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Reflect and Answer in Racial Affinity Group Reflections: BIPOC

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Reflect and Answer in Racial Affinity Group Reflections: BIPOC

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You will have time in racial affinity groups to reflect on today's session. After discussing,please reflect on the conversation from the group and jot down the overall reflections to these questions:
- What did you appreciate about today?
- What was challenging or triggering?
- What else do you need in these spaces to support you, your identity, and your growth?
- What else do you want UPD to know?

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Reflect on today's learning (and unlearning) using one or more quadrants of the of the Compass.

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Here is a list of the resources used during the Myth vs Fact portion of the session. Be sure to go back and check out each resource more deeply after the session. Consider how you can use them to spark further discussion with your staff and students:

Myth #1: We treat all children equally. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/11/26/new-federal-data-shows-black-preschoolers-still-disciplined-far-higher-rates-than-whites/

Myth #2: Black students have an abundance of opportunities in higher education.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/student-loans-the-racial-wealth-divide-and-why-we-need-full-student-debt-cancellation/

Myth #3: Black women as "welfare queens".
https://blog.dol.gov/2021/08/03/5-facts-about-black-women-in-the-labor-force

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Years after the Obama administration attempted to end deep racial disparities in preschool discipline, new federal data shows that Black youngsters are still more likely to be suspended or expelled than their White classmates.

This post explains the data as well as why past efforts to change the dynamic have not worked and what kind of action the authors - Shantel Meek and Evandra Catherine - want to see the incoming Biden administration undertake. They write: "Taking a colorblind approach to racism has never worked to address inequity; it has only ever increased it."

Meek (@ShantelMeek) is the founding director of the Children's Equity Project and a professor of practice at Arizona State University who was a senior policy adviser for early childhood development in the Obama administration. Catherine (@evcatherine) is a postdoctoral research scholar at the Children's Equity Project at Arizona State University.

By Shantel Meek and Evandra Catherine

In 2005, Yale researchers shocked the nation's conscience with the findings from the first major study on preschool expulsions. Astonishingly, researchers found that young children were expelled at a rate far higher than their older peers in K-12. Worse yet, Black children were much more likely to be pushed out.

Nearly a decade later, in 2014, the U.S. Department of Education released federal data on preschool suspension and expulsion for the first time. Little had changed. As in 2005, there were stark racial disparities in preschool discipline, with Black children being about three times as likely to be suspended from preschool than their White peers.

And now here we are, in 2020. Any guesses as to what the latest round of preschool discipline data released from the Department of Education last month shows?

While there have been some encouraging signs - the rate of suspensions and expulsions fell sharply between the 2015-2016 and the 2017-2018 school years - the same stubborn, stark racial disparities remain. Black boys make up 18 percent of the male preschool enrollment, but 41 percent of male preschool suspensions, and Black girls make up 19 percent of female preschool enrollment, but account for an astounding 53 percent of female suspensions.

Why haven't we been able to change this shameful pattern? It's not that we haven't tried.

One of us, Shantel Meek, served as a policy adviser for early childhood in the Obama administration and was the lead architect behind the first joint federal agency policy statement calling for an end to preschool exclusionary discipline in 2014. That same year, President Barack Obama launched the My Brother's Keeper Initiative and included eliminating exclusionary discipline for young children as a key policy goal.

We followed these calls with greater funding for children's mental health, guidance to states on better supporting teachers in the classroom, and by addressing exclusionary discipline in regulation. The issue caught the attention of Congress, which, for the first time, moved to require states to publicly report their policies on expulsion of young children from child-care settings.

A wave of state and local policy change followed. Nineteen states have passed legislation limiting exclusionary discipline in public pre-K settings since 2014, and nearly every state has implemented some executive action to address the issue in child-care settings, though most have been modest.

It's clear that all of this action still wasn't enough.

Our progress was set back even further by the harmful actions and rhetoric of the Trump administration, which rescinded Obama-era discipline guidance and repeatedly attempted to cut and limit the scope of the Federal Office for Civil Rights at the Education Department.

But this problem existed before President Trump, and it will exist long after he is gone if we do not drop the colorblind approach to discipline. The many states that have passed reforms focused on limiting exclusionary discipline did so without ever mentioning race or disparity. The plethora of social-emotional interventions implemented in schools do not specifically address racism and the disparities it causes.

So here we are. Not surprisingly, the rates have dropped, but the disparities remain, untouched by policy or practice.

With a new administration coming into office in a couple of months, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris have the opportunity to push past what we did under Obama so that the next time this data is released in two years, we are not in the same place, again wringing our hands at the stubbornness of the racial disparities.

