If You’re Still Wondering Why We Have to Teach Social Justice, Here’s Your Answer

If you’re not already aware, right before the new year a Black man was arrested at a Huntington Bank in Cleveland, Ohio, for cashing his…

After a Year Like 2018, Teachers Can No Longer Stay Silent About Injustice

After a year like this one, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting and questioning how so many injustices can still exist in our nation…

Stop Trying to ‘All Lives Matter’ the Black Struggle for Educational Justice

Outrage: White People Won’t Be Satisfied Until We Make Our Struggle About Them I get tired of people trying to “All Lives Matter” my advocacy—especially White…

How We Build a Pipeline of Teachers That Know How to Talk About Race and Social Justice

Nearly 60 years ago, our nation’s students watched as leaders of the civil rights movement pushed back against entrenched Jim Crow laws and re-defined American…

A Second Listen to Student Voice

Common Core author David Coleman shocked a crowd of educators in 2011 when he declared, “…as you grow up in this world, you realize people…

Start the School Year With Equity in Mind

I’ve always liked the beginning of the school year much more than I like the ending. There is a mad rush at the end of…

What James Baldwin’s Activism Can Teach Schools About Social Justice

Every August 2, I spend nearly the entire day observing the birthday of the late James Baldwin, one of the 20th century’s most esteemed and…

I’m Really Damn Liberal, and My Students All Know It

Social justice teaching is not, or should not, be about teaching students what to think. We should teach critical thinking, teach about empathy and with…

My High School Was an Unusual Place, But It Was the Perfect Fit for Me

Most runners will tell you that finding the perfect pair of running shorts constitutes a special and all too rare victory. As a runner myself,…

Why Meek Mill’s Release From Prison Matters More to Your Students Than You Think

The enslavement, segregation and brutality of Black communities has been the bloody heirloom to White America for centuries. And the prison-industrial complex has been a…