Do you know how it feels to almost drown? I will never forget that feeling. I was 7 years old and knew that I could not swim; still, I just had to dangle my feet into the pool’s deep end. The neighborhood prankster thought it...
Tag - police
The late, great John Thompson contributed more than college basketball wins. Much more. Black educators are incredibly important to the success of Black students. Black students who have had at least one Black teacher are...
When speaking out directly against injustice, our white counterparts are perceived as brave, while Black leaders see our anger weaponized. Like most of us, my inbox has been flooded for weeks with pointed statements from...
Last week, I watched American cities burn: Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Philadelphia. And while the murder of George Floyd was the catalyst, Amy Cooper played a role. It’s easy to...
My friends, Ismael and Ashley Jimenez, describe an haunting encounter they had while #ParentingWhileBlack at a movie theater a few days ago. The police were called on them in order to harass and intimidate them. Meanwhile, what...
It has been great to see the activism of students be expanded. While student activism didn’t begin with the Parkland youth, I am still glad to see them join the ranks of students of color who have been on the front lines for as...
I’ve known gun violence. Intimately. An in-law was gunned down at his front door by police responding to a “Black burglar.” He was fortunate to live. In college, my roommates were threatened by shotgun-toting White...
Everyone has a “why.” It informs their motivations, their purpose, their drive and commitments. When you work on behalf of children and in service of communities, your “why” is crucial. As in why did you...
All year our eighth-grade students have been grappling with social justice issues and how to address them. They’ve closely analyzed past movements in America and South Africa—especially those involving direct action of...
Look, No One Wants a Weapon in Their School, But We’re Treating Our Students of Color Like Criminals Adam Stumacher recently wrote an article sharing the seething cauldron of conflicts that many schools represent. He bemoaned...