That work starts with data. You can't address a problem if you can't see it. Programs that receive public funds should be required to track, report and address disparities in discipline and should get adequate resources to do so. Every preschool program, public or private, should continuously collect and analyze disaggregated data on discipline and use that data to inform internal policies, teacher training and support for children.

Teacher training on this issue must also be more targeted. Today, too many professional development opportunities for teachers aimed at improving positive discipline strategies focus exclusively on classroom management, managing challenging behavior and promoting social-emotional development. They ignore the key fact, supported by a wealth of research, that our implicit biases affect the ways that we perceive behavior.

Every teacher, teacher's aide, administrator and systems leader in the early-childhood field must have training and ongoing coaching on systemic racism, specifically on identifying bias and using tangible skills to address it. The battle to rid ourselves of bias is probably unwinnable, but the battle to prevent it from manifesting into actions that can hurt children is certainly winnable and worthy of our time and investment.

Taking a colorblind approach to racism has never worked to address inequity; it has only ever increased it. This is no different. Talking about racial equity is not enough. It must be reflected in policy, in practice and in budgets. Even in our bitterly divided nation, surely we can agree that children fresh out of diapers shouldn't be kicked out of school, especially because of the color of their skin.

Maya Angelou once said: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." It's been 15 years since the first data on preschool suspension was released. We've known better for a long time, and it's long past time to do better.

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Perspective | New federal data shows Black preschoolers still disciplined at far higher rates than Whites

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The authors call for new federal action to end the stubborn pattern.

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RESOURCE: Transcript for Boston is Blacker Than You Think

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RESOURCE: Transcript for Boston is Blacker Than You Think

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If needed, please use the transcript here as you listen to the two provided clips:

Clip #1: 5:00-9:52
Clip #2: 12:05-14:00

Here is the whole podcast if you would like to listen later:
https://youtu.be/ax0s76JMq7U

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Archival Recording: British racism is so bad, white people left. (LAUGH) They wanted to be free, free to create their own kind of racisms. That's why they invented Australia, South Africa, and Boston.

Trymaine Lee: Boston is known for a lot of things: throwing tea into a harbor, sports dynasties, liberal politics, a marathon, and racism. It's even become a punchline in popular culture.

Archival Recording: (APPLAUSE) Whether seriously or thrown around as a joke, Boston is often referred to as one of the most racist cities in America.

Archival Recording: (LAUGH) New England Patriots versus the Atlanta Falcons. I just wanna relax, turn my brain off, and watch the Blackest city in America beat the most racist city I've ever been to. (LAUGH)

Lee: In 2017, The Boston Globe surveyed Black people from across the country, asking which major city was most unwelcoming. Boston topped the list. And in many ways, the city has earned this reputation. There were the infamous riots against school integration in the '70s.

Archival Recording: But the crowd just kept shouting, "Bus them back to Africa."

Lee: When white communities violently opposed the busing of Black kids into white schools.

Archival Recording: A few minutes later, the police moved in.

Lee: Then there's Boston's racial wealth gap, which isn't just extreme, it's obscene. One study from 2015 found that non-immigrant Black families in the Boston area had an average of just $8 in wealth. The average white family meanwhile had around a quarter of a million.

And recently, Boston's mayoral race has shown how far the city still has to go to address the racial gap in political power. Just this spring, Boston got its first Black mayor ever, after Kim Janey took over as acting mayor for Marty Walsh when he joined the Biden administration.

Archival Recording: I was texting with Council President Janey last night and I texted, "Think about this for a minute. A little girl from Roxbury is about to be mayor of Boston."

Lee: But it didn't last long. Mayor Janey ran to keep her seat this fall and two other Black candidates ran as well. But none of them got enough votes in the preliminary election to make the general next week.

Archival Recording: Decision 2021 now, early voting now under way in Boston for the upcoming November election, where voters will determine the city's next mayor.

Lee: The Black candidate with the most votes was Andrea Campbell, who serves on the city council.

Andrea Campbell: Post this mayoral election, someone suggested to me, "There is no Black community in Boston."

Lee: I spoke with Andrea last week.

Campbell: That we don't turn out in elections. We are very divided. And so I think that is a conversation that must happen within the Black community, maybe behind closed doors, where we're honest with one another and say, "We're brilliant, resilient, beautiful human beings. And how do we lift each other up and support the aspirations and the dreams, especially of our young people, to fulfill their promises?"

Lee: After Andrea and the other Black candidates lost in the prelim election, analysts and media turned to the predictable explanation: that they split the Black vote. But Andrea pushed back against that narrative.

Campbell: And I think that framing, splitting the Black vote, only room for one, is nonsense. We need several running across the state and across, of course, this city for different positions in order to diversify these positions because if we don't, we know that certain communities will continue to be left behind.

