Once again, our nation is being torn apart by the senseless killings of unarmed Black people. George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are just the latest victims in a centuries-old pattern of brutality. As a lifelong educator and the CEO of PDK International, I am firmly committed to the belief that education is the foundation upon which collective healing and change will be accomplished. Our teachers, administrators, and school staff, standing in solidarity with social justice activists, policy makers, elected officials, families, and youth, can help us not only to understand why we find ourselves in this situation once again, but what we can do to change America for the better. We also recognize that Black educators, students, and families are disproportionately impacted by these events and are in need of support from their colleagues, teachers, and school leaders. To this end, we have pulled together some PDK resources (available for free) that can inform discussions and debates about how best to pursue racial equity in our classrooms and schools.
Click here for articles on school segregation past and present, how racial stress affects Black students, and how to have conversations with kids about race and other controversial subjects.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joshua P. Starr
Joshua P. Starr is the managing partner at the International Center for Leadership in Education, a division of HMH, based in Boston, MA. He is the author of Equity-based Leadership: Leveraging Complexity to Transform School Systems.
