Blue Jersey:: The Danger of a Single Edu-Story

Blue Jersey:: The Danger of a Single Edu-Story:

The Danger of a Single Edu-Story by: okaikor Mon Sep 29, 2014 at 06:40:07 AM EDT

After several of us posted about an education bloggers meeting we had here in NJ with newly-elected NEA president Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Okaikor raised the question of why there were no black educators there. I thought it was a good question, particularly for NJEA to be invited to respond to, but for all of us attendees to consider, too. I asked Okaikor, a longtime teacher and NJEA member, to write this - her first post here. Jersey Jazzman wrote his thoughts here. I'm aware the questions raised here are challenging. I invite response here with the hope that we discuss this in a way that respects difference and moves past defensiveness. Because this is important stuff. - Promoted by Rosi.This year our country commemorated the 60th Anniversary of the groundbreaking ruling of Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education. With it, many studies that were released explicated the United States is just as segregated today if not more, than we were then. So it's official; apartheid schooling in the United States never subsided. In fact, a recent UCLA and Rutgers study detailed the presence and impact of New Jersey's apartheid and severely segregated schools. What this study tells us is apartheid schooling is the civil rights issue of our time because it never ended; people were just able to find more clever and covert ways around discriminating against people of color. In fact, since Brown v. BOE, black teachers have steadily declined. Prior to Brown v. BOE, black teachers made up about 16 percent of the teaching force. Now, black teachers make up about six percent. How can that be? Well, systemic racism is the short answer. The long answer? Well, systemic racism.   Racism is a tough topic for many people in this country because of the ugly history and present manifestations make white people uncomfortable. Many feel it is unfair that they must feel uneasy about something in which they do not think they actively participate. However, silence and turning a blind eye to issues that relate to racism and other forms of oppression makes one complicit. When people and organizations fail to fully explore the ways in which they perpetuate racist systems it makes them an active participant. So yes, nice people, and good organizations do racist things. The thing about racism is that it is so insidious, and so inherent in the very fabric and DNA of this country that there is no way to circumvent being an active target, or beneficiary and participant. On the bright side, there are ways to interrupt and disrupt oppression, and that involves actively listening, and engaging in anti-oppression analysis and discourse with people of color.

okaikor :: The Danger of a Single Edu-Story

This year our country commemorated the 60th Anniversary of the groundbreaking ruling of Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education. With it, many studies that were released explicated the United States is just as segregated today if not more, than we were then. So it's official; apartheid schooling in the United States never Blue Jersey:: The Danger of a Single Edu-Story: