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An official companion to the #1 New York Times bestseller, this guided journal contains more than 50 activities to support your anti-racism journey.
In This Book Is Anti-Racist, Tiffany Jewell and Aurélia Durand gave us an essential volume to understand anti-racism. Now, in the journal companion, understand your anti-racist self and dive further into the work. Within the vibrantly illustrated pages, you will find some familiar information along with new reflections and prompts to go deeper.

This anti-racist toolkit gives you space to learn and grow through activities centered around identity, history, family, your universe, disruption, self-care, privilege, art, expression, and much more, including:

Create a map of you by drawing, collaging, sticking, and painting your many and favorite social and personal identities

Discover how diverse your universe is by writing down the races and ethnicities of the people in your life

Design your own buttons that share your beliefs, values, and what you stand for

Write a letter to your future self to share your dreams and how you are growing into your anti-racism

Make a plan and be ready for scenarios when you are confronted by racist comments, actions, and policies

Brainstorm your anti-racist vision of what our communities will look like without racism and how we can get there

"Continue to stay awake, start taking action, and always lean into the work of disrupting racism. Together, we can abolish the system that continues to misuse and abuse power and collectively work for anti-racism." -Tiffany Jewell

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this book is anti-racist journal: over 50 activities to help you wake up

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social topics - self-esteem & self-reliance

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young adult nonfiction / social topics / prejudice & racism

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young adult nonfiction / social topics / self-esteem & self-reliance

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young adult nonfiction/social topics - prejudice & racism

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young adult nonfiction/social topics - self-esteem & self-reliance

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young adult nonfiction / social topics / prejudice & racism

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young adult nonfiction / social topics / self-esteem & self-reliance

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young adult nonfiction/social topics - prejudice & racism

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young adult nonfiction/social topics - self-esteem & self-reliance

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This Book Is Anti-Racist Journal: Over 50 Activities to Help You Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work (Empower the Future)

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Amazon.com: This Book Is Anti-Racist Journal: Over 50 Activities to Help You Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work (Empower the Future) (9780711263031): Jewell, Tiffany, Durand, Aurelia: Books

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For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy)

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For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy) [Emdin, Christopher] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and…

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Jot down notes to answer these questions. Let them guide but not limit your thinking. Jot down any other memories or ideas that seem relevant to you. (You won't hand in these notes, but they'll help you participate in the discussion).

Are your parents the same race? Same ethnic group? Are your brothers and sisters? What about your extended family - uncles, aunts, etc.?

Where did your parents grow up? What exposure did they have to racial groups other than their own? Have you ever talked with them about this?

What ideas did they grow up with, regarding race relations? Again, do you know? Have you ever talked with them about this? Why or why not?

Do you think of yourself as white? If you're not white, do you think of yourself as black, or Asian-American, etc.? Or just as "human"? Do you think of yourself as a member of an ethnic group? What is its importance to you?

What is the racial makeup of the neighborhood you grew up in?

What was your first awareness of race? - that there are different "races" and that you are one.

What was your first encounter with another race? Describe the situation.

Is there anyone here who hasn't heard the word "nigger"? Where did you first hear it?

What messages do you recall getting from your parents about race? From others when you were little?

What was the racial makeup of your elementary school? Of its teachers?

Think about the curriculum: what black Americans did you hear about? How did you celebrate Martin Luther King Day?

Cultural influences: TV, advertising,novels, music, movies, etc. What color God was presented to you? Angels? Santa Claus? The tooth fairy! Dolls?

What was the racial makeup of organizations you were in? Girl Scouts, soccer team, church, etc.?

What was the racial makeup of your high school? Of its teachers?

Was there interracial dating? Any racial slurs? Any conflict with members of another race?

Have you ever felt or been stigmatized because of your race, gender, or ethnic group membership? Because of your sexual orientation? Social class?

What else was important about your high-school years - maybe something that didn't happen in high school but during that time?

What is the racial makeup of your home town? Of your metropolitan area? What of your experiences there, in summer camp, summer jobs, etc.?

What is the racial makeup of this institution? of your circle(s) of friends here? Does it meet your needs?

Realistically, think about where you envision living as you start a family. What is its racial makeup? social class makeup? What occupation do you foresee, 10 years hence? What is its racial makeup? Social class makeup?

What's the most important image, encounter, whatever, you've had regarding race? Have you felt threatened? In the minority? Have you felt privileged?

What do you want to tell us that we didn't ask about? About handicap, sexual orientation, social class, whatever?
Reflection Questions
Learning To Be White

When was the first time you realized you were white?

When was the first time you realized you might be treated differently because you have white skin?

When was the first time you realized people of other racial identity groups are treated differently?

What were the messages you heard growing up about white people? African Americans? Latinos/as? Native Americans? Asian Americans? Pacific Islanders?

Look at your friends, family, colleagues, key professionnals or service people (doctor, dentist, lawyer,counselor, handyperson, etc.)-what are their racial identities? How and why did you choose to know or work with these people? To which racial groups do the people you socialize with regularly belong?

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1. Awareness Activity - Racial Autobiography & Reflection Questions - Whites For Racial Equity

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Racial Autobiography Jot down notes to answer these questions. Let them guide but not limit your thinking. Jot down any other memories or ideas that seem relevant to you. (You won't hand in these notes, but they'll help you participate in the discussion). Family: Are your parents the same race?

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"We are at our best when all voices are heard and valued, andwhen everyone has the opportunity to contribute their diverse perspective and talents to the mission at hand. This is where we think broader and do better."

Yvonne has combined her tremendous passion for DEI, her lived experiences and ongoing education with 21+ years in corporate marketing and communications to offer organizations key inclusion and communication strategies. This experience includes guiding communication and marketing strategies and execution for top insurance companies, law firms and consulting firms.

What makes her a unique, strong DEI partner is her ability to leverage years of strategizing, delivering the right messaging, getting buy-in, and executing to help organizations achieve their goals. Yvonne strongly believes that being inclusive and creating a culture of belonging brings out the best in individuals, boosts innovation, increases team/community cohesion and productivity, and can ultimately strengthen an organization's workforce and bottom line.

Through this work, Yvonne is dedicated to helping individuals uncover their biases, so they don't miss out on living a life enhanced by experiencing and embracing diverse cultures. For organizations, she helps:

To aid organizations in messaging their DEI core values and mission, Yvonne helps develop and amplify the "soul" of their brand. The goal is to help drive awareness with targeted messaging that resonates and creates authentic connections with their audience to make and leave an enduring impression.

She does this work as a servant leader; with ​empathy and candidness (aka unapologetic authenticity) to effect real change in minds, hearts and actions for the better.

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The Team | Indelible Impressions Consulting

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"We are at our best when all voices are heard and valued, andwhen everyone has the opportunity to contribute their diverse perspective and talents to the mission at hand. This is where we think broader and do better."

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New York Times- In this short documentary, young black men explain the particular challenges they face growing up in America.

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A Conversation About Growing Up Black | Op-Docs | The New York Times

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A Conversation With Asian-Americans On Race

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A Conversation With Asian-Americans On Race

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New York Times- Asian-Americans confront stereotypes about their communities. Xenophobia; The Model Minority Myth - What are the implications of xenophobia and the myth of the model minority in schools, curriculum, and in our practice?

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transcript

Conversation - 07 (Asian-American) Cut 2016-03-09 00:00 ESTHER: I think the conversations I had about race with my family was primarily lead by my dad, and it would just be in little lessons. Like I'd pick up the phone and I'd say hello, and he goes, "I can tell you're Korean over the phone," and I was like, "It's because I am Korean, and I'm on the phone with you," and he goes, "No, no one should be able to tell you're Korean on the phone, people should just think you're American." 00:24 RINKU: When my parents talked about Americans they clearly meant white Americans, when they meant any other type of Americans they named them, they said Black people, or Latinos, or Native- American Indians was the language they would use for Native people, so I understood early on that a real American was a White American, everybody else had to be qualified. 00:53 MONIQUE: Well, Asian-American to me is um- is a political identification, not like Democratic or Republican, but meaning a way to organize, a group identification that has political implications and meaning, and power and strength. 01:13 ADEEL: Wearing this skin color is a big deal to me, which is why I don't say I'm just American anymore because America doesn't see me as just American. 01:26 HASAN: My first experience with race was, when I was six years old I fell in love with this girl named Janis Mallo and I went up to her in the sandbox and I was like, "Janis I love you!" and she was like, "You're the color of poop!" And that was memory number one with racism, and I didn't know what that was, I just took that literally and was like, "What? Ahhh it's not rubbing off," like it was very terrifying. 01:47 MONIQUE: These children around me already had the racial epithets to use against me. You know it's the first time in my life of course that I heard, you know, chink, and jap, and gook. 02:03 CHITRA: When I was in 2nd grade I used to walk a little bit to the bus stop away from my school, and there was a boy who used to beat me up, and when he used to beat me up he used to call me the N-word. Which I didn't quite know what it meant but I knew that it was something negative, and- people who evoke the most fear in me is like 10-year-old white boys, like I will cross the street. 02:25 ESTHER: My dad used to run a small business and I remember people coming in who weren't Korean and just white customers coming in, and they would just tell my dad to go back to his country. And this was before my dad had a full grasp on the English language and I remember seeing my dad's hands like being balled up in fists underneath the counter but my dad just saying, "Ok thank you, come back soon." 03:00 HASAN: My dad he grew up in a very interesting time in Indian's sort of development and growth. So he grew up when partition happened. During the time of partition there was a lot of aggression, so for him to hear my stories of micro-aggression he just didn't have a whole lot of room or empathy to understand what it meant, because he's like, "I'm dealing with full on aggression, like I've seen full on riots, people being killed, you know, fine kids call you Saddam Hussein just deal with it, we have an amazing opportunity here. We have freeways, Wi-Fi and Jamba Juice you better go be president, no excuses. 03:34 VISH: I had enough of stereotyping and not knowing who I was that I decided, Ok I wanted to become invisible, I didn't want any eyes on me. So I took a big step of basically taking off my turban, cutting off my hair, and that worked for a while. 03:50 CHI-HUI: You know on one hand there's this idea of foreignness of not belonging, and then on the other hand there's this idea of being a successful minority who has achieved, and who should be modeled after, and there's not a whole lot of room to work in between these. 04:07 RINKU: Immigration was opened in 1965 to professional Asian families, so we were really chosen and creamed from our countries, that we were meant to occupy a position as the solution to the problem of black-rebellion and of black resistance, and that's not a good position for us, that we should join the problem, rather than join that false solution. 04:34 ANDREW: Was I ever a model minority? Of course, you know I was a good student, and that's probably the extent of it. But you know, I had a cousin who had a murder rap. 04:45 CATHY: You know, I was the only Asian kid in Ridgewood, in a working class neighborhood, and I went to high school I hung out with gangs, I got into a lot of trouble, and I barely made it into college. 04:55 CHHAYA: The Bronx is home for me, and I think that, that growing up with black and brown folks, you know, again, determines our political alignment and solidarity work around like BlackLivesMatter and things like that, because we came from the same community, we lived in the same ghettos and we know what it means to be invisible and abandoned in the US. 05:20 KELVIN: Just because I'm Malaysian doesn't mean I'm exempt from the conversation on anti-blackness, simply because this system was setup in a global setting. And even within Asian countries like Japan, Korea, India, you see colorism as a very wide spread phenomena, because anti-blackness is so entrenched and so just deeply embedded in like the global psyche, and like the global construction of race- yeah. 05:44 CATHY: When you look more deeply within our own community, and how we're treated even differently within colorism and the spectrum of our skin tone, you know, Vietnamese people are treated differently and better than Cambodians, or Laos people or Hmong people, because we're lighter. And I think with our own communities we have to acknowledge that, and acknowledge privilege of our skin color, and how we play a role being complacent and not being complacent and fighting back against what the system is between white supremacy and anti-blackness and everything in between the systems that upholds those two. 06:18 ESTHER: And I don't think this is unique to Asians, I think every racial group is made to feel like their situation is siloed from other groups of people, and it's very keep your head down, eyes in your own lane, and make sure things are better for us, and I think that I saw that a lot growing up, and I've definitely thought that at some point in my life, where I would see injustices happening to other groups of people in this country and I would tell myself, no you have your own things to worry about, make sure things are better for you. But then I realized when I grew up, that it's not any of us that's the problem, it's the system that's the problem and when the tide rises, all boats rise, so we need to stand by each other and support one another. 07:09

