if our shelves are diverse but our lives are not, we are living a lie.”
It’s overwhelming to take all this on at once, and we shouldn’t. Focusing on one goal at a time can help us be successful in supporting progress. Let’s promise each other to start today with one goal from the list of 12 above. Next, we can work on it for a while, maybe a few weeks. Then, we can reflect on our growth and progress (and what else we still need to work on). Then, add another goal. Rinse, repeat. It’s likely we’ll feel tired, defeated, like what we’re doing isn’t enough, upset, angry, worried, or nervous. In these moments, we must own our feelings, process them with another white friend, and then jump back in. But whatever we do, we mustn’t give up.
We are in the midst of a pandemic, burying or caring for loved ones, burning the candle at both ends to make remote instruction work in the midst of a crisis, while homeschooling our own children. But this feeling we feel now? That things must change, and we must act? We need to hold onto it, work with one another, and hold each other accountable.
Please do not thank me or give me compliments for this post. Instead, please respond with what your goal will be and what your specific actions will be.
**Deep gratitude to Shawna Coppola who is one of the white educators who has helped to hold me accountable, and who has graciously provided feedback and suggestions on this piece.