Image from Flckr user @dignidadrebelde I received an e-mail today from Showing Up for Racial Justice reminding me that today is the 5th anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death. It is hard to believe five years have passed already. It is sobering to reflect on the growth of the Movement for Black Lives alongside the growing […]
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Reverberations of Injustice: Learning from Trayvon Martin's Death
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Late one night, a young black teenager walked home from the corner store. He was dressed in the clothes popular to teenagers at the time, and though he missed his mom […]
I am a White Social Studies Teacher, and I am a Coward
For three consecutive Black History Months, I have picked up and then quickly put down the Black Lives Matter at Schools resources.  Why? Because I was scared.  I was worried that my white colleagues might think of me as radical. I was concerned that white students would grow uncomfortable and declare “that all lives mattered.” I fretted over the […]
An Open Letter to White Educators
Trayvon Martin was killed on February 26, 2012. It has been eight years, and nothing has changed. Michael Brown was killed on August 9, 2014, preceding the Ferguson unrest that lasted weeks, and nothing has changed. Alton Sterling was killed on July 5, 2016, and nothing has changed. Stephon Clark was shot and killed on […]
The White Nationalist Teacher and The Implications For Other Teachers
A White Nationalist Teacher is Exposed On March 3rd, HuffPost reported on a Florida middle school teacher with a double life as the host of a white nationalist podcast. According to the article, “Dayanna Volitich, a 25-year-old social studies teacher at Crystal River Middle School in Florida, has been secretly hosting the white nationalist podcast […]
Reflections on My First Black History Month
I am forty-four-years-old. I have been a social studies teacher for 23 Septembers. I have been a student of history all of my life. I have cared about civil rights forever. But, before this February, I have never celebrated Black History Month. I am both ashamed of my ignorance and enlightened by this experience–it is […]
Dear Generation X: It is Now, or Never.
I see us on Facebook. On the soccer field. In the classroom. We are the generation born between 1961–1981. We are now finally of age. We thought adulthood began at 18, but that was just a stepping stone. No, we are now parents, for fuck’s sake. We are in charge. Many of us are educators. […]
Do Black Lives Matter At School?
Hey, teacher: did you know that the week of February 5-10, 2018 has been designated Black Lives Matter At School? Did you know that Black Lives Matter at School is a thing? According to Teaching for Change, an organization dedicated to social justice, the first full week of February promotes three demands: End Zero Tolerance, […]