#BARWE215
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  • Inquiry Resources
    • How to Start a BARWE Group
    • Norms
    • Problem of Practice Protocol
    • Discussion Protocols
    • Bringing in Coconspirators
    • Facilitators Troubleshooting Guide
  • Current Series 22-23 School Year
    • September: How do we (re)connect and (re)commit to a/nother year of striving towards being antiracist educators?
    • October: How does a practice of accountability connect to our anti-racist work?
    • November: Where has accountability shown up for us in the past and where can we grow?
    • December: How can we be in accountable and transformative relationships with our students in order to create spaces for Black, Brown, and Indigenous students and all students of color to thrive?
    • January: How can we be accountable to our Black students in our planning and teaching practice?
    • February: What does accountability look like in your school or organization?
    • March: How can we give a genuine apology when we commit racist harm?
  • New Groups Start Here (Series 3)
    • September: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in ourselves and our institutions?
    • October: How can we as white educators center Black joy in our classrooms and schools?
    • November: How can we more deeply reflect and/or apply what we learned about white supremacy culture and Black Joy?
    • December: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our curriculum?
    • January: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our curriculum?
    • February: How can we create classroom culture that resists white supremacy and that nourishes Black joy?
    • March: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our classroom culture? How can we co-create joy with students?
    • April: How can we help develop staff culture that resists white supremacy culture and makes space for Black joy?
    • May: How can we help develop staff culture that resists white supremacy culture and makes space for Black joy?
  • Previous Inquiry Series
    • Inquiry Series 1 (2018-19 SY) >
      • August 2018: Why do white teachers need to talk about race?
      • September 2018: How can our curriculum challenge dominant and oppressive ideologies?
      • October 2018: How can we identify and challenge implicit bias in our own practice?
      • November 2018: How does whiteness affect our practices, relationships, and expectations in the classroom and the school community?
      • December 2018: How do we disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline?
      • January 2019: How can we ensure that our schools value Black lives?
      • February 2019: Why are teachers of color so important for our schools and how can we increase their numbers?
      • March 2019: How can we support colleagues of color and build anti-racist work environments?
      • April 2019: How can we implement culturally relevant teaching to challenge the culture of power that exists in schools?
      • May 2019: How do we push our schools, classrooms, and communities to incorporate more equitable disciplinary practices?
      • June 2019: How do we move this conversation forward and include more educators?
    • Inquiry Series 2 (2019-20 SY) >
      • September: What does it mean to develop an anti-racist identity as a white educator?
      • October: How do our implicit biases affect our students?
      • November: How could incorporating ethnic studies in our classrooms and schools help make our curriculum more antiracist?
      • December: How can we ensure that our school discipline policies are equitable and do not push girls of color out of school spaces?
      • January: How can we ensure that our schools value Black lives?
      • February: How can we recruit and retain more Black teachers in our schools?
      • March: How can White educators be accountable to their colleagues of color?
      • April: How can we interrupt anti-AAPI and xenophobic narratives in our classrooms and school communities?
      • May: How do we support our students during this crisis and connect to the larger fight to dismantle race and class oppression in our communities?
    • Inquiry Series 4 (2021-22 SY) >
      • September: How do we prepare ourselves for a year of striving towards being antiracist educators?
      • October: How can we take action when doing anti-racist work in spite of real or perceived risks?
      • November: How can we build lasting partnerships with co-conspirators?
      • December: What is a risky topic in my curriculum and how do I lean into that topic instead of shying away?
      • February: What barriers exist to forming partnerships with our students?
      • March: How would a commitment to equity principles increase our capacity to build authentic partnerships with BIPOC colleagues?
      • April: How would a commitment to equity principles increase our capacity to build authentic partnerships with BIPOC colleagues?
      • May: How do we develop a better understanding of Black educators’ realities in order to better support them?
      • June: How do we reflect on our year of BARWE work and move our antiracism work forward?
  • Summer Events
    • Summer 2019 "Seeing White" Discussion
    • Summer 2020 Reading Series >
      • Summer Reading 2020: Purpose
      • Zoom Meeting 1: Stamped
      • Zoom Meeting 2: Stamped
      • Zoom Meeting 3: We Want to Do More Than Survive
      • Zoom Meeting 4: We Want to Do More Than Survive
    • Summer Series 2021 >
      • Why are we accepting payment this year?
