Here in school districts across Rhode Island, like many across the nation, our schools, our educators and the teaching of truth have been under attack. Tactics by politicians and organizers have been quick to label teaching about systemic racism, white supremacy and whiteness as un-American. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Learning about systemic racism – in our schools, our workplaces and our communities – is one of the first steps in confronting the past so we can collectively work together to heal divisions, build unity and create a better future for all of us. “Sankofa,” a concept derived from West Africa and particularly of the Akan people, teaches us the importance of reaching back to our roots in search of deep knowledge so we can understand the past to make meaning of the present and inform the future.
I’d argue that there isn’t anything more American than understanding our past, present and future through critical analysis and a racial equity lens. James Baldwin once said, “I love America more than any other country in the world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” And the good thing is that our young people are up for it. Over the last year, we’ve seen young people take to the streets to demand justice in our systems and communities across our nation.
There isn’t anything more American than understanding our past.
Why wouldn’t we want our young people to grow up with a deep understanding of the complexities of the past – both the joys and celebrations from our nation’s history, and the deep, dark sins that permeate into our current culture? We solve problems when we have honest and brave conversations about race in this country. It may be easier to sanitize and ignore those wounds and truths – but doing so won’t get us anywhere. Additionally, research shows us that culturally responsive teaching and learning facilitates brain processing, motivates and engages young people, and promotes their sense of safety and belonging. For example, youth organizers in Providence fought for and got ethnic studies in their schools after recognizing that in a district with over 90% students of color, only 10% of the history curriculum was dedicated to people of color. We have also seen inspiring examples of youth leaders mobilizing and organizing to inform and influence current challenges, including the equitable reopening of schools.
These attacks on our schools are the oldest in the book – politicians and their allies use fear of people of color, immigrants or LGBTQ+ people to breed resentment with the sole purpose of gaining power at a time when they feel threatened by the emergence of a prosperous multiracial democracy. Here in Rhode Island, a parent recently filed more than 200 records requests for curriculum material, internal emails and other documents having to do with the teaching of race and gender in the South Kingstown School District; requests that would cost the district nearly $10,000 worth of time to fulfill – time that could easily be used instead to support our young people.
Why wouldn’t we want to equip and nurture future leaders who know how to think critically, inspect the past and have a deep understanding of each other’s histories and cultures? In order to move forward as a state and a country, we cannot waste any more time on conversations that seek to distract us from the truth and the real work before us. We must honor that our young people are up for the task. They are capable of more than we think.
Gislaine N. Ngounou is the interim CEO and president of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
