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Why Race?
Why Race?
CSD has a wonderful track record of academic success with many groups of students. Closer inspection reveals that we are not meeting the needs of students from historically oppressed and marginalized groups. Our families and students have shared their experiences here in Camas and the message is clear - we have work to do.
Why is a district perceived as predominantly white talking about race? First we are not all white. Second, Race and Racism exist whether or not there are people of color in the room. Insufficient discussion has left our community and world with lingering and nagging discontent. It is time for real, transformative conversation that promotes lasting systemic change.
CSD staff know that failure to effectively serve each and every student threatens our collective capacity to thrive as a community. We owe each child the opportunity to experience success.
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Resources:
Resources:
To Read: White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
To Watch: 13th from Ava DuVernay
To Listen: Seeing White- White Affirmative Action (Part 13), Scene on Radio
To Do: Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
What we are learning
What we are learning
EXPLANATION FOR THIS SECTION
Racism: "A system that encompasses economic, political, social, and cultural structures, actions, and beliefs that institutionalize and perpetuate an unequal distribution of privileges, resources and power between White people and people of Color. This system is historic, normalized, taken for granted, deeply embedded, and works to the benefit of whites and to the disadvantage of people of color." --(Hilliard, 1992)
Intersectionality: “The complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups.”--Merriam-Webster Dictionary, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw
Fragility: "A state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium." --Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility
Privilege: "A special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group" --Oxford Dictionary.
What we are doing
What we are doing
Speakers, Representation in school libraries, TEDx Talk, Student projects on race, Equity Circle goals
Action Steps:
We have adopted and implemented an Equity Policy and Procedure to ensure students thrive from every demographic and we do not replicate racist or oppressive practices
The district's Community Equity Forum is expanding to include families, staff and students of diverse race, disability, gender, sexual orientation and more. This forum provides a place to listen, learn across difference, grow personally and change our system to see and serve each and every student. Through our connection with each other, we amplify voices that have been silenced or relegated to the margins.
We are expanding professional learning and practice in protocols that honor different values our students and families bring, while upholding expectations for contributing to a caring and respectful learning environment.
Where school communities have the opportunity to serve our diverse youth, staff are engaged in learning and applying strategies to support safety and belonging, and create more inclusive environments that benefit every student.
In the news:
In the news:
The Columbian: Camas School District Series Explores Race Up Close
Camas-Washougal Post-Record: Camas School District Implements New Equity Policy
"The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people's expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn't care if you are a white person who likes Black people; it's still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don't look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we're immediately born into. It's like being born into air; you take it in as soon as you breathe. It's not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It's a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it's hard work, but it's the price you pay for owning everything." -Scott Woods
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