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Inquiry Resources
    • How to Start a BARWE Group
    • Norms
    • Problem of Practice Protocol
    • Discussion Protocols
    • Bringing in Coconspirators
    • Facilitators Troubleshooting Guide
  • Current Series 22-23 School Year
    • September: How do we (re)connect and (re)commit to a/nother year of striving towards being antiracist educators?
    • October: How does a practice of accountability connect to our anti-racist work?
    • November: Where has accountability shown up for us in the past and where can we grow?
    • December: How can we be in accountable and transformative relationships with our students in order to create spaces for Black, Brown, and Indigenous students and all students of color to thrive?
    • January: How can we be accountable to our Black students in our planning and teaching practice?
    • February: What does accountability look like in your school or organization?
    • March: How can we give a genuine apology when we commit racist harm?
  • New Groups Start Here (Series 3)
    • September: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in ourselves and our institutions?
    • October: How can we as white educators center Black joy in our classrooms and schools?
    • November: How can we more deeply reflect and/or apply what we learned about white supremacy culture and Black Joy?
    • December: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our curriculum?
    • January: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our curriculum?
    • February: How can we create classroom culture that resists white supremacy and that nourishes Black joy?
    • March: How can we identify and challenge white supremacy culture in our classroom culture? How can we co-create joy with students?
    • April: How can we help develop staff culture that resists white supremacy culture and makes space for Black joy?
    • May: How can we help develop staff culture that resists white supremacy culture and makes space for Black joy?
  • Previous Inquiry Series
    • Inquiry Series 1 (2018-19 SY) >
      • August 2018: Why do white teachers need to talk about race?
      • September 2018: How can our curriculum challenge dominant and oppressive ideologies?
      • October 2018: How can we identify and challenge implicit bias in our own practice?
      • November 2018: How does whiteness affect our practices, relationships, and expectations in the classroom and the school community?
      • December 2018: How do we disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline?
      • January 2019: How can we ensure that our schools value Black lives?
      • February 2019: Why are teachers of color so important for our schools and how can we increase their numbers?
      • March 2019: How can we support colleagues of color and build anti-racist work environments?
      • April 2019: How can we implement culturally relevant teaching to challenge the culture of power that exists in schools?
      • May 2019: How do we push our schools, classrooms, and communities to incorporate more equitable disciplinary practices?
      • June 2019: How do we move this conversation forward and include more educators?
    • Inquiry Series 2 (2019-20 SY) >
      • September: What does it mean to develop an anti-racist identity as a white educator?
      • October: How do our implicit biases affect our students?
      • November: How could incorporating ethnic studies in our classrooms and schools help make our curriculum more antiracist?
      • December: How can we ensure that our school discipline policies are equitable and do not push girls of color out of school spaces?
      • January: How can we ensure that our schools value Black lives?
      • February: How can we recruit and retain more Black teachers in our schools?
      • March: How can White educators be accountable to their colleagues of color?
      • April: How can we interrupt anti-AAPI and xenophobic narratives in our classrooms and school communities?
      • May: How do we support our students during this crisis and connect to the larger fight to dismantle race and class oppression in our communities?
    • Inquiry Series 4 (2021-22 SY) >
      • September: How do we prepare ourselves for a year of striving towards being antiracist educators?
      • October: How can we take action when doing anti-racist work in spite of real or perceived risks?
      • November: How can we build lasting partnerships with co-conspirators?
      • December: What is a risky topic in my curriculum and how do I lean into that topic instead of shying away?
      • February: What barriers exist to forming partnerships with our students?
      • March: How would a commitment to equity principles increase our capacity to build authentic partnerships with BIPOC colleagues?
      • April: How would a commitment to equity principles increase our capacity to build authentic partnerships with BIPOC colleagues?
      • May: How do we develop a better understanding of Black educators’ realities in order to better support them?
      • June: How do we reflect on our year of BARWE work and move our antiracism work forward?
  • Summer Events
    • Summer 2019 "Seeing White" Discussion
    • Summer 2020 Reading Series >
      • Summer Reading 2020: Purpose
      • Zoom Meeting 1: Stamped
      • Zoom Meeting 2: Stamped
      • Zoom Meeting 3: We Want to Do More Than Survive
      • Zoom Meeting 4: We Want to Do More Than Survive
    • Summer Series 2021 >
      • Why are we accepting payment this year?
#BARWE215

