The courage demonstrated by our Black brothers and sisters bringing their grief and trauma to bear for justice and for a more equitable society is a violent burden that they have borne alone for far too long.
The Educators\’ Cooperative remains committed to supporting the Black community and our teachers in the fight for equality and dismantling racism in schools, in classrooms, and in society. Our work is rooted in healing the harm caused by white supremacy – the spiritual and historical abuse of dismemory and division – by creating cross-sector community care and facilitating the collaboration needed to make progress.
Our students need us to develop facility with the vocabulary, protocols, and lessons essential to advancing antiracist goals, and we, their teachers, must continue to work in service to a more just, less violent, and less racist society. This work is a process. We continue to look inward to examine our own policies, practices, and power structure to identify opportunities to be better antiracist teachers and a better antiracist organization.
Black lives matter. We must be committed to antiracist teaching and learning until we can see and feel that truth.
Sincerely,
Greg O\’Loughlin
Executive Director
The Educators\’ Cooperative
Resources we recommend – simply places to get started – not an exhaustive list.
Books we have read together:
This Is Not a Test by Jose Luis Vilson
For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood… Christopher Emdin
Making the Unequal Metropolis by Ansley Erickson
Not My Idea by Anastasia Higginbotham
Teaching For Black Lives edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, and Wayne Au
Other conferences and classes we recommend:
White Privilege Conference
Anti-racist Every Day and United Street Tours
Liberate and Chill
Vanderbilt Divinity School Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative
Nonprofits in Nashville Doing the Work:
Gideon\’s Army
The Equity Alliance
Black Lives Matter Nashville
Southerners On New Ground Nashville