Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1463867
Gina Gray United Teachers Los Angeles Human Rights Award for Women's Advocacy Gina Gray has consistently worked toward ending gender bias and racial discrimination within her union. Gray was a leader in creating the UTLA equity team's "Brave Space" series, which was formed in response to the continual kill- ings of unarmed Black people at the hands of police. She facilitated dialogues allowing edu- cators to see a model of how they might approach naming instances of implicit bias and racist policies at their schools, to have the tools to dismantle racism in real time. In her classroom, Gray has selected texts from woman authors that provide an account of history centered on the experience of women of color. For example, in her English class, Gray uses Ain't I a Woman by bell hooks to engage students in a critical historical analysis of the experiences of Black women throughout American history. Gray also has used UTLA's social media platforms to edu- cate the broader union workforce on the accomplishments of women of color and invite teachers to use these messages in their classrooms. Most recently, Gray and colleague Denisha Jordan, as the UTLA women's advocacy coordinators, have organized TEA (Train, Empower and Activate). TEA organizes women of color in UTLA around issues facing the community such as fair pay, the right to choose, child care, health care and fam- ily leave. The goal is that these dialogues lead to action plans so women and allies can work to create a fair environment not only in the workplace, but in society at large. Vanessa Aranda Redlands Teachers Association CTA Peace and Justice Human Rights Award Vanessa Aranda has promoted peace, justice and international understanding through her teaching, her work with stu- dents, and her advocacy for reflective curriculum. Aranda's journalism class extends beyond the classroom and the alternative high school where she teaches. She has guided her students to create an online, student-driven social justice journal for equity called Ethic News. All students from the district's five high schools, including exceptional students and English learners, contribute. Students are challenged to look at their own communities through a peace and justice lens to create relevant content. Aranda assists in evaluating their work and guides them to reflect on its social impact on themselves, the community and the greater world. With a recently received grant, the journal will be open to multiple media. Aranda has been instrumental in creating a curriculum for her literature students that promotes literacy through social justice. The curriculum is approachable; students become engaged by reading relevant, personal pieces around ethics, diversity and justice. Their reading skills have improved. For some of her students, this is the first time in a while that they have felt successful. In addition, Aranda has been one of the main contributors for the school district's new ethnic studies course. She has been instrumental in incorporating current literature and news pieces that focus on justice and peace, as well as on ethnic studies. having them take responsibility for their own learning. He has also focused on underlying assumptions that have led to learning or communication break- downs, which allows his colleagues to work in partnership with learners and their families to identify concerns and strategies to address them. He and his students discuss hurdles to learning, frustrations and underlying assumptions. This collab- oration becomes the basis to identif y steps to overcome obstacles, take responsibility for behavior, and ulti- mately achieve success. As special education department chair at Cesar Chavez Middle School, Gallegos has brought a sense of cohesion to the department with con- sistent effective communication and positive interpersonal relationships with all staff. This is also true of the broader school community, where Gallegos staunchly advocates for the inclusion of students with exceptionalities in gen- eral education classrooms and school activities. 41 A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 2