Racial Equity and Educational Justice Requires Systemic Changes

The education justice movement and the prison justice movement have been operating separately in many places as though they're in silos. But the reality is we're not going to provide meaningful education opportunities to poor kids, kids of color, until and unless we recognize that we're wasting trillions of dollars on a failed criminal justice system. ~ Michelle Alexander

"Antiracism is not "my" campaign. I have been doing antiracism organizing, activism, educating and writing for 20 years, in one form or another, but it's not a personal crusade. My work is part of a larger tradition, and larger effort, involving mostly people of color, and of course some white allies as well." ~ Tim Wise

Shifting public education to educational justice and racial equity will require transforming the system, but numerous school boards and schools are working towards the following:

Implement restorative practices of justice rather than punitive policy that disproportionately affects Indigenous, Black, and other racialized students.

Hire to prioritize the recruitment of Indigenous and other racialized teachers and administrators who reflect student population demographics.

Maintain Indigenous and other racialized worldviews at the center, not as an add-on but as part of history, literature, and social studies.

Very difficult to institute ethnic studies classes that examine systemic racism, colonialism, and past injustices and provide bilingual and Indigenous language education by allowing students to maintain and build their linguistic and cultural identities.

Another tough one by providing all teachers with continuous education in bias, systemic racism, and inclusive teaching strategies.

It would be perfect if schools or boards collect and compare racial achievement gaps, discipline, and opportunity data, then are forced to act on it.

Easily attainable in order to strengthen alliances with racialized and Indigenous communities. The schools need to be proactively involved in consulting with the community leaders, Elders, religious leaders and activists.

Collect students' support in order to mobilize and take up issues of racial equity at schools.

Racial trauma is experienced by most marginalized students. Teachers, school administrations, and counselors should be trained to develop cultural training competence.

Intervene to counteract poverty and food insecurity through free school meal programs, after-school extracurricular activity programs, and other social resources.