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Video: Opinion | A Conversation With Asian-Americans on Race

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transcript Conversation - 07 (Asian-American) Cut 2016-03-09 00:00 ESTHER: I think the conversations I had about race with my family was primarily lead by my dad, and it would just be in little lessons.

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A Conversation With Native Americans on Race 

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A Conversation With Native Americans on Race 

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New York Times- Native Americans share what it's like to grown up in the United States.

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A Conversation With Native Americans on Race | Op-Docs

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New York Times- In this short documentary, Latinos grapple with defining their ethnic and racial identities.

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A Conversation With Latinos on Race | Op-Docs

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NYTimes.com - Students at Rutgers University discuss the joys and challenges of being Americans of mixed race.

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Being Multiracial in America | The New York Times

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A Conversation With Black Women on Race 

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A Conversation With Black Women on Race 

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New York Times- In this short documentary, black women talk about the challenges they face in society.

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A Conversation With Black Women on Race | Op-Docs

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How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them

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How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them

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Our biases can be dangerous, even deadly — as we've seen in the cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, in Staten Island, New York. Diversity advocate Vernā Myers looks closely at some of the subconscious attitudes we hold toward out-groups. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable. In a funny, impassioned, important talk, she shows us how.

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Verna Myers: How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them

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Say Their Names (Correctly. From Day One. Always)

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Say Their Names (Correctly. From Day One. Always)

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Pronounce Names Right! Have you ever found yourself having trouble pronouncing someone's name? Fear not, NameShouts is a web app, which helps you pronounce a person's name correctly. It's FREE!

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How it /works/

Features

Make a list of a number of names

Lists and Favorites let you collect and save pronunciations for when you need to access them quickly, whether for a call list, an upcoming class, or book you're reading.

Find the name you're looking for

NameShouts helps pronounce names in 22+ languages, but sometimes you can't find one. Priority name requests help our users get access to the names they need, as soon as possible.

Pronounce whenever needed

Plug-ins and extensions allow you to seamlessly integrate NameShouts with whatever software you might be using for work.

Our Shout(out)s

I have definitely noticed that I get more respect and engagement from students when I go out of my way to make sure I am saying their names correctly.

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With these new changes and the streamlined design, I would give NameShouts a 5/5.

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Learn how to pronounce names in different languages - Hindi, Mandarin, English, Spanish and more - with NameShouts.

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Another tool to use for help in pronouncing names you don't know.

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Pronounce Names - Dictionary of Name Pronunciation, How to say or pronounce names, Name pronunciation website

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PronounceNames.com - Pronunciation guide for the name of people and places. Find, submit and requests pronunciations

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Not Good with Names: Local Name Customs in a Global Village

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Not Good with Names: Local Name Customs in a Global Village

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When Ma Shwe Sin Win (Cynthia) received a LinkedIn request from her father, she ignored it – because she didn’t realize it was from him. Forced into the Western first and last name format, her father’s Burmese name transformed into something she didn't even recognize. In this playful talk, Ma Shwe Sin Win reflects on naming practices, and thinks about what happens locally when we enforce norms on a global scale.

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Ma Shwe Sin Win (Cynthia): Not good with names: Local name customs in a global village

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The Dreamkeepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings

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The Dreamkeepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond

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Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond

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Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools

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Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools

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So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

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So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

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How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

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How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

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White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

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White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

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Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in American by Ibram X. Kendi

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Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in American by Ibram X. Kendi

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Kendi also teamed up with young adult author Jason Reynolds to write Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning for younger readers.

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Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson 

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Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson 

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Teaching for Black Lives edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, and Wayne Au

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Teaching for Black Lives edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, and Wayne Au

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Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development edited by Enid Lee, Deborah Menkart, and Margo Okazawa-Rey

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Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development edited by Enid Lee, Deborah Menkart, and Margo Okazawa-Rey

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We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina L. Love

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We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina L. Love

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Black Appetite. White Food.  Issues of Race, Voice, and Justice Within and Beyond the Classroom by Jamila Lyiscott

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Black Appetite. White Food.  Issues of Race, Voice, and Justice Within and Beyond the Classroom by Jamila Lyiscott

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Letting Go of Literary Whiteness: Antiracist Literature Instruction for White Students by Carline Borsheim-Black and Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides

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Letting Go of Literary Whiteness: Antiracist Literature Instruction for White Students by Carline Borsheim-Black and Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides

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Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom by Matthew R. Kay

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Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom by Matthew R. Kay

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Beyond Quick Fixes to Racial Injustice in Education

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Beyond Quick Fixes to Racial Injustice in Education

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This podcast is led by Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, Heinemann author and co-organizer of the Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project’s Social Justice Saturday. Sonja is joined by then Heinemann Fellows Dr. Kim Parker, Tiana Silvas, and Tricia Ebarvia. Tricia and Kim also organize Disrupt Texts along with their co-founders Lorena German and Julia Torres. Disrupt Texts is a crowdsourced effort for teachers to challenge the traditional canon to create a more inclusive, representative, and equitable language arts curriculum. Since this conversation first aired in 2018, all of today’s guests have continued to published books, podcasts, talks, and professional development events on diversity, equity, inclusion, and being anti-racist.

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Two years ago, we started this episode of the podcast by asking, "how do we go beyond the cosmetic fixes of racial inequality in education?" That question carries even more weight as we re-listen to this conversation from 2018.

This podcast is led by Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, Heinemann author and co-organizer of the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project's Social Justice Saturday. Sonja is joined by then Heinemann Fellows Dr. Kim Parker, Tiana Silvas, and Tricia Ebarvia. Tricia and Kim also organize Disrupt Texts along with their co-founders Lorena German and Julia Torres. Disrupt Texts is a crowdsourced effort for teachers to challenge the traditional canon to create a more inclusive, representative, and equitable language arts curriculum. Since this conversation first aired in 2018, all of today's guests have continued to published books, podcasts, talks, and professional development events on diversity, equity, inclusion, and being anti-racist.

Before we begin, a message to our fellow white educators: we ask that you to do the work that's necessary to disrupt whiteness and white supremacy within yourselves, your classrooms, and schools. We ask white educators to commit to doing this work now and long after the media coverage of this latest viral bout of racism.

Seek out the work of these authors and other Indigenous, Black, and other People of Color. Follow them on social media, support them by buying their work and attending their events, amplify their voices, and never stop educating yourself.
Below is a full transcript of this episode:
Sonja: Alright, ladies. I wanted to ask us to really think through pretty broadly where are we in terms of racial literacy in schools? In terms of racial justice in education? Where do we need to be?

Kim: I think that with so much work to do, and I think that this political climate has just made it more apparent by how tentative and reluctant, and resistant so many people are to talk about white supremacy, to talk about anti-blackness. To even use that language. My experience is that if we cannot even give voice to those terms, then I don't know what's happening in schools, then, to really push that conversation. What happens is that you have a few teachers who speak up on those issues and then they're vilified and they're really trying to make substantive change.

Kim: I mean, I think in terms of having those conversations about racial literacy, we need to be talking about the now more than ever. I'm just not so confident that it's happening in any systemic way beyond pockets of educators who are really sticking their neck out to do what's right.

Sonja: Right. I agree with you, Kim. From my experience, what I'm continuing to see is this laser focus on these cosmetic fixes in the classroom where it looks like schools are sprinkling in some multi-cultural books or maybe they're designing a social justice unit. Then that's it. Where the laser focus really needs to be on what you were just saying, dismantling racism in the institution of education and building it up to be one where it's throughout the fabric of a district's policy, it's procedures, which would look like things like ongoing professional development that teachers don't get to opt out on, and hiring practices where there's an intention to hire and retain teachers of color, and creating spaces that really enable them to thrive such as affinity groups and networking with other teachers of color.

Sonja: Things that I'm not really seeing happening systemically but we keep focusing on the classroom and teachers who are opting into doing this work, and allowing others to opt out. Is that what you're seeing, Tiana and Tricia? Do you see some systemic changes in your schools, or in other schools?

Tiana: I would agree. I feel like there's these pockets, like what Kim was saying, these pockets of educators who are doing the work, they're on the forefront of it and districts are investing a ton of money on curriculum when it's not really curriculum, it's a way of being, it's a mindset, it's a way of life, it's a way of teaching. These cosmetic shifts that you spoke about where it's book or being more conscious of what's being privileged, visually privileged, in classrooms.

Tiana: Really what it is, it's a total shift in school practices that needs to occur to be able to dismantle this and not just the one actionable step of, "Oh, this year," I hate to say it, I'm sure there are leaders out there that have said this, "I hired a teacher of color." "Oh, I sent my staff to this PD. We're getting closer." I mean, there has to be more of a really active stance of an every day idea, and thinking, and being as an educator that's in it for racial equity and liberation.

Sonja: Tricia, how about you?

Tricia: Yeah. I would agree with Tiana and Kim. I think that the problem is that districts too often try to do these, like we said, cosmetic changes. Things that feel concrete, like changing some books around or having a unit here or there, but the bottom line is unless you can shift the teachers in the room and until you can have intentional deep reflection and have teachers who were educated in a racist system, so to some extent, maybe they don't know any better, but, you know, there's Google. I think that until there's that internal shifting, until the people do that internal work, I just don't know because you can have "diverse curriculum" but it can be delivered in harmful ways, really harmful ways.

