The Time for Racial Justice in Schools is Now
by Asamia Diaby
I’ve been a NYC public school student all my life. From early childcare, to graduating from CUNY Lehman, I have been a student at public schools and public institutions across The Bronx. I feel that this is important to mention because my perspective on the current racial climate is shaped by my lived experience. The NYC school district is the largest school district in the whole country. Our experiences as NYCDOE students are unique in many ways. Wherever I go, I take these experiences with me and as a community organizer committed to racial justice, the challenges I navigated as a young New Yorker shape my worldview before anything else.
I went to school during the “No Child Left Behind” in a post 9/11 New York City. My earliest memories of school are intrinsically connected to standardized testing, anti-blackness, and islamophobia exacerbated by racist and xenophobic governments. I assume educators at that time were constantly struggling with trying to navigate how to truly educate students while also preparing them for standardized tests – because the two are not mutually exclusive. Our curriculums were not culturally responsive and even though most of my teachers were Black and Brown women, I did not feel as though I really received a culturally responsive and competent education growing up. I didn’t feel reflected in our classwork and learning materials. Additionally, I had to navigate non-stop attacks on me as a dark-skinned, African, Muslim girl. My fellow poor Black and Brown students used my identities to justify pulling off my hijab or hurling extremely xenophobic insults at me. Going to school every day was definitely a challenge.
As an adult who luckily has been able to really dive into how racism and white supremacy drives this country, I hold no resentment towards the young people I grew up with who were extremely violent to me and other students who they regarded as “different.” When students are taught and raised in a society that is rooted in white supremacy, colorism, racism, xenophobia, and prejudice, they internalize these ideologies, and it shapes the way they engage with their peers. I understand this deeply. That is why I advocate for schools and educational spaces to have not only a racial justice lens but also an intersectional lens.
Schools can be transformational settings. They can and do have grave impacts on the lives of many. For far too long, students have been indoctrinated to uphold white supremacy, to aspire to capitalistic examples of success, and to marginalize and ostracize anyone who deviates from the status quo. It is time to begin challenging this reality. We have seen the ways that young people are being raised to enact racially charged violence on communities. The “Dylan Roofs” are the extreme cases. Racially charged violence happens daily, in classrooms across the country. Currently we are witnessing attacks on critical race theory and other attempts at addressing racism and white supremacy within schools. Those who are opposed to equity have unleashed a very coordinated attack on our school communities. It is and has been time for those who claim to care about racial justice to take concrete steps towards making this a reality across all schools in this city. Many BIPOC advocates, organizers, and community members have been doing this work for decades. Following their lead, we must invest in educators of colors. We need culturally responsive curriculum. We need accountability measures to address instances of harm and racial violence within school settings. We also need to begin tackling the ways that racism and white supremacy manifest in school policies such as school policing, dress codes, disciplinary policies and so much more. Racial Justice in education will require a true transformation of schooling as we know it. It is time to make it a reality.
While school was difficult for me, it was also a space of deep affirmation and support for me. Regardless of the challenges I faced, I always looked forward to going to school. My teachers cared about me. I found lifetime friendships in my classmates. I felt important and I felt like I belonged. I want this to be the reality for all students (minus the bullying and discrimination). Practices and policies rooted in Racial justice is one way we can make this a reality.