Lee: Given all of this, you might be surprised to learn that the city is actually 25% Black. That's the same as New York City. And Boston is full of rich Black history and culture, going all the way back to the 1650s. So why don't we know about it?

Archival Recording: This is what we're dealing with with being a Black and Latino Bostonian, versus the image they show and what we know. It's endlessly frustrating.

Lee: I'm Trymaine Lee and this is Into America. Black people in Boston have been overlooked, forgotten, and erased for decades. But despite that, Black Bostonians have been making history. As Boston continues to grapple with its racist reputation, one man is on a mission to lift up his hometown.

Archival Recording: I love the city.

Lee: And tell the real story of being Black in Boston. There's a National Parks Black Heritage Trail in Boston.

Archival Recording: This tour explores the inspiring history of the free African American community of Beacon Hill in the 19th century, a community that led the city and the nation in the fight against slavery and racial injustice.

Lee: It winds through the quiet, ritzy, Beacon Hill neighborhood. And it's all about history at least 150 years in the past.

Archival Recording: Facing powerful opposition, both within the city and throughout the country, this community persevered. And in doing so, helped further Boston's reputation as a cradle of liberty in the ongoing American Revolution.

Lee: The tour that I got from a guy named Dart Adams is totally different.

Dart Adams: There's the African American Heritage Trail that highlights the American Revolution and a certain narrative they wanna tell, versus what gets overwritten. And we're walking.

Lee: I met Dart outside the Massachusetts Avenue T stop. Even though the sidewalks are lined with trees, this wide stretch of Mass Ave is busy, full of buses and delivery trucks and construction vehicles. It's on the border of the South End and Roxbury, one of the city's historically Black neighborhoods.

Adams: This was a vibrant community. You have different housing. A lotta the buildings that were here were listed in The Black Motorist Green Guide, where if you wanted to come to Boston or Massachusetts, this was a place you could come and find refuge.

Lee: There are old brick apartments and townhouses, some shops, but nothing that really lets you know you're walking in the footsteps of giants. That's where Dart comes in.

Adams: We're standing in front of 397 Mass Ave, looking at this building and thinking nothing of it. You see the small plaque. Now, what is this plaque (LAUGH) revealing? It tells you that this is where Martin Luther King Jr. lived when he was a BU student getting his doctorate.

Lee: Dart Adams is an author and historian. He's host of the podcast Boston Legends. He was born in Boston in 1975 and has lived here his whole life. For years, Dart has been taking people on his own unofficial tour of Black Boston. This area is full of history. But if I wasn't here with Dart, I'd probably miss all of it, like that plaque he's talkin' about on Martin Luther King's former home. It's almost completely hidden by a tree.

Adams: That plaque was put here in--

Lee: I could barely see it. I'm tryin' to--

Adams: Yeah. That plaque was put here January 15th, 1989. It is 2021, almost 2022. I was a kid who used to grow up and people used to walk by and point out this building and say, "You know Martin Luther King Jr. used to live here. He met Coretta in this neighborhood." These are things that people outside of Boston don't know. And the most insane part is that that's the thing telling everybody. Who can see that over these trees?

Lee: Dart is a walking encyclopedia of Black Boston. The tour usually covers several blocks, but there's a story around every corner, inside all the storefronts or shops. So we keep stopping every few feet as he pointed out yet another significant building. Most of them, unmarked.

Adams: So directly across the street, you see Cuttin' Edge Barbershop, which is at 410 Mass Ave. 410 Mass Ave was actually home to the Savoy Café. The Savoy Café was a haunt of Malcolm X, grew up in Roxbury when it was actually integrated before white flight happened.

Lee: So what's the significance of this street we're standing on right now?

Adams: Okay. So this was the actual epicenter of Black Boston when it was a jazz mecca. This is Wally's Jazz Café, all right? This is the only remaining jazz spot of all those legendary jazz places that were all up and down here. Between 1959 and 1970, all of these establishes, they had full entertainment licenses, full liquor licenses, had kitchens, all disappeared.

And when that disappeared, that means that the economic power that Boston held disappeared. That means that the Black hotels, the Black lodging houses, the rooming houses, all disappeared. All between 1959 and 1970. And when that happens, you wanna talk about racism, when Roxbury had all the shopping districts and the elevated train line ran through Roxbury, but it was torn down between 1986 and 1987 and all of the shopping was moved to Downtown Crossing, that's when we talk about the real effects of racism.

Lee: Walking with Dart, I could feel tension. On one side, deep respect for his home and history.

Adams: I was raised with all that energy. I was raised with all that history. The reason why I'm standing in front of you today is because of it.

Lee: On the other, anger and frustration with Boston's refusal to recognize it.