Sonja: Yes.

Tricia: That's what I worry about because I think too often we want to latch onto these technical solutions, a quick fix, something that looks nice on the outside, and might be nice on a pamphlet but the truth is that racism has been part of the fabric of this country and it's not going to be a technical solution. It's going to be requiring, like Kim said, a dismantling, a restructuring, a real come to terms, kind of, moment for everybody. There's a lot of resistance. There are many people who are invested in the system because it works for them.

Sonja: I agree, Tricia. You were just talking about quick fixes and I'm thinking about that approach particularly in the school district I spent the majority of my career in. I'm wondering if we all have this in common, are we all, or have we all predominately been working in white educational spaces, meaning teachers and kids? Is that the sort of environment we each are in now?

Kim: Up until recently I have primarily spent my teaching career in urban schools with kids of color.

Sonja: Now, not so much?

Kim: No, now pre-service teachers who are mostly white.

Sonja: In terms of the quick fixes, I feel like I'm seeing that a lot where teachers, they want to skip that work that, Tricia and Tiana, that you were just talking about, that really reflective get in there and recognize that I have been raised in this racist educational system in a racist country and I need to get in there and do some dismantling of my own thoughts. Instead, they want the binder. I keep saying to teachers, no, you have to do the work and then you become the binder. You are the binder that you're looking for once you get in there and do that work.

Sonja: I'm wondering if we can, since we are in these spaces that are predominately white teachers, white students, I think that brings a very specific dynamic and I'm wondering if we could talk about the particular challenges in these spaces and what it feels like for us each day there, and the issues that we've experiences around making racial justice a priority. I'll say, for my part, as one of the few African American educators in the district I was working in K-12 and for a long time I was the only. Certainly, what brings to mind to me is this idea is being a warm demander, that Judith Kleinfeld, and James Vasquez, and Lisa Delpit, and Gloria Ladson-Billings have talked about, just the ways in which teachers from racially and culturally diverse backgrounds, how they instruct in ways that are different from the white colleagues.

Sonja: The perceptions that I got from my white colleagues, and sometimes teachers and students, is, "Oh, Mrs. Cherry-Paul, she's edgy. She's intimidating." Just feeling very alone in the way in which I existed in this district. I'm wondering if you can also speak to the challenges for teachers of color working in predominately white educational spaces?

Kim: Sure. I mean, I think that what I have found really powerful is when you find one or two other teachers of color to teach with who are on the same wave length and who want to push for equity in ways that you think will actually most directly benefit kids, then you can do amazing things. Also, you can distribute the tremendous emotional labor that the work requires. It just does. I think there's also emotional labor that's exacted from people who might look like you but don't necessarily support those efforts, who are very comfortable essentially seeing kids underserved every day and still getting a paycheck. I feel like this work, the work really for decolonizing and disrupting is a lonely work because you're just simply not going to be doing what everyone else is doing. Fine being at least someone, and I think that social media and the internet, workshops, and conferences, at least allow the possibility of a community, but I know that you cannot do the work by yourself. You just can't.

Sonja: I think what you were saying about the importance of social media brings me to the work that you and Tricia, and your other colleagues have been doing with Distrupt Texts, and I have so appreciated the way in which you are working alongside so many educators, many of whom might be feeling lonely but then they have this really rich platform to go to and see, "Oh, there are other people here who, like me, are trying to do this work." I'm wondering if you can talk about DisruptTexts, what brought you to this work, and what exactly is the work that you are doing.

Tiana: I think the work really came out of just some conversations. Some conversations that Kim and I had been having for a while that had come out of our group as Heinemann Fellows. Just thinking about curriculum and thinking about the ways in which, we're high school English teachers, and the ways in which the cannon has really been a tool for maintaining a status quo for promoting certain voices over others. This realization on my part, I think Kim came to the realization much earlier than me, about how really, I don't want to say arbitrary the cannon is, but constructed. Constructed with a purpose.

Tiana: We decided that we would think about how could we disrupt that, how could we bring in different voices, voices that everyone should know. It should not take a student until they are in college and seeking out a multi-cultural literature class where they finally read James Baldwin. That's unfortunately, again, because teachers are products of the system, teachers only what they know and what they've been trained to know, and the bias they have about certain texts. We thought what if we could just give teachers a platform and a way to think about, because there are teachers who are doing this work everywhere, teachers of color and some white teachers. How can we give them a platform to share the ways that they are subverting dominant narratives and bringing in non-dominant perspectives that have, for too long, been ignored.

Sonja: I do enjoy going to your twitter chat and just reading what folks are thinking about and the work that they're doing. I'm also wondering how might you advise educators to apply the work that you are doing, which I think primarily focuses on high school texts, or traditionally high school texts. How might some educators apply this work to disrupting the literary cannon that exists at the elementary and the middle school levels? Is there a DisruptText chat coming up for that?

Tricia: Well, there needs to be. I'm having my own children go into elementary school and now into middle school. Certainly, it's required, and I think the principals are the same. Who are the voices that we keep listening to over and over again? I don't want to say the teachers don't have control over the curriculum, but there's more leeway than they probably, there's more leeway there. There just is. You can be creative. I think your read-alouds don't have to be the same read-a-louds you had when you were in school that you loved, because your kids are different and need something else. I'm sure Tiana can speak to that.

Sonja: Right.

Tiana: Yeah, it's so important. Again, with my child, too, what books are representing his identity and my daughter's identity but I think as a fifth grade teacher, just swapping the books out and questioning what's recommended, I mean, we have to be doing that. I think about how writing has changed because we didn't use the highly recommended Every Living Thing by Cynthia Riley this year, we used Jason Reynold's Ghosts to study his craft and parts, and what kind of doors that opened up for my students. When we were studying poetry, Nicky Grimes was all over the place, and just seeing how children were incredibly engaged and committed to their writing, and committed to trying to work their writing like these authors.

Tiana: That's something I hadn't ever seen before as a writing teacher. Parents were noticing the difference. Parents commented and said that the literature was one of the things that they took note of the most during the school year that offered their white, Irish child a perspective that they have never, ever had else wise. It is so important from our little ones all the way up to our young adults.

Tricia: I think we always talk about Doctor Bishop's Through Mirrors and Windows and I teach in a predominately white school, 85 percent of the population is white. I think it is just as important to expose white children, white students to the rich legacies, literary legacies of people of color. I always go back to this quote from Kwame Alexander at ILA, and it was quoted in his New York Times piece, but the mind of the adult starts in the imagination of the child. If we're not giving kids opportunities to understand, empathize, and see the rich complexities of different people, then we're going to keep getting the same thing.

Sonja: Yeah. Thank you for saying that, Tricia, because a lot of my work is focused on thinking about these issues in predominately white educational spaces, and for a long time I feel like I've been made to feel by some professors that the work isn't as important as work with kids in urban schools and in urban environment. I think it's so important for us to be thinking about how teachers in these spaces take up this work. How do they develop and then implement curriculum with students that addresses race and racism? What are the issues that come up that are a barrier to this work? Which of these barriers are surmountable and which feel insurmountable and why? What are some of the break throughs in how this work can really guide all educators in schools in making this work a priority for students? I'm happy to hear you say that.

Tricia: You know what? There was a point in time where I taught in a predominantly white school for a couple of years and I am pretty sure that I was probably one of, if not the only, black teacher many of those white young folks were ever going to have. That matters to them.

Sonja: Yes.

Tricia: I'm always profoundly moved when I run into those, now they're grown adults. They will talk about the fact that we talked about race, we talked about racism, we talked about whiteness. We did all of those things while also developing a love for literacy, and reading, and writing, and all of those other things in a way that moved them to continue to act. I think the fight is wherever the fight is. Wherever I am is wherever I'm going to be in that moment. I think that's what's really important is that these places, kids need teachers to speak up and kids need to see teachers of colors being excellent, out here being excellent all day because many of us are. What are the situations that support teachers of color? Then, also, given that 80 percent and increasing number of teachers are white, what can we do to really have the conversations that move people to action?

Kim: I mean, I'm amazed that Tricia and Tiana are probably much more patient than I am because, I don't know, I'm just impatient. You can ask someone. Tricia, you talk about, what is it, the 80 percent, if you could move whatever that metric is that we talked about, and that we have to believe, and this is where I'm heartened by my colleagues because that's also the importance of the work is that you have a group of folks who say, "People are moving," and you work with the population of people in a school, or in a department, or an example who are willing to try. I think what's really powerful, what I've encourages Tricia to do is that she's a department head and she's moving her faculty to try things.

They're throwing out their stuff, and they're reading things, and they want to talk about it. It's not just this just happened one day, it's because there's something going on in that environment that Tricia in nurturing and encouraging that those teachers just might do something different. Those kids might just be moved. That's where we need to focus our time and energy. What's going on in those spaces? Why is Tiana able to move these children in ways that are really powerful? Everyone's out here talking craziness but really, the really important work of changing the heart to mind of children and educators is happening, we're just not paying attention.

Sonja: What's frustrating, Kim, too, is we keep being bombarded with research that says, "This work matters. It's important. It's making a difference and all kids benefit from having teachers of color, particularly black teachers. Not just for black kids, but for white kids, too." Every day there just seems to be some new study, and some research that we can wrap our hands around and say, "Hey, we have all of this to draw from." It's encouraging to hear that this progress is happening in your school, Tricia. I really hope that other educators who are not just educators of color, but all educators who are warriors in this work can stay the course.

I want to talk a little bit about the work Tiana is doing in writing workshop. We were chatting recently and Tiana said that writing workshop is about creating a space where students can be heard, not necessarily always understood. I'm wondering if you could just unpack that a bit and talk about the work you've been doing around writing and trauma and the difference that work makes in the lives of students from racially and culturally diverse backgrounds, and what educators can do to mitigate their, or their school leader's anxieties and concerns about student's sharing too much, or "What do I do with this content? Is it inappropriate for school?" How they can just really keep the focus on their student. If you could just talk about that, Tiana.

Tiana: Yeah. I feel like writing is that place in a classroom where you can build this intense sense of community. It's a place where strangers can come together and find common threads that they may have not known about. I think every individual's experience can be different in writing. I think about a student that I once had, I had him for two years, and basically it appeared that writing transformed himself. He said to me, he said, "I can do this thing. Writing, I have something to say, Ms. Tiana, to the world and the world needs to hear it." When I first met this student, he wouldn't even speak. With 25 percent of our children and adolescents facing some type of trauma throughout their lives, writing is critical for students to have to affirm who they are to be able to not only develop their oral written expression but their emotional expression, too.

