“George Floyd. One in dozens of names that we know off the top of our heads, along with Ahmaud Arbery. Trayvon Martin. Sandra Bland. Philando Castille. Eric Garner. Tamir Rice. Laquan McDonald, Brionna Taylor. Racist actions resulting in the murders of Black people. Some by citizens, some by police. And countless others that have died at the hands of racism, whose names we forget. Why? Part of the reason is systemic racism in education. Seventhy-nine percent of educators are White. Yet 52 percent of our students identify as Black, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, or Native American (National Center for Education Statistics).

So, what SHOULD we learn from George Floyd’s murder?

First, we must learn how to be anti-racist, not NOT racist. Dr. Ibram X. Kendi (author of How to Be an Antiracist)  says, “I define an antiracist as someone who is expressing an antiracist idea or supporting an antiracist policy with their actions, and I define an antiracist idea as any idea that says the racial groups are equal.” To be anti-racist, we should learn about bias and do the lifelong internal work of uncovering, naming, sitting with, and talking about our biases. We ALL have biases. They’re part of our socialized brains. I have uncovered many of mine (and have many more) that have changed the way I interact with my Black students and students of color. The internal work is messy. It’s hard. You’ll get defensive. But keep asking yourself, “What will happen to my Black students if I don’t advocate for them?” DiAngelo’s White Fragility is PERFECT for this work.

Most important of all, we need to LISTEN to the Black community. We need to pull back the curtain on micro (and not-so-micro) aggressions toward students of color. There are infinite resources that will allow you to listen to the Black community and begin to understand why “reverse racism” and “all lives matter” are not things. Some are listed here, with the knowledge that my anti-racist journey is built on the shoulders of GIANTS, to whom I am immensely grateful.

Books I’ve used on anti-racism for teachers and students:

• How to Be an Antiracist by Dr. Ibram Kendi
• White Rage by Carol Anderson
• Dying of Whiteness by Jonathan Metzl
• Stamped by Kendi & Jason Reynolds (great for the younger set if you’re looking to do this work with your children at home or your middle or high school students)
• This Book is Antiracist by Tiffany Jewell (great for middle grades and up in classrooms and at home)
• We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be by Cornelius Minor
• Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension by Sara K. Ahmed. I use this as the base of my teaching bias and discrimination with my students.
• An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People, adapted by Jean Mendoza and Dr. Debbie Reese. This is the student version of the original written by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and is a vital component of my social studies curriculum.

Finally, we must learn to teach this relevant and current topic to our students, no matter our discomfort. Our discomfort doesn’t matter. Again, sit with it. Say you are uncomfortable. Say you are new at being anti-racist. It’s OK to be vulnerable with students as you grapple with this work together.

This lifelong work: Uncovering our biases, listening, and teaching anti-racism is the work of teachers, and it is past time that we act on behalf of our kids.”