Equity Update
January
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
An equity perspective regarding the insurgence at the Capitol-
Some of you have reached out to me asking for an equity perspective on what happened at the Capitol last Wednesday. The insurgence at the Capitol was a threat to our democracy, an attempt to stop our elected representatives from carrying out their constitutional duty, and a refusal to accept the will of the people. Our current president helped encouraged this insurgence. For months, he peddled false accusations about a stolen election, launched several failed lawsuits, and refused to concede to President elect, Joe Biden. The insurgence on the Capitol was about forgoing our democracy and keeping a president in power against the will of the people. President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Joe Biden from becoming our next President of the United States. We cannot skim past this threat to our democracy. In fact, when you look at the reactions to Wednesday of past presidents, politicians, and anti-racist organizations, they all focused their responses around the threat to democracy. The Presidency is supposed to transcend the individual. In order for equality to happen, we must have a democracy.
Now, the difference in police preparedness and response to the insurgence on the Capitol and the ways the police respond to black and brown people in all kinds of situations is a stark contrast. For example, there was a vast difference in the police preparedness for and response to the insurgence at the Capitol versus the response to the BLM protests in D.C. on June 2. While this may be hard for some to accept, this difference in preparedness and response is the definition of white privilege. Looking at the police response at the Capitol in comparison to the BLM protests, it is easy to see the difference in treatment. When our students, families, and teachers of color see this stark difference in response, you can understand why they would be traumatized, enraged, and fearful. Having an equity lens is being willing to acknowledge the difference in police preparedness and response, and not remaining silent.
We must also put our equity lens on when we look at some of President Trump’s supporters. President Trump is supported by hate groups and white supremacists. I believe this is uncomfortable for many to admit and may even cause defensiveness by those who voted for him who would not count themselves as having similar beliefs to these groups. However, as hard as it may be to come to terms with, we cannot ignore that these groups believe they have shared values with President Trump and his ideologies. Black and Brown people have been watching this base of supporters for the past four years and are not surprised to see that some of those supporters that stormed the Capitol were carrying Confederate flags, the noose, and waving or wearing anti-Semitic signs/shirts.
Admittedly, dissecting the events of last Wednesday is too complex for one email from the Equity department to solve. This requires dialogue, time to process, and continuous learning on our parts. In this vein, the Equity department plans on holding PD sessions where people can process, dialogue, and grow in their learning around systemic racism. Please stay tuned for these sessions.
As educators, you are in the position of helping to do the hard work of equity and diversity. It is easy to surround ourselves by people who believe the same way we do, but it is hard work to have conversations with people who believe vastly differently from us. Growing and developing an equity lens in all of our colleagues is essential in order to help support BIPOC staff and students and fulfill the mission of our districts equity commitment. You are also in a place to to help process with students how to make a more just and inclusive society, and how to have courageous conversations. This is a good time to read and research how our BIPOC community is responding to the events that happened this past Wednesday.
Please reach out if you need help, support, or just want to process.
Email: sivadasana@isssaquah.wednet.edu
Website: https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/equity
Phone: (425) 837-7122
Facebook: facebook.com/IssaquahSchoolDistrictFamilyPartnership
Intersectionality refers to the social, economic and political ways in which identity-based systems of oppression and privilege connect, overlap and influence one another. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined this term in 1989 explaining “it’s a framework…to trace the impact of racism, of sexism, other modes of discrimination, where they come together and create sometimes unique circumstances, obstacles, barriers for people who are subject to all those things.” When teachers keep this in mind and use an intersectional lens, they can recognize the factors that may contribute to the student’s educational success.
Read more here – https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2016/teaching-at-the-intersections
Video here - https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2016/online-exclusive-intersectionality-101
Resources for talking with students about racism, protests, social justice, trauma, and violent events
As educators, we need to be prepared to talk with students about crisis or events that happen in our schools, district, community, nation, and world. While these conversations are difficult, may create anxiety, or can leave us with no lived experience from which to draw, we must still forge forward and have the conversations.
In the event of a crisis, all of us feel the pressure of responding to events in real time, and doing so in a thoughtful and healing manner. Remember, the most important factor is not remaining silent. Our students do not expect perfection. Acknowledging that something has happened and listening are often all our students need.
In the event of a crisis, remember that you have been giving training on how to handle these conversations. You have had professional development from Dr. Caprice Hollins and the Equity Department. You can access resources on the Equity Staff Hub page. Remember, the same approach in past crisis often applies to current crisis. There is no perfect script or lesson plan. Our students simply need you to show up, acknowledge what has happened, and listen. YOU are enough.
*Please see below for a myriad of resources we always have on hand to help support you in a myriad of situations pertaining to equity and diversity.
Boston Public School Classroom lesson plan idea for using a Classroom Circles to process traumatic events with students
Source: Boston superintendent provides teachers with tools for discussing riot at US Capitol (wcvb.com)
Secondary Circle January 7 2021 - Google Slides
MLK Day Resources
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which was signed into law as a federal holiday in 1983, is just around the corner. Though Martin Luther King Jr should be thought about and taught throughout the year, here are guidelines adapted from Leslie Willis-Taylor, which can be used in your classrooms to prepare.