A child should never be forced to write about a particular topic, or an experience they had. What a child chooses to write about depends on how the community of writers is cultivated and nurtured. I do think that writing is this place to disrupt a process systems. I think it's that way because I think writing has been driven by the white dominant narrative forever. What are teachers doing even in the elementary section of our education to really push the methods, and the resources, and the supports that are in the student's hands and basically ask that question, "Whose voice is being privileged here?" How do I disrupt those methods and materials that represent a type of power and control and bring in who the student is, wholly the student is. Students are amazing, they're intelligent, they bring so much to the table.

Often, that is completely boxed in because of this dominant narrative. I hear that students, "Oh, they're not writing like this." Well, they're not writing like how you envision them writing because you're boxing them in. You're doing it under your narrative, your story, the way you learned how to write. I think about also Elizabeth [inaudible 00:22:43] novel [Poedex 00:22:45], amazing work. This resonates with me, she said, "Late into the night, I write and the pages of my notebook swell from all the words I've pressed onto them. It almost feels like the more I bruise the page, the quicker something inside me heals."

As an elementary school teacher, I just hope that writing, I don't even want to say workshop anymore because I don't like the term workshop but writing studio, just writing in general, is a place for kids to be themselves, present themselves and bruise those pages with whatever it is, whether it be working through something emotional, or really trying to get someone's attention to change the world.

Sonja: As you were talking about just the teaching of writing also can be an oppressive system for our students, I'm just thinking about a thread throughout our conversation is just the importance of teachers, all teachers, teachers of reading, teachers of writing, all teachers, it's essential for them to confront their own bias in order to teach well.

Kim: Yeah, I think it all stems from what we think we know. What are the taken for granted notions. If we assume that children are coming to us with no funds of knowledge, or anything of value, then of course, right, they need formulas and everything else. Without failing to understand that in terms, for example, black folks in this country, we have always been literate, we have always valued literacy, we have always found ways to be literate. I think it does come back to teachers and other educators thinking about why do they believe that. Then really working hard to find the counter narratives that disprove those notions.

Then, sort of, once you begin to do that work of decolonizing your mind and what you thought you know, then you can really start to think about practice, but as you said Sonja, until, I think, people start to think really hard about why do we think these things? How did we get here? Why am I still perpetuating racism and white supremacy in my classroom? Again, it's not just white teachers who are doing this, teachers of colors do it, too.

Sonja: Yes.

Kim: What does it mean to really think differently and to do differently because that's what we really have to do is, yeah, as you said, we know all the things we need to know to improve the outcomes for kids, yet we choose not to. That's the problem.

Sonja: Yeah. I want to talk about, again, the importance of how we practice self care. As we started off with this conversation talking about this work being emotionally heavy, and just difficult sometimes, if not all the time. I think it's important for so many educators of color to really continue to have this be a part of the conversation. How are we practicing self care so that we can continue to be the warriors that we are in education that we're persisting, that we are, hopefully there will be longevity in the field for us. I don't see that happening without self care. Could you all talk a little bit about it? I know Tiana hinted at it earlier but one way you guys practice self care is your text group where you communicate and check in with one another. What are some other ways that educators can practice, particularly educators of color can practice self care?

Tricia: Kim is always advocating and suggesting how we take care of ourselves. I think one of the huge elements has been our group. We're in all different places across the country and different time zones, and it's a safe space. There's not too many safe spaces in this world of, "Hey, this is what I'm thinking. This is what I need." From the serious to, "Hey, what's for dinner." Being able to have that ... You know that's [crosstalk 00:26:59]. I mean, self care. That's my self care is being able to smile and grow from our little group. Also making sure that we're physically fit for our work. Our bodies and our minds are centered because it can take a physical toll on us. At least the summer of just recharging mentally but also getting ready physically for whatever this year's going to bring because who knows what's going to happen. It's unpredictable, what we're going to have to get ready for. That all has to be aligned.

Kim: I mean, I think that this game, we are playing a long game. I think it's really important to ... I love the way that we celebrate each other even if that's someone knocking out "X" number of words in a day, or submitting a proposal to someone, to an editor. I don't know, teaching a great lesson even. I think we all celebrate those victories, big or small, like they are our own. It's nice to see that and to be in a community, too. I value it because it's women of color. I think that it's really easy to not give women of color our due, honestly.

That's my lived reality. It's powerful. It's powerful to, one, say, "Hey, you are awesome. We're in this group," and two, also to talk about things that had happened and for the group to reflect those experiences back to say, "I hear you. I see you. You are not wrong. Nope, you're not crazy." All those things matter because you could be, like, walking in the world and they're going to tell us that that's not the case. Also, I'm really not interested in being anyone's martyr. I mean, maybe 20 years ago that was really cool but I'm not interested in that.

I'm actually not interested in doing the work by myself, which is another big change for me from when I first started teaching. It doesn't have to be lonely if you really work hard to curate and cultivate your networks and pay attention to them, and let them thrive and flourish. That's what has sustained me, honestly. There's a group of people who will show up every day for you and that's what it takes. I mean, I think educators of color, in particular, need that. They also need people who are going to call them out because this group will, and then my other friend, who we used to teach together, we are still very good friends, we'll do that. It can't just be all celebrations but it can be, "You were supposed to get that drafted. Why didn't you do that? Really, you're not doing your thing."

Sonja: Right.

Kim: It's this nice balance of support and accountability and a thousand group messages a day that really keep me going.

Tricia: Yes, I also think, in listening to Kim and Tiana talk, I think about how fortunate and lucky we are and how this experience and knowing them in just the brief time that I've known them, has been a gift, a real gift. It makes me sad to think that there, to think about all the teachers out there who don't have that. To think how lonely I was and I didn't realize it before. There's still so many teachers who need this support system and who need those groups. Like Kim said, to try to find those networks and to cultivate them, and power works by isolating.

I think, especially in these predominantly white spaces where you might be the only teacher in your school or in your department, is to try to seek out people or try to find opportunities whether if it's in your building district, like, we are starting a teacher's of color coalition group in my district, which I'm really looking forward to, but even to go outside. Kim has taught me that the power of local communities, right, to reach out to other people and to reach out through social media because people are out there.

They're looking for connection the way you are. I think that Val Brown of Teaching Tolerance and a good friend now, she has this great quote pinned on the top of her Twitter, which is, you know, something to the effect of, "What the bad guys are afraid of most are unity." I think trying to find those people to unify yourselves around, find that safe space, not even safe, empowering space is the key. To not let anyone convince you that you don't need it.

Sonja: I wanted to ask, basically, how did you all get so fierce? Literally, I know that sounds funny but I work with a lot of educators of color who feel silenced, and they feel powerless and I think it might be helpful for people to hear what's driving you? What's compelling us to really persist? When I think about that, I think about being inspired by my parents, particularly my dad and his experiences growing up in the segregated south, and just never wanting to take for granted the struggles and the sacrifices that he endured.

I also think about my daughter who, even though she's an adult, I look out at the world and I think everyday, "Oh, my gosh. How can I make this better? How can I make this a little bit better so that she can face less obstacles than I have?" That propels me to keep going. I was just wondering, I'm talking to these fierce women, how'd you get like that? How can you help others grow their fierceness? You have a cape somewhere?

Kim: Tricia and I go around about this when I told her I was not always like this. I mean, when I first started teaching, I was at a charter school, I was really into the rules and all of the conformity, and everything. I was down for demerits and I was into giving kids things to read. It was my choice, control choice. All of that is to say is that, for me, I wasn't just, as I told Tricia, I wasn't just born woke. It's been a process of realizing that freedom is really what we are after for kids. All kids deserve to be free. I want to be a teacher that nurtures their freedom, particularly for kids of color. They probably have had, they want to be free, but I think school structures do such a terrible job of promoting their freedom. Once I realized that, then my job is really to make them literate, free citizens of the world, but change my approach to teaching.

Then I think the most profound change for me came when Doctor Teresa Perry, who has been my mentor for many years, reminded me of the historical tradition of black teachers, and Vanessa Sybil Walker who writes about all of the subversive work black teachers did during desegregation, and before desegregation. Also, Carter G. Woodson's work with teachers and documenting teachers. Just reminds me in terms of locating myself, right, I'm just another teacher in a long line of black teachers who have always fought for what's right for kids of color. I don't think of myself as exceptional, I don't think of myself as special. I just think that this is the work that I'm supposed to be doing, and these are the people that I'm

When it's over and done with, someone else will pick it up, or they should. I think that's what is most important to me is that the work continues and it's a movement. This is my moment in the movement and when I'm done, I'm done. Someone else will pick it up and it'll be their turn.

Tricia: I think, I sometimes joke about this but I think it's true that the second half of my teaching career is this period of atonement. This idea that I've come, in my own racial literacy journey, to understand and see things much clearer and I'm still learning everyday. I think because I understand all the unpacking that I've had to do for myself, I just don't want kids to have to wait until they are my age to do this unpacking, or to see with clarity what the world is really like.

I just think they can do better. I don't have all the answers but I think I can change my practices so I'm not just perpetuating the same outcome over and over again. I think, and personally, my kids, you know, I think just my own children and thinking about them without trying to too much onto them, our experiences are different but I also know that I want to create a world that is going to be better for them. That means helping the students I have, this is the selfish thing, I want the students I have to be the types of people that I want my kids to feel safe and loves by.

Tiana: I don't think I've ever been a real follower. Maybe in some aspects of life, like, not sneaking out of the house when I was young, maybe. When it came to my work, I don't think I've ever been a rule follower. I think most recently, in the past four years, I've become more vocal and feeling, "Yes, I'm going to take action and be more vocal about this." I think the drive, it's personal. Sonja, you and I just spoke about this. This is personal. I exist because a teacher was woke in the sixties with my parents. Young lives are at stake here. We are in such privileged positions being teachers because we have the chance, we have the opportunity to really, really just cultivate the world that children are living in.

I don't want lives lost anymore. I don't. My children are of color. I want them growing up in a safe, aware, compassionate world. That's the drive there. For others to start to understand what it's been like and where we're going. It's life or death and I hate to be that dramatic about it, but it is. This is all about liberty and what does liberty really mean.

Hear other Heinemann podcasts on this topic:

Sonja Cherry-Paul, Ed.D., has taught middle school English for twenty years. She is a literacy consultant who served on the Jane Addams Children's Book Award committee for ten years. Sonja leads presentations about literacy at national conferences and provides professional development for educators on reading and writing instruction and racial literacy.

She is the coauthor, with Dana Johansen, of the titles Teaching Interpretation and Flip Your Writing Workshop.

Follow Sonja on Twitter @SonjaCherryPaul or visit her web site at sonjacherrypaul.com.

