Celebrating ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ with Affirmations for our Children and our Inner Child. We invite you to speak these words aloud and speak life in your children and to the parts of yourself that needed to hear these words as a child. Healing our inner child is tied to raising liberated children. You are loved! Affirmations were written by Black parents during our last book club series.
February 1st marks the beginning of the 4th annual Black Lives Matter at School national Week of Action!
There are so many events happening all around the country. Below is a calendar of online events for each day of the week to counter anti-Blackness in education. In this era of mass incarceration, there is a school-to-prison-pipeline system that is more invested in locking up youth than unlocking their minds. That system uses harsh discipline policies that push Black students out of schools at disproportionate rates; denies students the right to learn about their own cultures and whitewashes the curriculum to exclude many of the struggles and contributions of Black people and other people of color; and is pushing out Black teachers from the schools in cities around the country. That is why Black Lives Matter at School movement:
Throughout the week, many thousands of educators will be wearing shirts to school that say, “Black Lives Matter at School” and will teach lessons about structural racism, intersectional Black identities, and Black history in cities all across the country.
Join us every day of the week in the struggle for Black joy and education!
Monday February 1:
2021 BLM Week of Action Creative Challenge Submission Youth are encouraged to answer this prompt: What makes you feel free to dream, safe to thrive in schools and communities?
Tuesday February 2:
Elementary Read Aloud at 11:30am-12:30pm sponsored by the Northshore School District Racial & Educational Justice team. LaTisha Joseph, librarian at Northshore’s Woodmoor Elementary, and Ebony Harvey, principal at Northshore’s Woodmoor Elementary, will facilitate a read aloud and Q&A for elementary students with the two children’s books: “I’m Every Good Thing” by Derrick Barnes and “The Undefeated” by Kwame Alexander.
Wednesday February 3:
For the Culture: An Ethnic Studies Documentary at 6-7pm. Educator and Student Activist Cece Chan presents her documentary in conversation with NAACP-Youth Council student activists. Come learn about Black Lives Matter At School’s demand for Black History and Ethnic Studies.
Thursday February 4:
Black Students United with Michael Bennett at 11-11:50am. Michael Bennett, former defensive player for the Seattle Seahawks, activist, author, and founder of the Bennett Foundation, will speak about his journey and work, what it means to build community, intersectionality, and what it means for Black lives to matter at school.
Making Black Lives Matter: From the Streets to the Classroom at 12:30-1:30pm. Join Opal Tometi, Brian Jones, Denisha Jones, Jesse Hagopian and Marshรฉ Doss in conversation about Black Lives Matter and education justice.
Friday February 5:
Young, Gifted, & Black Student Talent Showcase Friday February 5 at 5:30-7:30pm pacific. Youth Sign-Up form for any youth interested in participating. Keynote event of the 2021 Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.
Additional Resources & Links:
It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. The Corona Virus has forced me to address so many things virtually, that the last thing I’ve had the energy for was sitting down in front of the computer for yet another thing. I didn’t even want to think about an Op-Ed. However, the current chatter about returning to schools has me thinking about how Black children are once again being used to serve the needs of Whites. This is not a new slight-of- hand—claim something serves the needs of “the least of these” but in reality, the rich continue to get richer.
The current conversation regarding re-opening school is all about how closed schools are hurting the most vulnerable students—Black students, Latinx students, English Language Learners, poor students, and students with disabilities. But, in truth the parents clamoring the most about opening schools are the parents of the most privileged children. They are concerned that their children’s resumes are being tarnished by missing all of this school. They are comparing their children’s progress with that of their private school peers who they perceive to be moving ahead of them. They are concerned that their kids’ inability to participate in varsity sports and athletics may be hurting their scholarship chances. They are recognizing that having their kids at home and having to plan for each and every hour of their school day or perhaps having to sit beside them and assist with their virtual learning does not help one climb the corporate ladder. Actually, none of these reasons for wanting schools to be opened is a bad one. Just say that’s why you want schools to open!
Don’t pretend you have some deep conviction to the education of Black children. If that’s your motivation, where was it last year when school was in session? Weren’t Black children struggling then? Weren’t they over identified for special education CONTINUE READING: Stop Using Black Children as an Excuse to Open Your Schools | Black&Smart