Staff and families can honor and celebrate Martin Luther King this Monday or anytime this weekend by taking a walk at Lake Sammamish State Park. Visitors can socially distance while reading many of MLK's inspirational quotes including his I have a dream speech. Families have the opportunity to engage in conversations about race, equity, riots, and social justice since the quotes provides a great entry for these courageous and important conversations, especially given current events. https://issaquahwednet-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/gilmourl_issaquah_wednet_edu/ESP5R1m-pDFDq5SuVa6FZhkBjcXh9CcSm1O0uYKsy4IrWw
State park entrance fee will be waived on Monday to ensure ALL families have access to this event opportunity. Remember to take your mask and maintain social distance. For more information Celebrate MLK
- Don’t assume. Ask your students what they know about Dr. King.
Activate background knowledge using developmentally appropriate tools. For primary grades, use a KWL chart. For upper elementary and beyond, create an anticipatory set. Note that students who have immigrated to the United States may need additional scaffolds. For older students, you may ask these students to compare and contrast the civil rights movement in the United States with the progression of civil rights in their native countries in order to build background knowledge. Click here https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/dos-and-donts-of-celebrating-mlk-day for some Do’s and Don’ts for you to consider when celebrating MLK Day.
- Incorporate action-based activities.
In addition to teaching about how critical physical movement was to the civil rights era, offer opportunities for students to participate in hands-on civic engagement. It might be a school-wide event, a classroom-based activity or community service opportunity. For inspiration, https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/student-tasks/do-something, list several tasks that students can do to honor Dr. King.
- Use historical primary resources.
Incorporate primary resources into your instruction, such as a virtual tour of Dr. King’s childhood home and documents and photos that require inferential thinking.” Read books about Dr. King written by black or African-American authors http://bcbooksandauthors.com/remembering-king-10-books-to-celebrate-m-l-king-jr-day/
- Connecting to the present – This is important when teaching about Martin Luther King Jr and the civil rights movement. For example, teach about the 2013 Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act and bridge it with the movement from years ago. Currently the news is filled with stories on immigration policies, educational and income disparities and the struggle of gender equality. These all have roots in the civil rights movement. Read more https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/TTM%20Essentials_0%281%29.pdf in The March Continues, Five Essential Practices for Teaching the Civil Rights Movement by Teaching Tolerance to help students connect to the past to the present.
Leslie Wills-Taylor, a fourth-grade teacher, is one of the five recipients of the 2016 Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/going-the-extra-mile-for-mlk-day
Racial Healing and Reconciliation in the 21st Century
n honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the National Day of Racial Healing, Eastside For All and the Eastside Race and Leadership Coalition invite you to a virtual community forum featuring Mr. Delbert Richardson, Community Scholar, Ethnomuseumologist, Second Generation Storyteller, and Creator of the National Awarding Winning American History Traveling Museum: The Unspoken Truths.
Saturday, Jan 16, 2021, 10:00 AM
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History Months
Last year, a couple of us from the Equity Department started learning, through various Professional Development conferences we attended, that History Months can be detrimental. Specifically, if a given history month is the only time students of color are represented or celebrated, it can send a message to white and non-white students that we don't talk about people of color outside of that given month. Keeping this learning in mind, the Equity department will spotlight different history months. However, our main focus is ensuring that our students of color see themselves represented every day at school, not just during a specific month. History months are important, but it is essential that, as educators, we work daily to make sure all of our students see themselves in the curriculum and instructional practices we use.
*The Equity department recognizes there are many history month celebrations and we may not be able to spotlight all of them.
Black History Month
February has been designated Black History Month and has been honored by American presidents since 1976. This isn’t the first observance of the month; extensive information on the origins and the evolution of Black History month can be found here https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month.
As educators, we should honor and celebrate blacks and African Americans in our classrooms throughout the year. Until all history books and information are more accurate, it is vital that we tell a more rounded story. “It’s not uncommon for educators to focus on slavery, segregation, and other forms of oppression during Black History Month,” states CoShandra Dillard in Teaching Tolerance. It’s imperative not to pick snippets and whitewash historical narratives. We also need to commit to decentering racial trauma. Ways that we can do this is working on teaching the following:
· Teach the History of Liberation Movements
· Honor Black Civic Engagement
· Recognize Intersectional Black Identity
· Celebrating Black Literature
Read more here on how we can teach a more rounded story - https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/black-history-month-teaching-the-complete-history
https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/dos-and-donts-of-teaching-black-historyProfessional Development
- Processing the events that happened at the Capitol through an Equity lens (coming soon)
- Book Study: How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (Dates coming soon)
Six week course- Helps participants understand different forms of racism in society and how to eliminate them, and then apply that new learning to their teaching.
*Soon to be in True North Logic