NYU Metro Center's ongoing commitment to promoting educational equity and confronting anti-Black racism and white supremacy has spanned four decades. As we have pursued this work, a difficult truth has emerged: white people have internalized messages, attitudes, and beliefs about white supremacy, regardless of their intentions or awareness, and often act to perpetuate racial hierarchies in our schools and communities. We believe it is the collective responsibility of white people to articulate, address and act to change these white supremacist mindsets.
As Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian descendant people challenge white people to act, many whites are seeking opportunities to expose supremacist ideologies and practice anti-racism. To support these efforts, NYU’s Metro Center introduces an Anti-Racist and Critical Whiteness Initiative, grounded in work that Metro has developed over decades. Our current efforts manifest our continuing organizational commitment to disrupt and dismantle systems, structures, policies, and practices that uphold white supremacy. To counter systemic racism, Metro Center promotes and helps to implement racial justice efforts in collaboration with young people, parents, communities, educators in NYC and across the country.
The Center’s collaborations embrace a wide range of organizations and institutions, particularly in communities of color. Our commitment to theoretical frameworks, experience-based knowledge/capacity, and research-based evidence are driven by the needs and concerns of Black and Brown people. We work directly with staff and leadership of a broad range of organizations, and we also provide technical assistance and strategic coaching to individuals or groups. Our work encompasses the following roles:
- We serve as advisors to anti-racist initiatives’ development and design, including the articulation of theories of action and the translation of ideas across policy, foundation, school, and community sectors
- We collaborate with organizational and institutional staff to help build the capacity and effectiveness of anti-racist work
- We assist in creating materials, tools, and practices to integrate anti-racist principles and strategies into existing education initiatives
- We conduct in-depth studies, literature reviews, data analyses, and other background research on anti-racist education and issues related to school settings, school systems, and communities.
Offerings
Educational Justice Research and Organizing Collaborative: Expertise in parent and community organizing and coalition building for racial justice, in education, quick turnaround data and research support, culturally responsive-sustainable education (CRS-E) and in anti-racist training, coaching, and skills-building for public school parents and parent groups, especially for white parents committed to becoming antiracist.
Center for Strategic Solutions: National expertise in working with stakeholders in educational communities and other organizations to operationalize critical change around race, power, and privilege.
Integration and Initiativation Initiative: Expertise in youth development, community coalition building & policy design