Teaching How to Be an Anti-racist or Stamped? Three Dos and Don’ts You Need to Know
Unlike previous times in history, there is no such thing as “being too busy” to notice that the world has been set ablaze by atrocities against Black lives. For activists, the tetrahedron of the fire includes education — specifically the school to prison pipeline. Decades of research has identified schools as the catalyst for pushing Black lives towards incarceration. A prime example is the recent two-month lockup of a 15-year-old for not completing her online homework.
Educators are hoping to douse the flames of the anti-blackness. They are turning to experts with the goal of transforming their teaching practice to become culturally sustaining and anti-racist. Ibrahim X Kendi’s How To Be An Antiracist and its middle school version Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You written in collaboration with Jason Reynolds have been key texts.
Eager to make a change educators are seeking to integrate Stamped in their curriculum — a worthy goal considering all students deserve an education that is culturally sustaining and anti-racist. Yet, teaching within anti-racist frame involves more than reading the right texts. An anti-racist teaching practice requires a disposition to continually working against the ever-evolving manifestations of social injustice. To reach this level of commitment educators must undertake the position of learner.
As a new learner of anti-racist ways of being (we are always new learners if we engage earnestly), it may be unclear where to start. I have identified 3 learning experiences that can set educators on the path of social awareness and 3 missteps to avoid a dead end:
1. Take Stock of Your Beginning Place: It can be challenging for educators to admit that they don’t know what they don’t know about our racialized society (and for many educators acknowledging that there is not an expectation to learn about racism could be even more uncomfortable). Consider this first step a self-assessment to gain an unfiltered evaluation of what you know today — not where you hope to be. To do that engage the following learning opportunities:
a. Take the implicit bias test
b. Read the racialized history of the city you live in or grew up.(yes every US city has a racial history). Here’s a recent story on the racialized history of Manhattan Beach.
Journal your reactions, fears, and questions that arise; Select one response to investigate over the next 21 days (you know what they say about forming a habit) to become more self-aware and deepen your understanding.
Whichever re-action you decide to investigate, as a first step DO NOT ask a Black colleague to help find meaning for you. That would be a misstep. Engage the 21-days of work to name two action steps you want to undertake to grow your awareness. Once you have self-direction, ask a colleague (preferably someone within your racial affinity group) to engage in the journey with you.
2. Craft Lessons that Don’t Place the Burden on Students of Color: Learning is only as effective as the environment in which it takes place. Environments are not neutral — they are designed intentionally (and unintentionally) through the selection of objectives, materials and activities. Anti-racist teaching requires intentionality. Thus, to transform your practice, you must thoroughly plan the learning objectives (it’s not enough to say I want the teaching to be relevant). To do so you need to have read all of Stamped — and some of the reference materials.
Once you know the content, increase your knowledge about your students — more than what you might have garnered through the traditional paradigm of teaching. Where do students live? What do they value about their neighborhood? What are the activities/interests students engage in outside of school? What are their hopes and dreams? What are the successes, skills, and accomplishments of their extended family (Black success is not a unicorn!)? To effectively plan and learn more about the lives of youth consider:
a. Calling a local non-profit that focuses on youth development (There are organizations who guide students better than schools);
b. Exploring lessons crafted by other educators who have and are engaged in the work;
c. Contacting the local NAACP to learn about the local histories and successes of the Black Community.
This is not an invitation to ask students of color about their trauma! It is also not okay to assume that students of color know or have lived the history/research you engaged. Assuming that students of color are more knowledgeable and are prepared to lead the learning and unlearning of racist behavior is a misstep in trust and responsibility. Rather than burdening students, create more connections with adults (not just those of color) who can be thinking partners — widen your circle of anti-racist educators.
3. Place STAMPED (and other anti-racist texts) in Conversation with Other Texts: Injustice does not occur in a vacuum. Trauma acted upon Black bodies often intersects with injustices in other communities (unjust immigration policies against Latin@/Latinx communities are a clear example). Accompanying texts provide the nuances and complexities of how racism has garnered a foothold in communities across the United States. Unveiling the linkages of racism across communities (and the globe) is core to naming resistance and the potential for anti-racist action. Integrating multiple texts also provides a buffer from the racist narrative that Black communities have simply failed to fulfill the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. To select accompanying texts:
a. Identify canonical texts that can be read along with or after Stamped and (re)evaluated through an anti-racist lens (No, the canon is not cancelled);
b. Utilize non-fiction texts to build students’ depth of understanding of the impact of injustice upon oppressed/minoritized communities (podcasts and interactive texts are great resources);
c. Create a list of fiction and non-fiction texts student can continue to explore during and after your unit/course (remember the world is the most effective classroom).
Placing texts in conversation should not result in minimizing the atrocities experienced by the Black community. Any sentence that sounds like “It wasn’t just Black people who were oppressed, the ____________ also were oppressed” is problematic. The accompanying texts also should not claim there are saviors (cause if there had been we wouldn’t still have a need for this conversation) instead texts should engage the murkiness of racism — the well-intended and misaligned actions of assimilationists who suffer(ed) from racist ideas.
The learning experiences described above are just the beginning of a pathway towards anti-racist teaching. Anti-racist teaching requires a continual iteration of increasing awareness, enactment, and dialogue with colleagues and community members. A well-known African Proverb says “To go fast, go alone; to go far, go together” (but don’t forget misstep #1).
Ideally, those who journey with you will encourage you through the challenging work and call you out when your Black Lives Matter tote starts to morph (back?) into a knapsack.