Adams: This is the NAACP building. This is where all the operations of the Boston branch of the NAACP happen, this building. There's no sign, no signage anywhere.

Lee: I'm surprised there's nothin' indicating at all the significance of this place.

Adams: When I was a kid, there was a big sign that said, "NAACP," a black sign and yellow letters. And this was, like, one of the places in the community where everybody came to get information. This was a place that was of immense pride to the community.

When you think about all the legendary people who actually came through here, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott, and we wanna talk about having your life and your culture and you existence overwritten, there it is right there, in plain day. Like, think about how many people just walk by this spot right now with no idea what this is.

Lee: Have there been efforts to, like, make sure there's signage put up? Have there been--

Adams: No.

Lee: No effort?

Adams: No, there hasn't been any.

Lee: You haven't gone to the city and said, "Hey"?

Adams: I've been fighting for a significant amount of signage for all these historical places for years. The fact of the matter is that there's all this Black history and culture that we know growing up here, but it's not shown.

Lee: That people are walking by every single day?

Adams: People walk by it every single day.

Lee: After the tour, Dart and I headed to Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen, a Black-owned restaurant and music venue that's been a cultural center of Black Boston for decades. Dart didn't set out to be a tour guide. He just wanted people to see and feel the Boston that he's always loved, the parts of the city you probably wouldn't see on the nightly news or in magazines.

Adams: I was on social media talking about all these different things that were in my neighborhood and all these factoids that people didn't know. So I would go on Instagram, take pictures, and then write captions. And I would tell this secret history of Boston.

And what happened was people started responding to it. They were, like, "Well, I have a cousin," or, "I have a friend," or, "I know somebody who just moved to the region. They would love if you would show them these things." So that's how the tours were born.

And it was people that were, like, came in for fellowships, whether it be at Harvard or MIT, or people that just moved here for a specific job and their families were concerned. And I became the point guy to do these specific tours. And this has been happening for between five and seven years now--

Lee: Wow.

Adams: --I've been doing that.

Lee: Were you always, like, a natural-born historian? Like, when you were young, were you all into the history?

Adams: I was a sponge as a kid. But the thing is that the elders in my neighborhood would tell me these things. And again, I would be intrigued that no one outside of here knew these things, you know? Like, Miles Davis used to come by here and hang out on the corner and smoke with the guys. "He stole a girl from me."

And when he came back to do his 1981 album, the only place he wanted to perform first was Boston. And whenever he had a new band or whenever he had a new sound, he wanted to bring it to Boston. And that's how we got Chick Corea and Tony Williams, who were both residents of Massachusetts and Boston.

Tony Williams moved as a child here to Roxbury, one of the greatest drummers of all time. And it just made me think that, "How come I'm told these things, and everybody here knows these things, but I never heard it outside of here?" And I carried that because it makes you think, "Why doesn't everyone know this?"

If I was in a certain part of Queens or Harlem, everybody celebrates that history. If I'm in a certain part of Chicago, everybody celebrates that history. Philly, New Orleans, they all celebrate this history. Why is Boston the outlier when we've had Black folks prominent here since the 1600s? It makes no sense.

Lee: Boston is home to one of the oldest Black communities in the country. In the late 1650s, free Black people founded a small enclave in the north end of the city called New Guinea. Later, a larger one grew in Beacon Hill. That's where the official Black Heritage Tour is.

But by the 1900s, high rents and poor living conditions forced most Black families to places like Roxbury and Dorchester. Boston was also a center of the abolition movement in the decades leading up to the Civil War. But, through all of that, Black Bostonians have still had to fight against a culture steeped in racial violence and white supremacy.

Adams: Boston is a unique case because we have to remember that Boston is pretty much 150 years older than America itself. So a lotta the systems of oppression and inequity that we have to deal with predate America. It's a uphill battle, and it's been an uphill battle for almost 400 years. That's what people don't really understand about what it is to be a non-white Bostonian and trying to, you know, carve out any space here.

Lee: Boston was one of the first cities to have restrictive housing covenants barring Black people from living in certain communities. And even though it was the heart of the abolition movement, slavery wasn't legally abolished in Massachusetts until the 13th Amendment in 1865.

Adams: Yes, we had abolitionists and freedom fighters, but there was always resistance. The big issue with Boston is Boston likes to paint itself as this progressive, liberal city. But it's only progressive and liberal to a point.

Lee: Dart says, "Look no further than the upcoming mayoral election."

Adams: We had five different individuals up for mayor. And, of those five, three of them were Black. Two of them, the most prominent being Black women. And when the preliminary election ended, those two women just missed the cut for the general election.

