To all the good people who use “There is no racism in America” as defense; to all the good people who say “Calling out racism is divisive and unproductive” to push back against a national reckoning; to all the good people who want “My children to grow up without legal protections and race bias in hiring” because DEI initiatives seem excessive… This essay is for you.
Good people do not defend wrongs by claiming their nonexistence. Good people do face truths and acknowledge faults. Good people do not defend racism by claiming that discussions about racism should be secretive or that discussions always lead to discord or violence. Good people do argue that exposing and destroying malignance are requisite to healing wounds and restoring progress. Good people do not remove assistance and relief others must rely on while enjoying unearned or inherited benefits. Good people creative and support opportunities for outsiders, outcasts, invisibles, and powerless Others because The Others as members of our communities and nation benefit Us.
Sometime in the first few years of my teaching career, I engaged in a one-day conference that changed how I thought about my students, their families, my community, my lessons and assessments, my pedagogy, and Me. I forgot who the administration brought in to Raton schools to lead the conference; I would gladly praise them. Because the district middle school and high school teaching staff were few, forty at most, we held the one-day conference in the library where every teacher could participate. One early exercise stands out in my memory. Conference leaders asked this question, “Do you believe that every child can learn?” I will not describe how some teachers answered that question; I will speak only for myself. I remember wanting to answer “yes” but my insides said “no.” I fought hard that day. I wrestled with myself. I knew that I must believe every child has the innate capability to learn; however, I believed…some children are less capable than others. Either because they do not inherit intelligence, they culturally reject opportunities, or they naturally resist struggles. When I wrote these ideas on paper and voiced them, I began to recognize how flawed my beliefs truly were. Our group discussions, though heated at times, proved vital to understanding my embedded beliefs. Although I would normally avoid confrontations, I could not do so in that room with my colleagues.
I could not change my beliefs overnight but, I could begin the arduous process. I became a better educator when I accepted my full responsibility of giving every child the same access to acknowledge, expecting every child to learn on their own time and in their own way, finding ways to meet every child’s classroom needs, believing every child who breathes is a learner, that every child can grow their intelligence. My journey was not over after twenty-five years in public school classrooms. I failed far more than I succeeded. However, I Know with certainty that we must not hide or protect our embedded beliefs as if they are precious truths.
Our nation is at a reckoning. The Republican party and the Trump Administration are using racist, bigoted, unreasonable, refuted beliefs about white Christian male supremacy to rewrite our nation’s history, to enact cruel policies, to steal opportunities from people in our communities, to enrich themselves, to divide and conquer us. Those of us in The Resistance must keep these discussions about our racist policies and beliefs alive. We must call out racism and bigotry everywhere it rears its ugly head. The supremacists exist in all politics and political parties, in industry and in corporate leadership, in public education and in religious organizations. We can only defeat the supremacists when they know that The Others see them for who they are. We can only mitigate and eradicate racism when we challenge the racist policies and ideas. Now is the time to speak out and act. The lynchings of our democratic progressive socialist policies will not cease unless we fight back.
Good people will find their voices, use their abilities and powers to fight.