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On the Podcast: Beyond Quick Fixes to Racial Injustice in Education

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Two years ago, we started this episode of the podcast by asking, "how do we go beyond the cosmetic fixes of racial inequality in education?" That question carries even more weight as we re-listen to this conversation from 2018.

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Whether you are interested in becoming a more racially conscious educator, or you are simply an individual seeking to learn more about racial matters, we invite you to listen to our podcast and join us on a life-long journey of anti-racist education. The Anti-Racist Educator is run by a collective of educators of colour and based in Scotland. As an online learning platform, The Anti-Racist Educator aims to critically challenge racism by exploring teaching, discussing ideas and sharing learning resources for all to use.​ Find out more on theantiracisteducator.com

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Whether you are interested in becoming a more racially conscious educator, or you are simply an individual seeking to learn more about racial matters, we invite you to listen to our podcast and join us on a life-long journey of anti-racist education. The Anti-Racist Educator is run by a collective of educators of colour and based in Scotland. As an online learning platform, The Anti-Racist Educator aims to critically challenge racism by exploring teaching, discussing ideas and sharing learning resources for all to use.​ Find out more on theantiracisteducator.com

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Whether you are interested in becoming a more racially conscious educator, or you are simply an individual seeking to learn more about racial matters, we invite you to listen to our podcast and join us on a life-long journey of anti-racist education. The Anti-Racist Educator is run by a collective of educators of colour and based in Scotland.

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What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for! Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race head-on. We explore how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between. This podcast makes ALL OF US part of the conversation — because we're all part of the story.

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What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for! Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race head-on. We explore how it impacts every part of society - from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between. This podcast makes ALL OF US part of the conversation - because we're all part of the story. "We're talking to people who have been marginalized and underrepresented for so long, who are so hungry to see themselves represented fully and with nuance and complexity," says Shereen Marisol Meraji, co-host of Code Switch, Apple Podcasts' first-ever Show of the Year for 2020. "People recognize that, because we had been having these conversations for so many years in advance, we're a trusted place where they could go to better understand all the stories about race filling up their newsfeeds and social channels." Their weekly podcast launched in 2016 but truly came into its own during this historic, transformative year, as Meraji and co-host Gene Demby examine issues of racial, ethnic, and cultural identity through frank one-on-one discussions and incisive non-fiction. In a year dominated by discourse about race, this indispensable show furthered them by providing powerful and timely insight, offering diverse and empathetic personal perspectives to a broad audience. "There are certain lenses that we are bringing into, both as journalists and the people that we're bringing to these stories," Demby says. "But also, we are specific people with specific fascinations and broad curiosity. If we're telling these stories, you should assume that they're going to look and sound like us."

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What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for! Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race head-on. We explore how it impacts every part of society - from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between.

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13 Podcasts About Race That'll Further Your Education from Woman's Day

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13 Podcasts About Race That'll Further Your Education from Woman's Day

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If you’re someone who is looking to learn more about race, racism, and systematic inequality in this country, tapping into educational resources is as simple as hitting play on an informative podcast. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few podcasts about race and racism to get you started.

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Although many people have learned about America's history of enslaving, discriminating against, and disenfranchising Black people through school, there is still more learning to be done when it comes to race and racism in America. Educating yourself through movies, books, and podcasts about race and racism are just a few ways that white people can learn about the deep levels of systemic and systematic racism that minority communities face every single day.

Of course, part of that education involves listening and talking to people of color in our lives. But it's not their job to teach. Rather, it's on white people to use the many public resources available publicly to teach themselves and, most importantly, do better.

If you're someone who is looking to learn more about race, racism, and systematic inequality in this country, tapping into educational resources is as simple as hitting play on an informative podcast. If you're not sure where to start, here are a few podcasts about race and racism to get you started.

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13 Podcasts to Further You're Understanding of Race and Racism

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Although many people have learned about America's history of enslaving, discriminating against, and disenfranchising Black people through school, there is still more learning to be done when it comes to race and racism in America.

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23 Antiracism and Inclusivity Podcasts for Educators

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23 Antiracism and Inclusivity Podcasts for Educators

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Educators know the importance of being a lifelong learner, and one of the ways to model this behavior for our students is to take the process of learning about racism seriously. Some 80 percent of teachers in America today are white, whereas their student populations are much more diverse. It’s important teachers educate themselves with antiracism podcasts, books, videos, articles, etc. to best support our students. Below is a list of antiracism podcasts for educators wishing to learn how to be anti-racist and eager to incorporate social justice into their teaching.

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Educators know the importance of being a lifelong learner, and one of the ways to model this behavior for our students is to take the process of learning about racism seriously. Some 80 percent of teachers in America today are white, whereas their student populations are much more diverse. It's important teachers educate themselves with antiracism podcasts, books, videos, articles, etc. to best support our students. Below is a list of antiracism podcasts for educators wishing to learn how to be anti-racist and eager to incorporate social justice into their teaching.

Many teachers are familiar with the Teaching Tolerance organization, which produces this podcast. Hosted by Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, an Ohio State University professor who specializes in African American history, Teaching Hard History educates listeners about what they should have learned in school and posits that "what we don't know about American history hurts us all."

The Teaching While White (TWW) organization critically explores the issues surrounding the fact that 80 percent of teachers in the United States are white. Its tagline is "Where Whiteness Intersects with Antiracist Teaching & Learning," making it a must for white teachers looking to unpack their whiteness and what it brings to a diverse classroom. The most recent episode explores taking action amidst what it calls the "dual pandemics" of COVID and racism.

White Homework, hosted by Tori Williams Douglass, promises to teach readers "the non-revised version of American history, and how to leverage privilege to create a more equitable world for all." A recent episode examines "purity culture and white supremacy" and another looks at ways President Trump is harmful to Black women.

The Black Scholars Podcast is for Black and Brown educators looking to hone their teaching craft. It's also a good place for white educators to listen and learn.

Hosted by psychologists Brandy Liebscher and Danielle Beck, Facing Ourselves "provides opportunities for White people to develop greater understanding and responsibility regarding race and racism." The 14 episodes of Facing Ourselves were produced in 2016 and 2017 but are still thought-provoking antiracism podcasts today.

Educators seeking to provide equity in their schools will want to tune into this podcast. Dr. Sheldon L. Eakins hosts Leading Equity, and he knows from experience the issues educators face - he has worked as a teacher, administrator, and special education director. Eakins interviews equity experts about a variety of illuminating topics, most recently focusing on myths surrounding BIPOC in advanced classes.

While the purpose of the Truth for Teachers podcast isn't to explore anti-racism, per se, host Angela Watson certainly tackles the topics of equity and inclusivity regularly, devoting a page on her website to equity resources, which can be found here. New episodes of this podcast are released each Sunday, and Watson's overarching goal is to "speak life, encouragement, and truth into the minds and hearts of educators."

Run by a group of educators of color in Scotland, the Anti-Racist Educator podcast helps to educate teachers seeking to become more racially conscious. Recent episodes have explored policing in schools and decolonizing curriculum. The podcast hosts view becoming anti-racist as part of being a lifelong learner.

Educating While Black was created by a Black educator for Black educators. Focusing on diverse voices, Black educators are invited into the podcast's "virtual staff room" to share their stories.

This podcast, produced in 2018, received a Peabody Award honoring excellence in investigative reporting. 22 episodes cover the shooting death of Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Minnesota, the state's first police shooting to go to trial. It's a sobering issue inside the racial inequalities that exist today.

Kimberlé Crenshaw, an expert in critical race theory, hosts this podcast. Episodes are both provocative and current, covering topics such as Black men supporting President Trump and Black women responding to the vice presidential debate featuring Kamala Harris.

Billed as "15 essential conversations about race in a pivotal year for America," Come Through explores how race is pivotal in every major issue this election year. Carroll interviews guests about everything from climate change to healthcare to the media. All 15 podcast episodes are posted online for binge-listening.

Part of being an antiracist educator is listening to Black stories and truly hearing them. The Natal podcast, which is about the experience of having a baby while Black in the United States, is a good place to do this work. The goal of the podcast is to empower Black parenthood by providing an empowering and supportive community.

Ear Hustle was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for audio reporting in 2020. This antiracism podcast, created in the San Francisco Bay area, shares the stories of inmates in California's San Quentin State Prison. The podcast features experiences of incarceration as well as life post-incarceration.

Gentrification, the process in which the culture of a poor urban neighborhood is changed with the introduction of affluent businesses and homeowners, is the focus of this podcast. Season three, produced in 2019, explores what producers call "climate gentrification," in which impoverished Black families are pushed to build lives in flood-prone areas.

Code Switch by NPR promises "fearless conversations about race." Journalists of color host the show, but their approach to covering race is one that is candid and one that aims to include everyone in an ongoing dialogue about race.

Host Dr. Jill Wener delivers a podcast in which she promises to examine anti-racism "one conversation at a time." Werner, an internal medicine doctor and meditation expert, brings her holistic approach to interviews with social justice activists.

Hosted by Yedoye Travis, this hilarious and often profanity-ridden podcast invites "melanin deficient guests" (white people) to help solve issues facing minorities. Described as a podcast where "white people try their best," the podcast promises to solve racism, "one white ego at a time".

This 14-part documentary podcast was released in 2017, and it asks the question, "What is going on with white people?" The podcast delves into white identity politics, exploring where the concept of whiteness comes from and what this means in the battle for racial equality.

Speaking of Racism promises an honest and respectful discourse about race. Recent episodes have looked at the criminal justice system and the 2020 election.

Hosted by Andrew Ti and Tawny Newsome, this funny and educational podcast invites guests to phone or email with a scenario that might be racist. Topics vary widely from Halloween costumes to high school mascots to fusion food trucks.

Host Nicole Cardoza promises to check in weekly with a look at the most pressing stories in the news cycle surrounding racial politics in our country. This is a brand-new podcast with only two episodes so far, so get in on the ground floor and start listening.

Host Sherita Love celebrates the teachers and students doing social justice work across the country. Listeners will find inspiration and ideas for social justice activities and discussions in their own classrooms.

Also Check Out:

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23 Antiracism and Inclusivity Podcasts for Educators

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Educators know the importance of being a lifelong learner, and one of the ways to model this behavior for our students is to take the process of learning about racism seriously. Some 80 percent of teachers in America today are white, whereas their student populations are much more diverse.

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Resources for Teaching About Race and Racism With The New York Times

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Resources for Teaching About Race and Racism With The New York Times

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A curated collection of over 75 lesson plans, writing prompts, short films and graphs relating to racism and racial justice.

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Resources for Teaching About Race and Racism With The New York Times (Published 2021)

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A curated collection of over 75 lesson plans, writing prompts, short films and graphs relating to racism and racial justice.