And while the next mayor of Boston is not going to be a white man, and the city has made it clear, "We're done with having a white man be the mayor," they've made it very clear, "We might not be ready to have a Black woman be the mayor." It says that after this city being almost 400 years old, there still isn't a clear cut way for Black and LatinX Bostonians to clearly aggregate power, economic, political power, and wield in this city.

Lee: How do everyday race relations in this city play out? Certainly, as you mentioned, all across America, America's not perfect at all. America is, again, steeped in racism. But there is something I think unique about the culture of Boston. The huge white working class here is different than a lotta cities. Reminds me of Philly a little bit, right? You have these little, tough, white communities that are different than some other places. But how do these relations play out every single day between, you know, Black folks and white folks?

Adams: The thing is that it doesn't play out in the way that people would think it does, you know? Your Black and white neighbors, your Latino neighbors, your Asian neighbors can all get along, live in a community. Your kids play together, what have you. When the issue rises is when people feel like the way of life that they've been living is going to change and they're scared.

Lee: Which part of Boston's that?

Adams: Specifically the white, more conservative leans parts, pockets of Boston. The fact of the matter is Boston is changing, has been changing, is always changing. I've already seen the fact that where I grew up in already doesn't recognize what it was, or what it used to be, or what it was at its core.

Lee: So it sounds like you're going with the transformation and other people are just resisting and hunkering down. They don't wanna see a change, where you're kind of rocking with it because already, your childhood neighborhood has already been changing?

Adams: Yeah. My childhood home on Mass Ave, we were evicted from there in 1999 when the vote for rent control changed. I still live in this neighborhood by the grace of God. So my way of dealing with the changing neighborhood is completely different from somebody who feels like everything that they know is ending, you know?

Because the way it's always been is, "We, white Bostonians, we ethnic white Bostonians have always been the face of Boston." And they don't wanna give that up. I've already lived with being out of the frame, out of the picture, pushed to the margins. I'm asking for a seat at the table. And I'm not asking anymore. I'm saying, "I'm getting my seat at the table."

Lee: We'll be right back.

Lee: Is there a moment that stands out for you when you think about what it means to be Black in Boston? Is there one that makes you especially proud?

Adams: Oh, absolutely. When I was young, my older brother and older sister, we had family in Orchard Park. And that's where New Edition is from.

Archival Recording: Here are New Edition.

Adams: And when New Edition was starting their path and they, you know, they got their contract on Streetwise, they started appearing on, you know, local television. And their song was playing on the radio.

Archival Recording: Their songs hit the top of the R&B charts. That's quite an achievement. And their latest is--

Adams: And--

Archival Recording: --a great song. You're gonna love it.

Adams: --when we finally started seeing them on national television, when we finally started seeing them on Soul Train, when Casey Kasem mentioned their name for the first time on America's Top Pop 40, and then we see them blow up and become, like, international stars.

Archival Recording: Welcome five very talented young men who have captured the fancy of music lovers all over more than any other new group we've seen in recent years. It's their latest single on the Streetwise label entitled Candy Girl, and they are New Edition.

Adams: Candy Girl was their first hit that broke out. And it was their first video. And it was the song that knocked Michael Jackson off the top of the R&B charts.

New Edition: (SINGING) My girl's like candy, a candy treat. She knocks me right off of my feet. She's so fine as can be. I know this girl is meant for me. Candy girl, you are my world. You look so sweet. You're a special treat. Candy girl, all I want--

Adams: Five dudes--

New Edition: --to say.

Adams: --from Roxbury--

New Edition: You're with me--

Adams: --knocked Michael Jackson--

New Edition: Brighten up my day. (LAUGH)

Adams: --off the top of the R&B charts, which were more competitive--

New Edition: All--

Adams: --than the pop charts back in 1983.

New Edition: When I'm with you--

Adams: Mind-blowing.

Lee: That's crazy.

Adams: That was the first time when I thought that I am immensely proud to be a Black Bostonian because, aside from living here, we didn't really have that much of a public face. That's when I felt like, "Okay, the corner's changing." You know, I feel, like, really proud.

Lee: Seeing New Edition blow up, you finally felt seen? That people saw--

Adams: Yes.

Lee: --New Edition, and they connected them to Boston, and you finally felt seen, like, people see--

Adams: Yes.

Lee: --the world sees us?

Adams: Yes. That was one of the big turning points for me as a young person to feel pride, absolutely.

Lee: Dart has been working with local community groups and officials to get more recognition around the city for places of Black history.

Adams: So far, I haven't gotten very far with it. One of the things that hindered us was COVID. When I really started back in 2017, 2018, 2019, it was gaining more and more steam. But ultimately, it was COVID that kinda stopped me from making real headway with that. But by the time we had gotten up to 2020, I think that people realized that, "You know what? Representation matters and we should really look into doing this," you know?

