Articles

RACIAL JUSTICE

• • 103 Things White People can do for Racial Justice (2017). This article lists 103 actions that white allies can take to fight for racial justice. It ranges from books to researching policies in your area to understanding terms. You can work through the list and see where you can start or what else you can do. Very practical, doable, and necessary! https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234

  • White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (1988). American Feminist scholar, Peggy McIntosh, discusses white privilege through an authentic self-reflection. This essay has become one of the central teaching resources for white privilege in North America. https://psychology.umbc.edu/files/2016/10/White-Privilege_McIntosh-1989.pdf

  • The Demand for Abolition (2020). This article is written with a series of articles for the project Abolition for the People. Kaepernick writes about reasons why policing and prisons need to end. Policing is apart of a system that goes back to slavery, so policing is rooted in white supremacy and anti-blackness. Kaepernick explains how abolition would lead to more money to invest into communities, education, mental health needs, job opportunities and more. This article is worth the read to learn about how systems in place need to be questioned through a critical lens and changed. https://level.medium.com/the-demand-for-abolition-979c759ff6f

  • Who Owns Almost all America's Land (2016). A USDA report is exposing a massive disparity between white and black land ownership in the United States. This article connects to Gloria Ladson-Billings’ idea of whiteness as property and how whiteness affords whites greater American citizenship. https://inequality.org/research/owns-land/

  • Objectivity is Dead and I'm Okay with it (2017). Lewis Wallace addresses the issue with “objective” journalism. This article is a personal opinion, saying that neutrality isn’t real because, when invested in factual reporting, one cannot remain neutral. As a jumping off point for why we should tell the stories and promote the voices of marginalized people, this article is integral to getting my students to stop oppressing themselves, stop being silent, and start making work that matters not only to them, but to many others who have been silent for far too long. https://medium.com/@lewispants/objectivity-is-dead-and-im-okay-with-it-7fd2b4b5c58f

  • What if Instead of Calling People Out, We Called Them In? (2020). Professor Loretta J. Ross is combating cancel culture with a popular class at Smith College. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/style/loretta-ross-smith-college-cancel-culture.html

  • I've Got Some Things to Say. Let's do a WNBA Finals Preview (2020). This article examines the intersectionality of race/gender and sexuality and its influence on public opinion. Rapinoe acknowledges that the US Women’s soccer team, including herself, has been able to get the press and coverage they have because they are a predominantly white and attractive team. She brings attention to the work being done in the WNBA and “questions” why they are not getting the same attention. Being from the Players’ Tribune, this is an article that would easily be accessible and relatable to student athletes. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/megan-rapinoe-seattle-storm-wnba-finals

  • House Rules (2013). This article explores the impact of racist housing practices and zoning on education. It shows how despite the availability of apartments, landlords are still refusing to rent to black individuals. Explains the history of redlining, “white flight”and the impact it still has today. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/512/house-rules

  • How to Respond to Racial Microaggressions When They Occur (2020). This article by J. Luke Wood & Frank Harris recommends using the R.A.V.E.N framework to respond to microaggressions. This framework consists of the following sequential strategies: redirect the interaction, ask probing questions, value clarification, emphasize your own thoughts, and offer concrete next steps. https://diverseeducation.com/article/176397/

  • It's Time for Non-Black Latinx People to Talk about Anti-Blackness in our own Communities — and the Conversation Starts at Home (2020). Though its audience is intended to be for non-Black Latinx individuals, it focuses on a very important reality: Undoing white supremacy and anti-Blackness within ourselves and communities is a lifelong, ongoing, and non-linear process. https://www.insider.com/anti-blackness-non-black-latinx-spaces-racism-2020-6

  • Telling the Truth About Slavery is not 'Indoctrination' (2020). In this article, Clint Smith reacts to Trump’s comment: “the left has warped, distorted, and defiled the American story with deceptions, falsehoods, and lies…We must clear away the twisted web of lies in our schools and classrooms, and teach our children the magnificent truth about our country.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/real-stakes-fight-over-history/616455/

ANTIRACIST EDUCATION

• • • Speak Up at School. A guide to support adults in schools when encountering students or other adults making remarks and how to respond in a productive way. It offers advice on modeling the behaviors we want to see in our students. This offers statements that can be used to stop biased remarks and questions that can be asked to promote discussion around biased remarks. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/speak-up-at-school

    • Avoiding Racial Equity Detours (2019). This resource details the most common “detours” that happen when racial equity work is done in schools, such as prioritizing the feelings of white teachers rather than BIPOC students. http://www.edchange.org/publications/Avoiding-Racial-Equity-Detours-Gorski.pdf

    • This Conversation is Anti-Racist (2020). This is a conversation with Tiffany Jewell author of the book This Book is Anti-Racist. Tiffany explains how she wrote this book to be read in a specific order, because people need to first know about themselves before, they can learn about the world around them. Tiffany addresses how educators need to address injustice in the classroom, because our kids see it and we cannot just push racism aside. This conversation helps address what anti-racism is and is a great way to learn more about teaching younger people how to be anti-racist. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2020/this-conversation-is-anti-racist

    • Ending Curriculum Violence (2020). There are emotional impacts that cannot be predicted, though, when including messages of anti-racism in curriculum. Students may have unresolved trauma associated with such a discussion. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2020/ending-curriculum-violence

    • What Anti-Racist Teachers do Differently (2020). McKamey touches upon ways teachers and schools can support Black students and set them up for success by paying attention to them and their needs. This article challenges us to become life-long learners on how to specifically support our students of color, becoming good teachers to ALL of our students. www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2020/06/how-be-anti-racist-teacher/613138/

    • Well-Meaning White Teachers: It's Time to Disrupt your Language around Black History Month (2020). Robert Harvey, describes 3 strategies to how we begin to change our rhetoric. The article provides examples of what white teachers do that they think is helpful or supportive, when in reality, it may be having an adverse effect. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/2/13/21178607/well-meaning-white-teachers-it-s-time-to-disrupt-your-language-around-black-history-month

    • ‘No One Else Is Going to Step Up': In a Time of Racial Reckoning, Teachers of Color Feel the Pressure (2020). This article highlights that burnout that teachers of color experience from being the lone voices speaking out against racism and other forms of discrimination. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/no-one-else-is-going-to-step-up-in-a-time-of-racial-reckoning-teachers-of-color-feel-the-pressure/2020/07?cmp=eml-enl-tu-news1-rm&M=59625020&U=1841489&UUID=7779a91840a64bf8d0f3f0f8a6c16811

    • Black Scientists Call Out Racism in their Institutions (2020). As an extension to the previous article, once students of color graduate from college and enter the workforce, our institutions need to examine their norms and practices to make sure their work environment is inclusive and welcoming. This article highlights examples of black scientists being “pushed out” of academia. https://www.theverge.com/21286924/science-racism-strike-stem-black-lives-matter-protests