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Let's Talk about Racism in Schools from Educational Leadership

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Let's Talk about Racism in Schools from Educational Leadership

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Vitriol and violence connected to race are running high. K–12 classrooms are where we must start to build an equitable, nonracist society.

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November 2016 | Volume 74 | Number 3
Disrupting Inequity Pages 16-22

Rick Wormeli

We all build our own version of the human story and our role in it. We proceed daily, sure that our truth is the truth, then someone commits a horrific act of inhumanity that shreds our careful constructs. Then, it happens again, and again-and again, just as it did this past year with the multiple deaths of black men after interactions with police-and then the deaths of police officers.

The normal tools of interpretation and comfort seem to be gone. Who would think that in a caring, thoughtful democracy, we needed a large political movement to remind police officers-and all citizens-of the simple truth that black lives matter? Who would think that when a police officer was asked why he shot an autistic man's caretaker-who was lying with his hands in the air asking officers not to shoot-he'd answer, "I don't know" (Rabin, 2016)?

The violence among U.S. residents of different colors, cultures, religions, and political groups has heated to new levels. Social media may have exacerbated the divisive rhetoric and fanned the flames of hatred more than in past decades, but the intense distrust and contempt, and the inability to resolve these feelings in a civil manner, didn't start with social media. They are the new normal for many.

Rather than give in to the helplessness we feel to stop racism and our collective, civic hemorrhage, every institution must examine its own role in perpetuating (inadvertently and advertently) racist thinking and policies. We can't truly create equal opportunities for all until our institutions take specific actions to end that thinking and those policies. And ground zero for an equitable, nonracist society is the K-12 classroom.

Before we consider recent examples of racism and how it affects all Americans, let's be clear: No one is born racist. Racism is learned. Just as important, racism is not insurmountable.

What We're Up Against

In response to a recent Pew Research Center report that showed white and black Americans aren't on the same page about issues of poverty and racism, blogger Rob Wile (2016) noted, "While most black people think that higher levels of poverty and lower levels of economic mobility in their communities are the fault of America's legacy of systematic racism and under-investment, more white people are content to blame black people themselves."

Five years ago, I was giving a day-long presentation to a group of teachers in the United States. During a morning break, I overheard one woman say to another, "When we get that darkie out of the White House, we'll get this country back the way it should be." The other woman replied, "You got that right."

Refusal to respect other cultures isn't confined to interactions between blacks and whites. On commercial flights, passengers dressed in Muslim clothing who are texting on their phones have been asked to leave the plane because they are making other passengers uncomfortable. And some of my Hispanic students have told me their parents have been shadowed by security personnel as they shop at stores.

Imagine if, at a dinner celebrating local Cub Scouts and their achievements, the adult leader asked everyone to bow his or her head for a word of prayer before the meal. Then he prayed into the microphone, "Praise and glory be to You, O Allah. There is no God but You. Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful!" If this happened in most American Cub Scout packs, people of Christian, Jewish, and other faiths or no faiths would be offended that they were forced to bow their heads and listen to something foreign to their beliefs.

My family experienced something similar at a Cub Scout dinner. The pre-dinner prayer was full of Christian references like, "Through the one and only God, Jesus, our guiding savior, we are redeemed and made whole." This was in a diverse area near Washington, D.C., with a Scout pack full of Muslims, Jews, and people of other faiths as well as Christians. Imagine those non-Christian families' reactions to such a prayer.

I asked the leader if there might be a more inclusive prayer we could offer. She dismissed the concern. As I looked around the room at the faces of many parents and children, I saw the real lesson learned: You don't belong.

Not all disrespect and conflict is purely about race. Religious, cultural, and racial differences interweave. Stark differences result in fervent debate and divisiveness among Christians as well as among Muslims and Jews. Racism, however, is among the most insidious and deepest-running challenges of our time.

Moving Beyond Silence

Clearly, Americans must begin talking candidly together about race-starting now. We don't need to justify having focused conversations about racism in schools. I'm bothered by my own silence at times as I witness racism. After I overheard the comment about "that darkie [in] the White House," I didn't confront these women. It wasn't a proud moment; in my silence, there was tacit acceptance of racist thinking.

I'm upset at my silence about racist statements and behaviors by others that I've heard about but not witnessed personally. It might seem that because the incidents are second-hand, I'm absolved from speaking out against them. Yet, how do I reconcile that silence with my belief that each of us is free only if everyone is free? As Nelson Mandela (1995) wrote, "Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me. ... The oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed" (p. 624).

Besides the stunning cruelty of racism, letting it fester serves no one, not even the predominant group. We're in this together. It's ironic, then, that we focus on labeling differences among us, particularly whether those differences are negative or positive. For example, if a teacher looks at the students before her at the beginning of the school year, it's likely she will wonder who are going to be the easiest ones to teach. Isn't the one we assume to be easy to teach the student who most reflects our own culture, or the one who looks similar to a student from last year we enjoyed teaching? We're already sorting according to built-in biases. When we wonder who'll be the hardest to teach, we often guess the students who don't look like anyone we've taught before.

Humans have built-in "other"-isms in order to protect ourselves. We categorize people in terms of ourselves and, in many cases, interpret differences from us in a negative way. ( That music they play in their homes is annoying! Can't they eat less disgusting food?) We might even think, How sad. My neighbor who worships at a different church doesn't understand the higher truth. Or for easy identification, we might resort to caricatures, versions that emphasize one or two attributes we think a cultural group has. ( All Asians are gifted mathematicians. White people who live in trailers are alcoholics.)

Principles for Brave Conversations

I sometimes question whether white educators can accept that institutionalized racism exists and whether they can do so without succumbing to paralyzing guilt about their complicity in racism's growth or becoming so overwhelmed that they give up. I sometimes question whether black teachers and parents can embrace white teachers and parents who want to do right. Can they accept whites' sincere efforts to work together to end racist practices, even if they stumble or are unintentionally offensive?

But we have to try talking with one another, because biases and quick categorizations about people who are different from us are expressions of our limited experiences with them. Such categorizations are a slippery slope into classism and racism. With more experiences with others, we flesh people out in our minds and become comfortable with them. When we spend time with quadriplegics, for instance, we come to see them as individuals first, persons with paralyzed limbs a distant second. People with a hardened stance against LGBTQ rights soften when a member of their family reveals he is homosexual.

Yet talking about racism is uncomfortable. We avoid such conversations in schools because it could stir things up that we're unprepared to handle. We might lose friends or colleagues for a while-or longer. Or we're so afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing or appearing racist that we cripple constructive opportunities to talk about race and resolve conflicts. By approaching one another with good faith and caring, we can ease these fears. As Howard Stevenson (2014) writes,

Students, teachers, parents, and educators must expect, receive, and give affection (nurturing), protection (monitoring), and correction (accountability) while they take risks to become aware of and learn to resolve racial stress and conflict in daily social interactions. Without these ingredients, the risks of racial avoidance will be too great, and the improvement of race relations and racial climates within schools too arduous to complete.

Reviewing and agreeing on the principles below can help us have candid discussions about racism with our students-or among fellow educators.

▪ Assume that, at any given moment in the conversation, the other person is doing the best he or she can. Chances are, it's true.

▪ Forgive yourself and others for making mistakes, including inexact wording, muddled thinking, or unintended use of stereotypes.

▪ Suppress hidden agendas and the urge to preach or politicize.

▪ Remain nonaccusatory when you see things differently from another. Use phrases like, "It's been my experience that ___," "Tell me more about___," or "How did faculty at your last school respond to ___?"

▪ Seek first to understand, then to be understood (Covey, 2013).

▪ If you disagree with someone, paraphrase that person's point before responding. It helps him know that his comments were heard and considered.

▪ Avoid language that blames ("If it weren't for white people. ..." "They're always speaking Spanish together, so they must not want me around." "You're blind to white privilege.") Blaming thwarts honest conversation.

▪ Don't ask anyone to speak for a whole race if there's only one student or colleague in the group from a particular culture or race.

▪ Acknowledge that candid conversation makes us all vulnerable. Teachers' inner selves are on view daily by many constituencies-students, parents, administrators, and the general public. They are also subject to self-doubts and high expectations of professionalism. As a result, they may be hesitant to open those vulnerability gates too widely.

▪ Avoid associating the quality of a colleague's teaching with exploratory comments offered in conversation about racism. A peer can be a neophyte in such conversations, but effective in the classroom.

The questions in Figure 1 can help start robust conversations in school communities. As to how to launch these discussions, I don't recommend starting conversations on racism at a large faculty meeting. This often results in side conversations, cross-talking, and "knowing" glances passed among people, and personal buttons may be pushed. In large gatherings, many voices and perspectives don't get heard (in fact, a few teachers might hijack the conversation with their own agendas). A thoughtful exploration of issues involving racism in the school is better started in groups of no more than six. Build to a larger group experience after conversation skills have developed.

Figure 1. Questions to Start Faculty Discussions About Racism

Does racism exist in our schools? What does it sound or look like?

What would it take to create a truly race-neutral society? Do we want this?

Am I racist? Why, or why not? Am I open to others' critique when it comes to how I relate to other races?

Does the rise of certain groups' influence-Latino, Jewish, white, Muslim, or whatever-mean a decline in other groups' well-being? If people say yes, discuss whether this represent a "zero sum" mindset. Is this a mindset we want to communicate to students?

How can we counter negative stereotypes?

Are we responsible for teaching students and colleagues to recognize and confront racism?

What should we do when we inadvertently do or say something racist?

What do we communicate to the parents of our minority students about our expectations for their children?

How are we battling the student opinion that academic proficiency is inherently white?

Do we have a disproportionate number of administrative referrals for our minority students?

Choose faculty to lead these conversations who are good at making sure each voice is heard and valued. Give these leaders time to brainstorm constructive responses or strategies to diffuse any (intentionally and unintentionally) incendiary comments. If a point becomes particularly contentious, for instance, participants might record their thinking on index cards and pass them to the facilitator to read aloud. Dozens of books and websites on group facilitation provide helpful tips on small-group dynamics. For conversing on racism, I particularly recommend Ali Michael's Raising Race Questions: Whiteness and Inquiry in Education (Teachers College Press, 2014) and Howard Stevenson's Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools: Differences That Make a Difference (Teachers College Press, 2013).

Informing Our Conversations

To build a climate where such discussions bear fruit, we should immerse students and ourselves in learning experiences that will positively inform conversations about race. Lack of awareness about other races rarely helps a difficult conversation; it leads to misunderstandings, limited sharing, hurt feelings, and eventually, a discussion's demise. Experiences like these will help us sustain difficult interactions-and bring equal opportunity to students from nonmainstream cultures.

▪ Use fiction and nonfiction that will open students to different worlds, help them see situations from different perspectives, and build empathy.

▪ Try simulations and role-playing in which students can approximate the perspectives of others, but be sensitive to the fact that some of us can leave the role at the end of the learning experience. Anyone from a minority race or oppressed group can't slip out of the challenges at the end of the day: They live with them 24-7.

▪ Have your class regularly think about a contentious issue from one prevailing perspective, then give them 20 minutes to argue the same issue from the opposite perspective. Working with partners can help.

▪ Practice responses to scenarios involving racism. What should a teacher or student do if someone says something that might be perceived as racist? For instance, in a class discussion about the economy of the South during the Civil War, one student blurts out, "I wouldn't mind having slaves around to help me get a lot of work done!" (Stevenson, 2014). A thoughtful teacher might say something like, "Tobey, consider how someone coming from a culture severely traumatized by slave masters would hear your words just now. How would they feel about your comment about slavery? Would you like to rephrase your statement?" By rehearsing successful responses, we can create a picture of ourselves responding to an instance of racism, which increases the likelihood that we will respond.

▪ Hold students accountable immediately for racist statements and behaviors. You can do so in ways that let the student repair damage: "Terry, I know you're not naturally a racist thinker. Check your statement again: Is there anything there that could be construed as racist?" If a student consistently makes racially insensitive comments and needs a nonhumiliating boost in executive function skills-which is where much of the filtering of impulsive, inappropriate comments resides-you might videotape class discussions from time to time. In a private moment away from classmates, cue up the video to a place showing inappropriate comments from this student and ask him or her, "What did you say here? Look at the body language, faces, and responses from your classmates. Did you read the situation correctly? How could you have made a completely different comment that would demonstrate respect for people of color?"

▪ Talk to students about what you believe about race and equity. Successful teachers aren't afraid of teaching a community's values; they are not indifferent. It's important to model for students a vision of adults standing up for what they think is morally right. With racism, there is little ambiguity; intentional or unintentional discrimination against a person or group based on race or culture is against the law.

▪ Teach skills of debate and civil discourse, using materials from Teaching Tolerance, the National Speech and Debate Association, and the National Institute for Civil Discourse.

▪ Don't just skim information on the Civil Rights movement and its leaders, and don't limit its study to Black History Month. Give it full attention throughout the school year. Study more than just the struggles of black Americans. Civil Rights isn't just about equitable treatment for one group.

▪ Share news stories that surface racism in the local community and in national politics. Have students investigate school or community racism, if appropriate.

▪ Empower students to do something about racism in the media (and social media) when they see it, such as writing letters, making presentations, or analyzing a racist's arguments.

▪ Expose students to artworks and contributions by many different cultures and races and let them respond personally to those artifacts.

▪ Teach students and teachers to recognize and control micro-aggressions-the small, seemingly nonracist things people do, say, and think that are hurtful and may betray unconscious racism or bias. Examples include: avoiding eye contact with students outside our culture; telling a student her math work is excellent for a student who comes from such a poor background; demeaning service industry jobs or any job perceived as being done primarily by minorities ("If you don't study, you might wind up as a taxi driver"); and using language like saying black youths "rioted and turned violent," whereas white youths "protested unfair treatment."

▪ Have students write personal reflections about racial tension. Discuss how much people filter their language in trying to say it just the right way.

Securing a Nonracist Future

Part of our job as educators is to secure a nonracist future, so our response to racism in our schools must be clear and compassionate. Settling for indifference exacerbates the problem. And we can't afford to leave anyone out of this conversation. For instance, I'm a white male, so some people might think, How could he possibly understand this enough to be helpful? Some might even dismiss my ideas because of my race alone. Think about that idea-that because of my race, I have nothing of value to add to the community discussion on racism-and you'll see it's misguided. Every one of us is touched by racism. We all have a stake in positive race relations.

A conversation needs only two people. Let's each identify, today, one person on our faculty with whom we're willing to initiate a conversation on racism, regardless of the make-up of our student body or faculty. Whole futures are at stake-ours. Together, we are powerful.

▪ Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel & Grau, 2015)

▪ Raising Race Questions: Whiteness and Inquiry in Education by Ali Michael (Teachers College Press, 2014)

▪ Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It Defines Our Lives by Sendhil Mullainathan (Picador, 2014)

▪ Dream Makers, Dream Breakers: The World of Justice Thurgood Marshall by Carl T. Rowan (Back Bay Books, 1993)

▪ What's Race Got to Do with It? How Current School Reform Policy Maintains Racial and Economic Inequity edited by Edwin Mayorga and Bree Picower (Peter Lang Publishers, 2015)

▪ Reading for Their Life: (Re)Building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males by Alfred W. Tatum (Heinemann, 2009)

References

Covey, S. (2013). Seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Mandela, N. (1995). Long walk to freedom: The autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston: Back Bay Books.

Rabin, C. (2016, July 20). Cop shoots caretaker of autistic man playing in the street with toy truck. Miami Herald. Retrieved from www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article90905442.html

Stevenson, H. (2014). Promoting racial literacy in schools: Differences that make a difference. New York: Teachers College Press.

Wile, R. (2016, June 27). White people don't blame racism for black people's struggles. They blame black people. [blog post] Retrieved from Fusion at www.fusion.net/story/319381/black-white-gap-on-black-struggle/

Rick Wormeli ( www.rickwormeli.com) is a long-time teacher, consultant, and author of The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy, Good Stuff I Learned about Teaching Along the Way (2013) and Summarization in Any Subject (ASCD, 2004). Follow him on Twitter.

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November 2016 | Volume 74 | Number 3 Disrupting Inequity Pages 16-22 Rick Wormeli We all build our own version of the human story and our role in it. We proceed daily, sure that our truth is the truth, then someone commits a horrific act of inhumanity that shreds our careful constructs.

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Why Understanding Equity vs Equality in Schools Can Help You Create an Inclusive Classroom

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Why Understanding Equity vs Equality in Schools Can Help You Create an Inclusive Classroom

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The quality of education that students receive directly correlates to their quality of life years down the road.[1] Early education in particular has the power to shape a child’s future and the more resources available to them, the better. For this reason, it’s crucial for educators to address any barriers young students face to succeeding in school.

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The quality of education that students receive directly correlates to their quality of life years down the road.[1] Early education in particular has the power to shape a child's future and the more resources available to them, the better. For this reason, it's crucial for educators to address any barriers young students face to succeeding in school. The key is equity. Equity means offering individualized support to students that addresses possible barriers, like poverty or limited transportation. 97% of teachers agree that equity is important, but many don't know how to best work towards it in their classrooms.[2] But once educators have the right strategies to promote equity in schools through understanding the difference between equity vs equality in education, they can make sure each student is prepared to reach their potential.

Want to create inclusive and equitable classrooms at your school? Discover the difference between equity and equality, then learn five strategies for resolving common barriers to equity in education.

Main Differences Between Equity and Equality

When it comes to equity vs equality in education, the terms are often used interchangeably.[3] But understanding the distinction between the two is essential for resolving issues faced by disadvantaged students in the classroom. While working towards equity and equality can both do good, equity should be an educator's end goal. The reason lies in the difference between being fair vs equal.

Equality is more commonly associated with social issues, perhaps because more people know what it means. In a nutshell, its definition is as it sounds-the state of being equal. When a group focuses on equality, everyone has the same rights, opportunities, and resources.[4] Equality is beneficial, but it often doesn't address specific needs. Giving each student a take-home laptop, for example, would not address students who don't have Internet in their houses. Even if a school is equal, some students may still struggle.

Equity, on the other hand, provides people with resources that fit their circumstances. The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of social equity is "the absence of avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people." [5] Schools that prioritize equity versus equality are more in tune to their students' needs and provide resources to overcome their specific challenges.

Equity and Equality Descriptors

In short, equality is:

And equity is:

"The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally," says the Race Matters Institute. "It will be achieved by treating everyone equitably, or justly according to their circumstances." [6] Equity is more thoughtful and, while it's harder work, it is better at resolving disadvantages. While equality is an admirable goal, try shifting your school's focus to equity for a more effective outcome.

Challenges Involving Equity and Equality in Schools

Barriers to an inclusive education can affect groups based on race, gender, and many other factors. The issues are not only who is being targeted but also how we try to resolve them. In terms of equity vs equality in the classroom, most schools focus on horizontal equity. The definition of horizontal equity in education is treating people who are already assumed equal in the same way.[7]

Horizontal equity is only useful in homogenous schools, where each person really is given the same opportunities in life. But in most schools, students will come from a variety of backgrounds-some more privileged than others. For this reason, educators should focus on vertical equity, which assumes that students have different needs and provides individual resources based on said needs.[8]

How does poverty impact students?

Another challenge facing equity vs equality in education is poverty. 60% of the most disadvantaged students come from under-resourced homes or communities.[9] Because their families or schools might have very limited budgets, it can be difficult to provide these students with equitable resources. Additionally, these under-resourced communities often have trouble keeping educators who can make a difference: 62% of high-poverty schools report that it is challenging to retain high-quality teachers.[10]

According to the Scholastic Teachers and Principals Report, these are a few additional barriers to equity in American schools:[11]

Family crises

Mental health issues

Lack of healthcare

Coming to school hungry

Homelessness or living in a temporary shelter

Still learning the English language

Recognizing the challenges preventing equity in your classroom is the first step to resolving them. Try to analyze any issues that are keeping your students from succeeding in school. Perhaps you teach in an under-resourced community, or one of your students is an English language learner (ELL). By evaluating the needs of individual students, you're much closer to providing them with the support necessary for academic achievement.

Benefits of Focusing on Equity in Education

Equity in schools is the answer to supporting every student, not just those from disadvantaged backgrounds. When schools provide their students with resources that fit individual circumstances, the entire classroom environment improves.[12] Not only that, but the importance of equity extends to our society as a whole. In equitable communities, everyone has the opportunity to succeed regardless of their original circumstances.

On a surface level, the benefits of inclusive and equitable classrooms extend to academic achievement. Schools with the smallest achievement gaps between demographics have the highest overall test scores.[13] This means that when the most disadvantaged student scores improve, students from more privileged backgrounds improve, too. When schools are mindful of different backgrounds and provide the right resources, all students are prepared to learn and help each other succeed.

Student Development and Community Equity

Equity can also strengthen a student's health and social-emotional development. In a study involving over 4,300 students in Southern California, the children who felt safer, less lonely, and reported less bullying also had higher diversity levels in their classes.[14] Being equipped to promote diversity and provide for students from all backgrounds makes for an environment where students feel comfortable and have better emotional regulation. Additionally, equitable communities are linked to better health and longer average lifespans.[15]

Surrounding communities benefit from equity in schools as well. Equity is linked to stronger social cohesion, meaning that individuals connect with each other better and are more compassionate.[16] It also leads to long-term economic growth.[17] This means that promoting equity in schools can be one of the best and most effective social investments.