Lee: Do you think the city would be willing to bolster the little plaque that we see outside of the MLK house, put markers down that aren't there? You think they really want to do this?

Adams: I absolutely do. Five years ago, it might've been an uphill battle. Going into 2022, they'll be way more receptive to doing it. I've done a lot of the ground work. I've laid it out for people. You know, we have things now like, you know, the King Foundation, which I have a monument to Martin Luther King Jr. coming up soon, you know?

We have all these different propositions to have statues of different people, renaming certain streets, you know? So it's, like, there's actual progress. But again, you know, dealing with COVID, a lot of that, you know, was hindered. But I feel that going into 2022, we'll be able to get back into it.

Lee: For Dart, there's one story from long ago that really shows the stakes of his fight. In 1773, Phillis Wheatley was the first Black American to publish a book of poetry. She was enslaved in Boston at the time. She was later emancipated, but died penniless at the age of 31.

Adams: Every February, I go to a place called Copp's Hill Burying Ground, which is in the North End. We think she's buried in Copp's Hill. But the problem is, another issue with Boston and Black folks being overwritten and, you know, almost erased is that there is a stretch along a street, I believe it's called Snow Hill Road, where there's just a patch. And it's bare.

You can count all the grave markers on one hand. And that is where the overwhelming majority of Black Bostonians from that region are buried. And I go there every February and I just, like, you know, pay homage to my ancestors. And I think to myself that Phillis Wheatley is buried here, and we don't know where.

Lee: But even living in a city that he feels for so long has not valued lives like his, Dart truly loves Boston.

Adams: Being a Bostonian is what gives me everything to be able to be on this journey. It gives me my attitude. It gives me my strength. It gives me my power. It gives me my authenticity. It gives me my conviction, all of it. I am who I am because I'm a Black Bostonian. I love my city. I love my home. It's not perfect, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to fight to make it as equitable for everybody who lives here.

Lee: Boston likely isn't going to lose its racist repercussion any time soon. And knowing history won't rectify big issues like gentrification and the wealth gap, or even police violence. But image and feeling seen and welcome, that's important too.

Lee: What's your great hope for Boston, Black Boston, and race relations in this city?

Adams: My great hope is that for once, it won't be people asking, "Do Black people or LatinX people live in Boston or Massachusetts or New England?" That we would've made enough changes and had enough representation and moved the needle enough where people would never need to ask that question again.

And again, that starts with us being able to be in charge of the narrative, or us finally being included when they tell the stories. And I'm confident that that's going to change going into the future because we can't go back to where it was.

Lee: As always, we wanna hear from you. You can tweet me @TrymaineLee, that's at Trymaine Lee, my full name, or write to us at IntoAmerica@NBCUNI.com. That was Into America, at NBC and the letters U-N-I. com. Into America is produced by Isabel Angel, Allison Bailey, Aaron Dalton, Max Jacobs, Joshua Sirotiak, and Aisha Turner. Original music is by Hannis Brown. Special thanks to producer Stefanie Cargill and our crew in Boston, Jim Frances, Tom Fahey, and Clint Bermesco (PH). I'm Tyrmaine Lee. We'll catch you next Thursday.

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Transcript: Boston is Blacker Than You Think

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Archival Recording: British racism is so bad, white people left. (LAUGH) They wanted to be free, free to create their own kind of racisms. That's why they invented Australia, South Africa, and Boston. Trymaine Lee: Boston is known for a lot of things: throwing tea into a harbor, sports dynasties, liberal politics, a marathon, and racism.

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RESOURCE: Intent vs Impact: School Resource Officers

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RESOURCE: Intent vs Impact: School Resource Officers

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“Even though youth crime is on the decline — and has been, since the mid-nineties — and graduation rates are up, the myth that our children are criminal and violent persists. The data shows that the increase in arrests is directly correlated to the presence of SROs in schools. The arrest rates for schools with SROs were 3.5 times the rate of those without SROs, and in some states the arrest rates are as much as eight times the rate of schools without.”

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RESOURCE: Google Classroom for your Cohort

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RESOURCE: Google Classroom for your Cohort

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JOIN CODE: e6sr3dm

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Read the Principles — Design Justice Network

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This is a living document. Last update: summer 2018

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What questions came up for you during pre-work completion?

What are you still wondering about when it comes to equity vs equality, asset framing, stereotypes, and identity?

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Reflect and Answer in Racial Affinity Groups: White-presenting

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Reflect and Answer in Racial Affinity Groups: White-presenting

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You will have time in racial affinity groups to reflect on today's session. After discussing,please reflect on the conversation from the group and jot down the overall reflections to these questions:
- How can similar thinking, social definitions, and stereotypes inform our perceptions of race and people who hold racialized identities?
- How can this be harmful?
- As someone who holds power, how can you recognize these biases (that we all hold) and align our efforts through an equity lens?
- Is there anything else you want UPD to know?

