Black Excellence Does Exist and It Lives in Our Kids

I’m guilty of saying Black boys and girls are failing in school—a good chunk of us are. Going forward, I’m committing to correcting that language…

Yes, White Teachers Still Need to Be Ready to Talk to Students About Race

“What’s the difference between a killing and a lynching?” The question popped up on my phone through the Google Hangouts app I installed in March.…

Statues Are Only One Kind of Monument to White Supremacy

Every year, I ask my students to identify phenomena in our world that are both imagined and real. In other words, what are some things…

White Teachers, Our Whiteness Is Getting in Our Way

Since the murder of George Floyd, teacher leaders across America have sought to prove the necessity of antiracism in public education. And rightly so: from…

It Will Take More Than a Name Change to Rid Your School of White Supremacy

There is a myriad of disparities and gaps that exist in our society, placing people of color at a disadvantage. We are seeing this play…

What If Your Entire School System Was the Racist Monument That Should Come Down?

The angry protestors are coming for public statues of historic Americans as diverse as Confederate traitors like Robert E. Lee and slave-owning American founders like George Washington.…

A Student Who Is Ineffectively Taught by an Anti-Racist Teacher Is Not Receiving Justice

Last Sunday educators, students, and families marched in Philadelphia demanding a long overdue anti-racist action in the city’s schools, insisting that anti-racism “be the overarching…

Award-Winning Teachers Demand 4 Anti-Racist Policies to Ensure Schools Are a Place of Liberation

As educators, and also as community members, parents, and learners, the undersigned 2018 Teachers of the Year, rise in solidarity with Black Lives Matter against…

Seriously, Betsy? The Civil Rights Act

On Friday U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released a statement celebrating the 56th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, passed in 1957 by a Republican-controlled…

Are You An Anti-Racist Educator? Here Are Seven Questions to Help You Decide.

Last week, something in my spirit told me to create an Instagram post on Canva that stated the following:  Okay people, the jury is out! …