Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1426376
WHAT MEMBERS ARE SAYING CINDY VILL ALOBOS As educators it's so important for us to take a stance. As a his- tory teacher, I'll keep addressing and discussing the history and presence of racism and inequity through my lessons. NICOLE WORTHY Thank you for caring and speaking out. It's easy to feel invisible when senseless tragedies such as this occur. It's comforting to know Afri- can Americans are not in this fight alone. #WeAreNotOkay JENNIFER TODD- ANDREW I stand with the voices that have been unheard for far too long. I am white, but I teach all children and love them all. Even when adults, those are MY kids being brutalized and MURDERED. They are mine, because they have been in my class and I love them. We should all be outraged by the continued injustice and lack of consequences for those in power. DEIRDRE SELBY-GIUS As a white teacher choosing to teach in a community of black and brown students... these are my kids being killed! I love them! They are my babies! As a black teacher, thank you. This was needed to be said and should be echoed throughout all walks of life but especially in education. TINA SHERREE' CHONIS Embrace Hope for Change. Our Work Toward Anti-racism U R U N I O N , our community are grieving. We are outraged by the hateful racism and white supremacy that continues to terrorize our com- munities of color. e murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor (and so many others before them) demand that we, as educators and Americans, recognize and confront the institutional racism that exists in our systems and structures. CTA President E. Toby Boyd addresses our collective work toward anti-racism when he says, " We cannot allow this moment to define us as a society and as a nation. It is our responsibility to work to abolish racism on a personal, struc- tural and institutional level beginning in our schools and colleges. It is our responsibility to have these conversations at the dinner table and in our places of worship. is is not a time for us to look away, but to confront for the sake of a fair, just and equitable future for all students." The pandemic and resulting lockdown shined an even brighter light on the divide: We have seen firsthand that our black students and educators experience schools and COVID- 19 differently than many, if not most, of our white students and educators. Saying #BlackLivesMatter isn't enough. "Together, we must continue the call for justice and hold powerful people (and each other) accountable," Boyd says. "We must come together to stop the chorus of hate and fear, and utilize our people power, both personally and at the bal- lot box." We asked our members to help us reflect and move for- ward with the question: " What are you doing to work toward anti- racism every day?" O 6 cta.org U P F R O N T