The process of learning to be an anti-racist educator is not a one-and-done, but something that requires us to acknowledge that we, like everyone else, are a person who has biases so that we can begin dismantling them. The article details a five-step process that we are urged to repeat in order to be able to evaluate and reevaluate our behavior in order to affirm, celebrate, and advocate for our Black and brown students.

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One: Listen and Reflect

Be considerate of past and current interactions you've had with non-white people and examine what prejudiced thoughts, behaviors, or actions may have occurred on your part. Listen to Black and brown students, teachers, and parents -- be uncomfortable. Do not respond, just listen. Reflect critically on what you learn and look at how racism is affecting your own school. And lastly, be ready to take risks for your Black and brown students.

Two: Read

Do your own research. While listening to non-white voices is an important step, you cannot rely on them to educate you. As English teachers, we are aware of the variety of books available to us on issues of social justice, literature study, race, gender, sexuality, and much more. We also know how to analyze them, and can start to bring what we learn into our own classrooms.

Three: Interrogate

Our reflection in step one was only the beginning -- now that we have more resources to help us evaluate our own prejudice, we need to delve deeper into how it has seeped into our schools and classrooms so that we can begin to remove it. Look at curriculum materials and texts that may be problematic or glorify racism, even if they are 'classics'. Consider which books are even considered part of the literary canon -- are there a lot, if any, written by Black and brown individuals? Examine the ways society interacts with these texts as well.

Four: Act

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Five: Repeat

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This site has loads of interesting articles and teachings, but I chose this one because it invites me as a future educator to identify the ways in which white supremacy culture shows up in schools and teaching practices and enables me to look more closely at how to embrace Black joy in schools. It lists out numerous critical resources that can help bring about Black joy, and offers perspectives on how to center student voices in situations where teachers can enable their students to celebrate themselves.

I chose this article because LGBTQ+ representation also needs to be covered more in the humanities in schools, and here many different individuals tackle the question: “What might it mean to make education more queer?” While there is no single queer identity like there is no single POC identity or way of educating, educators can still work to make schools more welcoming of queer students, as laid out through many of the topics covered by these authors.