To summarize, these are some of the benefits of focusing on equity in education:

Higher test scores

Better health

Stronger social atmosphere

Longer life

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5 Tips for Using Equity to Create an Inclusive Classroom

Knowing the difference between equity and equality is the first step to creating a classroom where every child can succeed. From there, educators can take steps to better address the challenges faced by struggling students.

Keep these five tips in mind for promoting equity in your classroom and helping every student succeed:

Remember that every child is different and has unique needs. Evaluate any challenges that students face and, if needed, offer support or resources [18]

Cultivate an environment in your classroom where every student feels heard. Encourage them to speak out against unfairness and let you know if they're facing any hardships at home or in class

Parent engagement is a particularly helpful way to resolve challenges involving equity. Keep open communication with parents and encourage them to volunteer or attend school events to involve them with their child's education [19]

Provide equity training in schools for faculty members so teachers know how to resolve common barriers [20]

Add diversity and inclusion activities as well as lessons against prejudice to your school curriculum so every student feels like they belong [21]

Sources:

OECD Observer Staff. Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, January 2008, pp. 1-8.[1]

Scholastic Team. Barriers to Equity in Education | Teachers and Principals School Report. Retrieved from scholastic.com: http://www.scholastic.com/teacherprincipalreport/barriers-to-equity.htm.[2]

Winston-Salem State University. Strategic Planning at Winston-Salem State University: Working Toward Equity. Retrieved from wssu.edu: https://www.wssu.edu/strategic-plan/documents/a-summary-of-equity-vs-equality.pdf.[3]

Just Health Action. Part 1: Introduction to Environmental Justice, Equity, and Health. Retrieved from justhealthaction.org: http://justhealthaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/JHA-Lesson-Plan-3-How-are-equity-and-equality-different-final.pdf.[4]

World Health Organization. WHO | Equity. Retrieved from who.int: https://www.who.int/healthsystems/topics/equity/en/.[5]

Race Matters Institute. Racial Equality or Racial Equity? The Difference it Makes. Retrieved from viablefuturescenture.org: https://viablefuturescenter.org/racemattersinstitute/2014/04/02/racial-equality-or-racial-equity-the-difference-it-makes/.[6]

Catapano, J. The Challenges of Equity in Public Education. Retrieved from teachhub.com: https://www.teachhub.com/challenges-equity-public-education.[7,8]

OECD Observer Staff. Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, January 2008, pp. 1-8.[9,10]

Scholastic Team. Barriers to Equity in Education | Teachers and Principals School Report. Retrieved from scholastic.com: http://www.scholastic.com/teacherprincipalreport/barriers-to-equity.htm.[11]

OECD Observer Staff. Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, January 2008, pp. 1-8.[12]

Gorard, S., and Smith, E. An international comparison of equity in education systems. School Comparative Education, 2004, 40(1), pp. 15-28.[13]

Atchison, B., Diffey, L., Rafa, A., and Sarubbi, M. Equity in Education: Key Questions to Consider. Education Commission of the States, June, 2017, pp. 1-6.[14]

OECD Observer Staff. Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, January 2008, pp. 1-8.[15, 16, 17]

Scholastic Team. Barriers to Equity in Education | Teachers and Principals School Report. Retrieved from scholastic.com: http://www.scholastic.com/teacherprincipalreport/barriers-to-equity.htm.[18]

OECD Observer Staff. Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, January 2008, pp. 1-8.[19]

Atchison, B., Diffey, L., Rafa, A., and Sarubbi, M. Equity in Education: Key Questions to Consider. Education Commission of the States, June, 2017, pp. 1-6.[20]

OECD Observer Staff. Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, January 2008, pp. 1-8.[21]

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Equity vs Equality in Education: Building Inclusivity - Waterford.org

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Discover the difference between equity and equality, then learn five strategies for resolving common barriers to equity in education.

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators from Edutopia

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators from Edutopia

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources.

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources.

John Minchillo / Associated Press

Protesting the killing of George Floyd, a crowd gathers for a rally at Cadman Plaza Park in New York City on June 4, 2020.

"I'm a White educator, where do I start?"

"How can I help?"

"What if I get it wrong?"

Recent events have shaken me to my core, and the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd suggest that people across the country are similarly shaken. These are dark times, but if there's anything that seems like a glimmer of light to me at the moment, it's the fact that so many teachers are reflecting on how to fight racism:

For me, a Black educator and mother to a Black 16-year-old who has reached the appearance if not the legal age of manhood, these questions stir hope. Folks who don't look like me are embracing the idea that the fight for equity has to be everyone's fight. But fighting racism is a big job, and when the fires of outrage cool, we teachers will be confronted with the reality of planning deadlines, testing schedules, and another hundred things that are all in a day's work. The difficult work of equity may become just another item on a desk crowded with to-do lists.

What Can Teachers Do?

The answer, an old joke: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, of course-and achieving equity is no different. Take small bites that can have big impact and don't worry about getting it wrong sometimes, as you inevitably will. If you keep going, you can do something that brings about change.

Reading: Even if you only have 10 minutes, you can learn something to help you create a more equitable classroom. Websites like Teaching Tolerance, the NEA's EdJustice, and KQED's Mindshift feature resources for lesson planning as well as lessons for you as a teacher. Teaching Tolerance is the perfect place to start, whether you want to use bias-free language to teach tolerance through reading with young learners or plan a social action campaign with high school students.

In addition to a rich collection of K-12 classroom resources, the website features self-guided PD, on-demand webinars, and podcasts that may enable you to earn a certificate-check with your administration first. Those can easily be broken up into small chunks of time. And note that many of the site's feature articles list recommended actions at the bottom.

If your goal is to understand the Black community better, sites designed for Black audiences like The Root, The Undefeated, and Huffington Post's Black Voices are good places to start. These non-mainstream media outlets feature content by minority and minority-supporting journalists. You'll find content on topics not covered in mainstream media, like coverage of historically Black colleges and universities, news about Black brands and influencers, and stories like this one on MIT's first Black female student body president in its 159-year history. If you're teaching Black children who are generally inundated by media that does not reflect them, these are priceless ways you can enrich your current events and show-and-tell circles.

Watching: You can improve your cultural competence and learn about Black Lives Matter by watching " 4 Black Lives Matter Myths Debunked" on YouTube, which will answer quite a few questions on social justice issues, probably including some you didn't even know you had. And if you want help in having real discussions on complex issues with young children, the YouTube show LivingRoomProtest will lead you through conversations on being Black, politics, pride, and even death and the afterlife-try the episode " Education Is a Human Right " for starters.

If you want entertainment with a cultural component, Netflix has a host of shows that cater to a Black audience, as well as original content that regularly features diverse character lineups. Hulu has not only a small curated selection of Black Stories but also six seasons of the binge-worthy, socially conscious Black-ish and its spin-off prequel Mixed-ish. While Black-ish might be a little campy, it tackles real issues surrounding racism, bias, and social justice issues that arise within the Black community.

Taking action: For the civic-minded, the Kellogg Foundation has put together a website that lets you create your own personal plan to support, donate, or volunteer in the way you find most relevant. This site can help you focus your attention on one or two civic tasks with broader impact.

Social action is also a great way to involve students, which multiplies your impact. You can teach students how to write emails or letters by asking them to write to your local government in favor of policy changes banning the eight most deadly policing strategies listed at 8 Can't Wait, which has ideas on how to call or email your government yourself-there's a script you can use or adapt.

Looking within: Finally, and perhaps most importantly, take inventory of your feelings. It's normal to be most comfortable around people who are like you. It's just not good when that makes you and those like you an "us" and those who aren't like you a "them." Use a journal to sort through your personal feelings on racism or read books that provide perspective on systemic inequities and bias. These long-haul strategies will produce change in you while you take more immediate action in other ways.

The devastating events of the last days have left me shaken. I have felt anger, fear, grief-so many emotions. But I have also felt buoyed by the great outpouring of support from my less melanated colleagues who want to listen, learn, and find out how to do better. So many of them are already doing amazing things with diverse students. This piece is dedicated to them. They give me hope that this time, we will fight racism together and bring about lasting change.

Don't stop now. How do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time.

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources. John Minchillo / Associated Press Protesting the killing of George Floyd, a crowd gathers for a rally at Cadman Plaza Park in New York City on June 4, 2020.

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10 Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity

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10 Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity

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With every passing year, it seems that our collective awareness of educational inequity is growing. I say “collective” with some unease, because for people who belong to marginalized groups and others who have taken the time to educate themselves well on equity issues, the awareness has always been there. Equity work is not a trend; it’s not a new thing.

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10 Ways Educators Can Take Action in Pursuit of Equity | Cult of Pedagogy

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Awareness of educational inequity is important, but we also need to take action. Pedro Noguera shares ten ways educators can do just that.

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Learning for Justice from The Southern Poverty Law Center

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Learning for Justice from The Southern Poverty Law Center

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Formerly Teaching Tolerance

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Learning for Justice is a community education program of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that centers civic and political action education for everyone.

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As GLSEN was founded by a group of teachers in 1990, we knew that educators play key roles in creating affirming learning environments for LGBTQ youth. But as well as activating supportive educators, we believe in centering and uplifting student-led movements, which have powered initiatives like the Day of Silence, Ally Week, and more.

We conduct extensive and original research to inform our evidence-based solutions for K-12 education.

We author developmentally appropriate resources for educators to use throughout their school community.

We advise on, advocate for, and research comprehensive policies designed to protect LGBTQ students as well as students of marginalized identities. We’ve brought record support to the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act and fought discriminatory legislation in over 15 states.

We coordinate a network of 43 chapters in 30 states across the nation, to ensure that we have access to schools and districts across the country to reach every student.

We empower students to affect change by supporting student-led efforts to positively impact their own schools and local communities, and have thousands of registered GSAs nationwide.

Today, after over 25 years of leading the movement, GLSEN’s national network is more than 1.5 million strong, with students, families, educators, and education advocates working to create safe schools. More than 500,000 GLSEN resources are downloaded by students and educators each year.

Every day GLSEN works to ensure that LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment. Together, we can transform our nation’s K-12 schools into the safe and affirming environment all youth deserve.

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In this statement, GLSEN's National Student Council condemns police brutality and calls for greater support for Black lives

Read the Statement

Get involved and join your community, local, or state GLSEN chapter

GLSEN Chapters create LGBTQ-inclusive schools. Community-led chapters offer teacher trainings, student support, community outreach, and more.

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In this statement, GLSEN's National Student Council condemns police brutality and calls for greater support for Black lives Read the Statement GLSEN Chapters create LGBTQ-inclusive schools. Community-led chapters offer teacher trainings, student support, community outreach, and more. Research, Reports, and Briefs Research, Reports, and Briefs Research, Reports, and Briefs