A.B, Caroline, Marty, Mo-D, & Steeve: Students of Color Under Attack

I was really taken back after watching the Precious Knowledge documentary. I was lost for words because my body was overwhelmed with anger. The fact that the state of Arizona has prohibited public schools to teach ethnic studies is erroneous. The false allegations against the class and it’s pedagogies goes to show how the power structure of Arizona felt threatened. With that being said it was sickening to see the state's counteract agenda be put into action so quickly. Not only was it apparent that the state of Arizona was threatened, it was evident that state officials did not care for the success of its students of color at public schools. During the documentary the state officials failed to include any positive responses from the students or even the 93% graduation rates of hispanic students after taking the class. Clearly the only narrative they think is important for students to learn is the misconstrued narrative of the dominant power.

It was frustrating to watch a class that contained a culturally rich pedagogy come to an end. Mainly because learning had a different importance to the students. They were becoming critical thinkers. At one point of the documentary a Latina student said they have an outline already made for us. When she said this I automatically thought of the WEBZ pod cast Is This Working about schools struggling with misbehaved children. In this pod cast they discussed how a preschool student of color was suspended for having a bad attitude. Suspended for a bad attitude? The child is in preschool. The systemic prison pipeline is just another scary reality for many children of color that then becomes normalized as they get older. As I become more aware of these oppressive processes, I see the root of the truth. I see the narrative that they have laid out for people of color. Even the fight for equity is a familiar narrative that stops abruptly because of the power structure in place.

Benjamin made a valid statement after the documentary. He said (sorry for paraphrasing) that if you want to make a difference... then do it. I fully agree. Revolution will not happen with only a few class discussions that happen every Thursday and/or Friday. It can start there but revolution has to surpass dialogue. If the change is what you seek then we as educators need to be proactive about it. We have students of color under attack by the system.


So now what? What do we do about this societal epidemic? How can we change the narrative of our students? What can we do as urban educators??