As we begin our 9th inquiry series, BARWE Core decided to look ahead to the future of antiracist work for white folks in education. Last year, we looked back at some of our favorite resources from our past series, and we realized that many publications and organizations we had previously highlighted aren’t as active as they once were.
We also realized that we are at a very different time now than when we started. In 2018, there was a rising tide of antiracist work in education. We felt this continue to grow through 2020 when it felt like everyone wanted to join an antiracist book club or add antiracist language to their mission statement. But it became clear that for many, the commitment didn’t extend beyond words. And in the years since, we have seen the momentum fade and antiracist work increasingly under attack from the local level all the way to the federal government.
But the work has continued - led primarily by Black, Brown, Indigenous and Asian organizers, educators, parents, and students. And so, what better way to consider our future direction as an organization and the roles we as white educators need to play than by centering their voices?
Starting monthly on October 1, we’ll welcome you to a new conversation with the organizers, students, and educators leading the way, where we explore what white educators need to know and do to engage in antiracist work in our current era. Our goal is for these conversations to jump start discussions in your groups, while they also influence our future direction as an organization.
Spend this month preparing for BARWE in your school, organization, or community:
We look forward to reading your questions. Watch your inbox on October 1 for our first conversation.
Pass The Hat:
In addition to being accountable to our colleagues and students of color, we believe it is important to be financially accountable to people of color who are doing this work on a daily basis. Each month, we will recommend an organization led by people of color, in education and beyond, doing the work of pushing for justice.
At the end of each monthly discussion, pass a hat (or a box) and collect donations for the designated organization. You can then have one group member go online and donate in the name of your school. If you want, you can add “Building Anti-Racist White Educators” after your school name.
This month, we encourage you to donate to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief. Mutual Aid Disaster Relief is a grassroots disaster relief network based on the principles of solidarity, mutual aid, and autonomous direct action. Currently providing aid in Gary, Indiana, MADR is part of a network of “neighbors, mutual aid networks, and grassroots who are keeping each other alive by running popup kitchens and donation hubs, distributing supplies door to door, and checking in on elders as mobile medics. We know from experience that we save each other.”
We also realized that we are at a very different time now than when we started. In 2018, there was a rising tide of antiracist work in education. We felt this continue to grow through 2020 when it felt like everyone wanted to join an antiracist book club or add antiracist language to their mission statement. But it became clear that for many, the commitment didn’t extend beyond words. And in the years since, we have seen the momentum fade and antiracist work increasingly under attack from the local level all the way to the federal government.
But the work has continued - led primarily by Black, Brown, Indigenous and Asian organizers, educators, parents, and students. And so, what better way to consider our future direction as an organization and the roles we as white educators need to play than by centering their voices?
Starting monthly on October 1, we’ll welcome you to a new conversation with the organizers, students, and educators leading the way, where we explore what white educators need to know and do to engage in antiracist work in our current era. Our goal is for these conversations to jump start discussions in your groups, while they also influence our future direction as an organization.
Spend this month preparing for BARWE in your school, organization, or community:
- If you already have a group up and running, reconnect and set an introductory meeting this month. Bring snacks!
- We know the challenges of recruiting folks to meet, especially given how overextended educators are these days. If you’re trying to start or restart a group, meet with 1 or 2 friends - you can always grow when ready.
- If your group has questions you want to explore this year, reply with them here and we will try to incorporate them into our conversations.
- With escalating attacks on antiracist work, we recommend joining our mailing list and communicating with your group using personal, non-school/org emails and modes of communication. This move is not out of fear, but rather to strategically protect our work.
We look forward to reading your questions. Watch your inbox on October 1 for our first conversation.
Pass The Hat:
In addition to being accountable to our colleagues and students of color, we believe it is important to be financially accountable to people of color who are doing this work on a daily basis. Each month, we will recommend an organization led by people of color, in education and beyond, doing the work of pushing for justice.
At the end of each monthly discussion, pass a hat (or a box) and collect donations for the designated organization. You can then have one group member go online and donate in the name of your school. If you want, you can add “Building Anti-Racist White Educators” after your school name.
This month, we encourage you to donate to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief. Mutual Aid Disaster Relief is a grassroots disaster relief network based on the principles of solidarity, mutual aid, and autonomous direct action. Currently providing aid in Gary, Indiana, MADR is part of a network of “neighbors, mutual aid networks, and grassroots who are keeping each other alive by running popup kitchens and donation hubs, distributing supplies door to door, and checking in on elders as mobile medics. We know from experience that we save each other.”