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As you listen to the clip, what are your major takeaways?

What it might say about adult education or education in general in Boston and beyond?

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Boston is Blacker Than You Think | Into America Podcast – Ep. 138 | MSNBC

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Where are you finding opportunities to engage in the following ways during today's session? Jot it down when you notice it.

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Depending on the day,our answers to the questions may be different for the survey.

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Who do School Resource Officers HELP?

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Which agreement are you committed to leaning into during today's session?

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Like how it identified people in a positive way.

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Racially harmful experiences in education settings go way beyond marginalization, misrepresentation, and alienating content in textbooks.

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Individually write down your thoughts on the following. Be prepared to discuss: 

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Individually write down your thoughts on the following. Be prepared to discuss: 

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Who owns the narrative in our educational systems?

Who “writes” history?

How is knowledge shared?

How do YOU share knowledge within teams? In the classroom?

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Who do School Resource Officers HARM?

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Defining Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI)

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Defining Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI)

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As we go through today's session, jot down other terms you hear that you might want further clarification or definitions for.

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What methods, policies, or approaches that can be taken to ensure the intent of supporting students and their safety matches the impact?

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RESOURCE: Indigenous Example of "Hidden History"

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RESOURCE: Indigenous Example of "Hidden History"

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Personal example shared by UPD Facilitator, Jenni Greene

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On July 5 a historical marker was erected in Maxton, North Carolina, to commemorate an event that occurred sixty years ago, when the Ku Klux Klan tried to rally in the heart of Lumbee Indian territory. The Klansmen were run out of town, and the 1958 event made the national news, including in The New York Times and magazine. The conflict became known as "The Battle of Hayes Pond."

The Lumbee tribe of North Carolina has fought long and hard for tribal recognition and respect. With 55,000 members, it's the largest tribe east of the Mississippi and the ninth largest in the nation. But while the tribe was recognized by the state of North Carolina in 1885, the federal government dragged its feet on official recognition until 1956, and even then stopping short of full recognition.

In 1956, Ku Klux Klan activities in the area had already been ratcheting up in the wake of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education mandating the desegregation of schools. After the recognition of the Lumbee in North Carolina, Ku Klux Klan wizard James W. "Catfish" Cole launched a campaign of terror against the tribe, questioning its indigenous status and telling the Greensboro Daily News, "There's about 30,000 half-breeds up in Robeson County and we are going to have some cross burnings and scare them up."

Klan activities in the area had already been ratcheting up in the wake of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

Cole and other members of the KKK accused the Lumbee of being "mixed race" people, who were intermingling with African Americans and whites, and called for a rally "in the heart of that mongrelized Indian country."

In January of 1958, Klansmen started distributing a flier to organize a gathering at Hayes Pond, located near Maxton, North Carolina. "Hear the Klan Kludd [chaplain] speak on "Why I Believe In Segregation," the flier announced.

In the days leading up to the rally, crosses were burned in front of at least two homes -one belonging to a Native American family that had recently moved into a "white neighborhood" and the other to a Lumbee woman who had been rumored to be dating a white man. A caravan with loudspeakers drove through town to drum up support, hurling racial slurs.

As evening settled on Saturday, January 18, the Klansmen had prepared for the rally in a large field, with loudspeakers, a cross to be burned, and a large banner. But in the end, only fifty to 100 supporters showed up. Cole, who was from South Carolina, misunderstood the racial dynamics in Lumbee territory and the extent to which the tribe, which had been struggling for sovereignty for decades, was prepared to defend itself and other indigenous people.

Before Cole could even begin his prepared speech, more than 500 well-armed men-Lumbee people, as well as members of the Tuscarora and Coharie tribes-began to emerge from the surrounding dark. He was accosted on the makeshift stage by one of the members of the tribe, a shoving match ensued, and one tribal member shot out the solitary floodlight. Others began shooting rifles into the air to disperse the crowd. "You didn't know exactly what you were going to do when you got there, but you were excited about going," remembered one Lumbee, Ray Little Turtle.

Klansmen fled in all directions, Cole even leaving his wife behind. Four Klansmen were wounded in the first volley fired by the Lumbee, none seriously. The Lumbees even reportedly helped Mrs. Cole push her car out of the ditch where she had gotten it stuck during the panic.

"We had to do what we had to do," Lumbee member Lee Ancil Maynor, who was thirty-three at the time of the rally, said at a reunion event in 2016. "If we hadn't done it, they would have soon been in our front yard."

Local law enforcement showed up after the altercation had taken place, but by then, the field was clear.

