Shut. It. Down. (On The Battles for Racial Equity and Public Education) | The Jose Vilson

Shut. It. Down. (On The Battles for Racial Equity and Public Education) | The Jose Vilson:

Shut. It. Down. (On The Battles for Racial Equity and Public Education)

39,000 feet above the ground, the chants still ring in my ear:

What do we want? JUSTICE!
When do we want it? NOW!
What do we want? JUSTICE!
When do we want it? NOW!

We hit a rhythm right around here:

If we don’t get it? SHUT IT DOWN!
If we don’t get it? SHUT IT DOWN!
If. We. Don’t. Get. It? SHUT! IT! DOWN!

Indeed, with more than a dozen social justice advocacy groups from across the country co-hosting an event with the American Federation of Teachers in New Orleans, LA, one might have expected a palpable ferment take over the room. The AFT’s Racial and Social Justice Conference, with its 600+ attendees, felt like a direct response to the question of whether any teachers union would respond to the consternation in our streets and our classrooms. Parent groups, community activists, union leadership, LGBTQ collectives, prison reform groups, and advocacy institutions of all ages, and many cultural backgrounds immediately charged with the task of justice, including an opening action and rally in front of NOLA’s city hall. 

This felt like the perfect space for us to challenge the inadequate resolutions that have beset those fighting for a better public education. 

The public education blueprint for many of us for years has encompassed these items: stop the privatization and charterization of public schools, decrease (if not eliminate) the amount of Shut. It. Down. (On The Battles for Racial Equity and Public Education) | The Jose Vilson: