Embedded Files
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core principles of our educational equity strategy and closely linked values held by many organizations working to support different groups of individuals, including people of various races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, genders, and sexual orientations. At PSB, one only reaches Education Equity when the four concepts are interconnected, and their actual impact emerges only in combination.
Diversity
Diversity is the varied set of things or people that makes up a whole. Diversity is intrinsic to our daily lives. In multiplicity, we find opportunities for learning and practicing different skills: empathy, emotional intelligence, and understanding.
Equity
Equity refers to fair treatment for all people, including norms, practices, and policies in place that ensure that identity does not predict opportunities or outcomes. In contrast with equality, which assumes that all people should be treated the same, equity considers a person’s unique circumstances and adjusts treatment so that the result is equal.
Inclusion
Inclusion is the degree to which organizations embrace everyone and enable them to make meaningful contributions. Intentional organizations strive to culture so inclusive that all feel their voices will be heard.
Belonging
Belonging is the feeling of security and support caused by acceptance and inclusion of a person's identity. More than just being part of a group, a true feeling of belonging means you can bring your authentic self to a space while experiencing unity and shared beliefs and ideals with other members of a group.
What are the Distinctions of Equity-Focused Education?
What are the Distinctions of Equity-Focused Education?
It is important to distinguish between multicultural, social justice, and culturally responsive education when engaged in equity work to avoid confusing their particular purposes. Too often, these concepts are used interchangeably, but the distinctions outlined here show that they are neither equivalent nor a continuum. Educators can not begin with multicultural education and believe it will lead to culturally responsive education (CRE). Why? CRE is focused on the cognitive development of under-served students. Multicultural and social justice education play supporting roles. ~ Zaretta Hammond is the author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students, 2017.
Multicultural Education
Multicultural Education
Focuses on celebrating diversity.
Centers around creating positive social interactions across difference.
Diversity and inclusion efforts live here.
Concerns itself with exposing privileged students to multiple perspectives and other cultures. For students of color, the focus is on seeing themselves reflected in the curriculum.
Social Harmony
Social Justice Education
Social Justice Education
Focuses on exposing the social- political context that students experience.
Centers around raising students’ consciousness about inequity in everyday social, environmental, economic, and political situations.
Anti-racist efforts live here.
Concerns itself with creating a lens to recognize and interrupt inequitable patterns and practices in society.
Critical Consciousness
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
Focuses on improving the learning capacity of diverse students who have been marginalized educationally.
Centers around the affective & cognitive aspects of teaching and learning.
Efforts to accelerate learning live here.
Concerns itself with building resilience and academic mindset by pushing back on dominant narratives about people of color.
Independent Learning for Agency
Knowledge is power. Please find common terms used in anti-bias programming and their definitions linked here.
Please find a comprehensive calendar of observances for 2024 linked here.
History and Context
History and Context
The impact of explicit discrimination and exclusion throughout history has a direct impact on our current realities. Explore the link between the past and our present with these links.
Where Do I Start?
Where Do I Start?
Additional Resources for Further Reflection & Learning
Additional Resources for Further Reflection & Learning
Articles
Why the Asian-American Story Is Missing from many U.S. Classrooms
Slavery's Explosive Growth, in Charts: how 20 and Odd Became Millions
‘If There Is No Struggle…’: Teaching a People’s History of the Abolition Movement
Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, Explained
Black Lives Matter, the Killing of George Floyd, and the Long Fight for Racial Justice
Police Shootings are a Leading Cause of Death for Young American Men
The ‘Silent’ Protest That Kick-Started the Civil Rights Movement
Fresh Air: “A Forgotten History” Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America
For Students of Color with Disabilities, Equity Delayed Is Equity Denied
How Disability Rights Advocates Turned Back the Trump Administration’s Attack on Students of Color
Videos
Books
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (2017)
The End of Policing (2017)
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (2017)
"All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans (2016)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010)
Other
Implicit Bias
Implicit Bias
What do you know about unconscious or hidden biases? Where do they come from? How do they influence our actions? What can we do about them? Check out these resources to learn more.
Where Do I Start?
Where Do I Start?
Additional Resources for Further Reflection & Learning
Additional Resources for Further Reflection & Learning
Articles
Reflecting on Anti-Bias Education in Action: The Early Years
After Charlottesville, A Doctor Reflects On Hateful Patients And His Own Biases
Videos
Podcasts
Books
Other
Intersectionality
Intersectionality
This is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. The term was conceptualized and coined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989. Explore here to learn more.
Having Difficult Conversations with Students
Having Difficult Conversations with Students
As educators, we want our students to be able to engage with one another about identity and other sensitive topics that are centered in their own values and those of their classmates. This experience is a critical part of learning, and it’s essential for students’ personal and academic development. These links provide some ideas.
English/Multilingual Learners
English/Multilingual Learners
Equity for English-Language Learners is about providing ELLs with quality instructional practices and resources, including fair assessments, and much more. Take a look to learn about recent research in the field.
Video: English Language Learners: Culture, Equity and Language
What Does Equity Really Mean for Multilingual-Learners
Religious Diversity
Religious Diversity
The Public Schools of Brookline recognizes the depth and richness our community members' religious identities bring to our district. We acknowledge that our work is about ensuring equity for every single student, and we unequivocally include every student of historically marginalized religious groups in that.
Disability Rights & Ableism
Disability Rights & Ableism
Ableism is the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior. At its heart, ableism is rooted in the assumption that disabled people require ‘fixing’ and defines people by their disability. Like racism and sexism, ableism classifies entire groups of people as "less than" and includes harmful stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations of people with disabilities. Keep unpacking to understand more.
Race and Racial Justice
Race and Racial Justice
Race is not simply an individual characteristic or cultural identity. More significantly, it is a social category and a power dynamic—a marker of a racial group’s positional power in society. Racial identities are socially assigned, regardless of how a person self-identifies. While attention to diversity (variety) is important, it is even more critical to address equity (fairness or justice), since racism is fundamentally about power. Keep reading to explore further.
Calm: How to use mindfulness to stand in solidarity with the Black Community
Vox: Why you should stop saying “all lives matter,” explained in 9 different ways
First, Listen. Then, Learn: Antiracism Resources for White People
11 Terms You Should Know to Better Understand Structural Racism
“Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?”
5 Common Microaggressions that Perpetuate Racist Stereotypes
Reflecting on George Floyd's Death and Police Violence Towards Black Americans
Antiracism in Education
Antiracism in Education
Dismantling systems of racism in schools is a specific endeavor. Check out these resources to find out more.
Four Ways Schools Can Support Teachers to Become 'Actively AntiRacist'
C-SPAN: Ally vs. Co-Conspirator: What it means to be an Abolitionist Teacher
Affirming Black Lives in School: Teachers, Administrators, Students (Resources, Curriculum, Support)
Incentivize Individual Agency to Achieve Upward Mobility September 2020
Practical Advice on Addressing Racial Justice in K-12 Schools August 2020
Mind/Shift: 12 Ways Teachers Can Build Resilience So They Can Make Systemic Change
PBS Teacher's Lounge: A Call to Action for White Educators Who Seek to Be Anti-Racist
Greater Good Magazine: 4 Ways Teachers Can Reduce Implicit Bias
ASCD: Confronting Inequity / The Trauma We Don't See--Dena Simmons
Dena Simmons: Without Context , Social Emotional Learning Can Backfire
These are the four destructive stereotypes about black women:
Black Girl Blues: Strategies to Combat Intra-racial Bullying
Making Black Lives Matter in Classrooms: The Power of Teachers to Change the World
In Search of Our Brother's Gardens: Considering Literary Black Masculinities in the 21st Century
DeVos Revokes Obama Discipline Guidance Designed to Protect Students of Color
What white folks who teach in the hood get wrong about education
Teaching Tolerance: Teaching About Race, Racism, & Police Violence
Esther Brunat on Teaching and Creating for a Diverse Classroom
Schooltalk: Rethinking What We Say About and To Students Every Day (2017)
What’s Missing from the Conversation: The Growth Mindset in Cultural Competency
Can We Stop Using the Box Graphic When We Talk about Racial Equity?
Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning
White Privilege
White Privilege
Recognizing white privilege begins with truly understanding the term itself. Learn more with these resources.
Where Do I Start?
Where Do I Start?
Additional Resources for Further Reflection & Learning
Additional Resources for Further Reflection & Learning
Articles
Kirsten Gillibrand Delivers Powerful Explanation Of White Privilege
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism
I Wanted to Know What White Men Thought About Their Privilege. So I Asked.
"White Privilege & Male Privilege" & Some Notes for Facilitators
Gregg Popovich Posts Emotional Video About Race After George Floyd's Killing
Gregg Popovich: Don’t kid yourself, ‘we live in a racist country’
Gregg Popovich’s speech about white privilege felt like a personal rebuke. . .
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: What Sports Have Taught Me about Race in America
Imagine: Protest, Insurgency, and the Workings of White Privilege
10 Examples that Prove White Privilege Exists in Every Aspect Imaginable
Settler Fragility: Why Settler Privilege Is So Hard To Talk About
Videos
Books
Me & White Supremacy (2020)
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism (2018)
White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White (2017)
Waking Up White (2014)
White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son (2011)
Other
Being a White Ally/Accomplice/Co-conspirator
Being a White Ally/Accomplice/Co-conspirator
To be a co-conspirator means that one chooses to take action against racism regardless of the consequences. To be a co-conspirator is about commitment, trust, and love for the cause.
Where Do I Start?
Where Do I Start?
Additional Resources for Further Reflection & Learning
Additional Resources for Further Reflection & Learning
Articles
Black People Need Stronger White Allies--Here's How You Can Be One
Travis Jones: How Can White People Be Better Allies to People of Color
Other
Mindfulness, Art, and Creative Expression
Mindfulness, Art, and Creative Expression
Follow the links below for essential mindfulness and compassion-based approaches to confront racial injustice and work towards healing. Additional links here provide ways to explore race, equity, and identity in the arts.
Other Media
Other Media
These films, television, videos, music, blog posts and podcasts extend the learning of the various categories above.
Documentaries
Feature Films
Television
Videos
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation's Divide--Carol Anderson speaks at Emory University
Paul Rucker TED Talk: The Symbols of Systemic Racism--and How to Take Away Their Power
Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola: 'How Do We Move In Love To Fix' Inequality?
Clint Smith TED Poem: Ode to the Only Black Kid in the Class
Claudia Rankine: On Whiteness at ArtsEmerson (March 24, 2017)
Citizen Speak: A Conversation with Claudia Rankine at ArtsEmerson
Trevor Noah: George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper
Trevor Noah: When is the Right Time for Black People to Protest?
Bloomberg and The Legacy of Stop-and-Frisk - Between the Scenes | The Daily Show
NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar defends nationwide protests in op-ed
The Negative Effects Of The 'Strong Black Woman' Stereotype | AJ+
Sister Citizen: Shame Stereotypes and Black Women in America
Black Female Voices: Who is Listening - A public dialogue between bell hooks + Melissa Harris-Perry
Emmanuel Acho: Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man - Episode 2 with Matthew McConaughey
Other
Blog Posts
Podcasts
Ep 30 BIAS: Well-meaning white people Smartest Person in the Room
Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
Books
Books
For more in-depth study and learning, check out these important books.
Where Do I Start?
How to Be An Antiracist (2019)
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (2nd ed. 2017)
Additional Books for Further Reflection & Learning:
Nonfiction
Being the Change (2018)
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness (2018)
Why I am No Longer Talking to White People About Race (2018)
The Fire This Time (2017)
Between the World and Me (2015)
Despite the Best Intentions: How Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools (2015)
Fiction Writers
Young Adult Authors
Other
Other Resources
Other Resources
This list includes even more multi-cultural and social justice resources to extend the learning.
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