"If we hadn't done it, they would have soon been in our front yard."

The Lumbee gathered up discarded robes and the rally banner and marched back into Maxton to celebrate, which included burning Catfish Cole in effigy. Press coverage showcased two Lumbee men, one a celebrated World War II bomber engineer, wrapped in the KKK banner they had torn off a Klansmen's car at the rally.

The historical marker erected July 5 was proposed by students at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The students obtained the tribe's approval before proceeding.

Today, the Lumbee continue to struggle today for recognition and respect, most recently resisting the construction of an oil and gas pipeline running across the tribe's territory, threatening to separate communities and pollute precious water resources. But the tribe's identity will be forever tied to the 1958 resistance.

"This is a part of who we are," said tribal Chairman Harvey Godwin Jr. at a the 2016 gathering. "We drove the KKK out of Robeson County and they haven't came back since. We need to use that energy to fight our battles today, but without the weapons."

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When Native Americans Routed the Ku Klux Klan in the Battle of Hayes Pond

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On July 5 a historical marker was erected in Maxton, North Carolina, to commemorate an event that occurred sixty years ago, when the Ku Klux Klan tried to rally in the heart of Lumbee Indian territory. The Klansmen were run out of town, and the 1958 event made the national news, including in The New York Times and magazine.

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One word cloud generator that we've used at SABES is WordItOut: https://worditout.com/word-cloud/create

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JavaScript required

Unfortunately, you cannot create a word cloud unless you enable JavaScript.

To find some recommended software (a web browser), see our community section on Problems.

A word cloud is an image made of words that together resemble a cloudy shape.
The size of a word shows how important it is e.g. how often it appears in a text - its frequency.

People typically use word clouds to easily produce a summary of large documents (reports, speeches), to create art on a topic (gifts, displays) or to visualise data (tables, surveys).

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Easy to make custom word art. Thousands enjoy every day. Fast & secure. WordItOut, the free word cloud generator online since 2010.

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I speak out when I see racism in action - strongly agree. Educate my peers.

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Prework brought up curiosities concerning equity, access, and the fact that systemic racism is entrenched.   We talked about where we live and perceived limitations regarding how we can enjoin with others in working against racism.

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We were struck by and discussed the article by the American Academy of Pediatrics using biased language and identifying African American music as leading to long-term violence; the video speaking to Boston being one of the most racist cities in the world; and the idea of stereotype threat and how it impacts us.

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We were struck by and discussed the article by the American Academy of Pediatrics using biased language and identifying African American music as leading to long-term violence; the video speaking to Boston being one of the most racist cities in the world; and the idea of stereotype threat and how it impacts us.

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Our group talked about a number of different stereotypes and the kinds of threats and cognitive impairments they can cause

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Just like Dorothy Panola, where do you have power in your sphere of influence in Adult Education spaces?

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One Woman’s Mission to Get Vaccines to Her Rural Alabama Town | The New Yorker Documentary

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-Intention to keep the peace in the school.
-Meant to keep students safe; can break up a fight.
-Makes parents feel better about safety.

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-Can harm students that have behavioral issues that aren't getting proper help and resources; the most vulnerable students.
-If officer is coming in with any bias of their own, they may focus on a student that may have behavioral issues and may need other supports.

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What resources do they bring? I thought it was just actions, which are defined for them. How they approach their job can make a difference (how they see the students, etc.) but I don't think they bring resources to anything, do they?

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SROs is schools help staff and administrators, and maintaining the status quo, therefore, it harms the students.  

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SROs is schools help staff and administrators, and maintaining the status quo, therefore, it harms the students.  

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Would try to engage the students in focus group as powerful way to get real information about the impact and how schools can be safer without SROs.  Students can create their own solutions, more likely to be lasting.

Prioritize Peer-to-Peer interventions.

There has to be a collaborative approach that engages all stakeholders, including students.

Developing a stronger sense of community (connection) within the school community and with the community at large.

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Replace school resource officers to be student support team members who work with guiadance counselors and provide social-emotional support that students actually need.

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Are school resource officers clear on what their role is?

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Are school resource officers clear on what their role is?

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Looking at some of the "crimes" that sro's arrest students for, how is it even possible, because they don't seem to be crimes at all.

Also, one person in our group has seen unequal punishments depending on white/poc for the same offense

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Replace the punitive model that SRO bring with a restorative justice model

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I think that many of our students come to don't have deep roots in Boston and we don't teach the Black roots to anyone. The history that everyone learns about Boston is the controveries surrounding busins. We have to change this!

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Hi, I need a passcode to enter this afternoon's meeting. Can someone please email it out? I don't think I'm alone. My co-worker is also in the same situation. Thanks! -Mila