Inquiry Series 2:
2019-20 School Year

If you are not yet on our mailing list, please join at bit.ly/barwe. You'll receive 2 emails per month from us with the discussion guides and any pertinent events or resources.

During the 2018-19 school year, BARWE rolled out a monthly inquiry series that featured an article/video, essential questions, and discussion protocol to more than 2,000 subscribers nationwide. BARWE groups met in Colorado, California, and North Carolina. Some school districts even incorporated BARWE work into their professional development. Feedback from groups showed that this work was meaningful, challenging, and timely. 


We’ve also heard from folks facing school or district level resistance to explicitly antiracist work. If you have experienced this, we’d love for you to reach out to barwe215@gmail.com, so we can connect you with others and start to develop strategies for addressing pushback. We’re also intending on focusing a month later in our series on this topic - if you have articles or resources, we’d love for you to send them our way.

For the 2019-20 school year, our second BARWE Inquiry Series will build on last year’s series.  We will continue to email a monthly article or video, discussion questions, and a protocol focusing on building anti-racist educators, schools, and communities.

We will start our Inquiry Series 2 in September. We found last year that many schools did not get the opportunity to meet in August. If you are able to meet in August, we recommend that you use that meeting to review your work last year and establish norms and a purpose for your group this year. If you need more tips on how to get your group off the ground, see this resource.

In the meantime, here are some big ideas we’d like to use as we begin to plan for this year’s inquiry series. Stay tuned for the first discussion guide on September 1!

Accountability to BIPOC

Note: In this section (and throughout this year), we will be using BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and BIPOC) in place of the term “people of color”. In line with the BIPOC Project, “We use the term BIPOC to highlight the unique relationship to whiteness that Indigenous and Black (African Americans) people have, which shapes the experiences of and relationship to white supremacy for all BIPOC within a U.S. context.” For more, you can visit their website.

While we do believe it is critical for white folks to play an active role in anti-racist work and conversations in their schools, it is also essential that this work is accountable to BIPOC folks, especially our colleagues, students, families, and communities. As an organization, we did not focus enough last year on this crucial aspect of our work. This is evolving work, and we would love to hear recommendations from you on how to add to this list. Here are a few tips:
  • Transparency: It is important to be clear with your colleagues about the purpose and content of these conversations. This could involve sending out or posting articles and discussion questions, and even sharing out notes from your conversations. White folks should not be having “secret” conversations about racism and white supremacy. It is important that we do this work “out in the open”.
  • Humility & Listening: As white people engaged in this work, it is important to maintain humility around the topic of race when in dialogue with our colleagues of color. The goal will never be to explain to a colleague how they should feel about race; rather, we want to learn how to be productive allies in the work towards racial justice in education and society. This involves active listening, rather than trying to present ourselves as “experts”.
  • Take Feedback on Your Racism: Inspired by “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo, it is important for us to take feedback on our racism with grace, to take that feedback seriously, and to act intentionally on it. 
  • Raise the Conversation: Too often in our schools and communities, racism and white supremacy are not discussed unless a BIPOC is present. And often, these topics aren’t discussed until a person of color raises the topic. As white folks, we have the privilege of not thinking about racism and white supremacy. This is not something that BIPOC folks have. It is important for us to play an active role in calling out racism and white supremacy when we see it in our classrooms, schools, and communities. This means not only speaking up about overt displays of racism, but also addressing systemic manifestations. 
  • Elevate Voices: Often, white supremacy and racism manifest in our schools and organizations by marginalizing the voices of BIPOC and denying them opportunities. It is our responsibility to advocate for our colleagues of color when leadership opportunities become available and supporting them in elevating their voices within our organizations and beyond.
  • Decenter Whiteness: While it is important to engage in this work as white folks, it is also essential for us not to center ourselves in antiracism work. For more on this idea, read this piece by educator Shana V. White.

As an organization, we have relationships with the Melanated Educators Collective and Caucus of Working Educators Racial Justice Committee in Philly, both led by Black people. We are currently seeking out grant funding to compensate organizations led by BIPOC to review our monthly discussion guides and provide feedback. We’ll send updates on this process in the coming months.

Focus on Action

Over the first year of our Inquiry Series, we received a fair amount of feedback with folks asking for more focus on action steps. And yes - anti-racist action is essential and pressing. Racism is literally killing BIPOC folks. 

First, we would like to emphasize that engaging in these discussions for developing your own anti-racist understanding and identity, finding ways to bring more people into the conversation, and developing authentic relationships with other anti-racist people is critical work towards building a foundation for meaningful action. Therefore, by continuing to dig deeper with our inquiry series and connect these resources with others, you are taking action.

This year, we will encourage you to take additional action steps on the individual, classroom, school, district, or community level, and we believe that the stronger your foundation and network of support is, the more impactful your action will be. 

What if I don’t work in a school?

We have spoken to many folks who are doing this work in organizations and museums that are involved in education, but don’t necessarily match the school context of most of our articles. If this is your experience, feel free to continue to use our resources. You could also consider using our discussion guides to do a book or podcast study that lasts several months. If you’re interested in going that route instead, we’d recommend:
  • Seeing White podcast from Scene on Radio (with a study guide available)
  • White Fragility by Robin Diangelo (with a discussion guide available)
  • How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Getting Involved

Last year, a core group of educators in Philadelphia planned, edited, and distributed these resources. In the coming year, we would love to get more folks involved - and to get more input on resources, topics, and action. If you’re interested in getting involved in the planning, or have a resource, topic, or action you think we should consider, please email us at barwe215@gmail.com. 

Stay tuned for more ways to get involved in the planning of our future work, and keep an eye out for our first discussion guide on September 1!
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