Philly Educators Launch Black Lives Matter At School Week

Today, educators in Philadelphia are launching the Black Lives Matter week of action, continuing to build the Black Lives Matter At School movement that has now reached school districts across the country. During this week-long campaign, teachers will dedicate more instructional time to issues of racial and social justice, diversity, and community building.

The #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool movement erupted in Seattle on October 19^th of this school year when thousands of educators wore Black Lives Matter Shirts and many held discussions and taught lessons about institutional racism.   Now the Philly Caucus of Working Educators Racial Justice Committee has organized a powerful week of action to address the many intersectional identities within the Black community.

Here’s a list of the week’s activities and themes:

Jan. 23: Restorative Justice, Empathy, and Loving Engagement
A city-wide event starting in the classrooms, where all schools and educators are encouraged to allocate at least an hour of their school day/lesson plan for educating and empowering students on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Jan. 24: Diversity and Globalism (#EthnicStudiesPHL)
This first official meeting will create a work plan for educators and encourage the exploration and expansion of ethnic studies in the Philadelphia area. It will be held at 5 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Green, 1701 Green St.

Jan. 25: Transgender-Affirming, Queer-Affirming, and Collective Value
This event – titled “How to Bridge the Gap Between Parents/Families and Schools” – will be held as a town meeting at City Hall. Organizers say it will be a community conversation about the present disconnect and growing gap between parents and school staff.

Jan. 26: Intergenerational, Black Families, and Black Villages – screening of the movie 13th
The movie focuses on how the U.S. criminal justice system has unjustifiably and unequally imprisoned African Americans through the 13th Amendment, which made slavery and involuntary servitude illegal “except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” After the movie screening, there will be a talkback discussion regarding intergenerational communities and the disruption of the Western nuclear family.  This event will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Edward T. Steel Elementary, 4301 Wayne Ave.

Jan. 27: Black Women and Unapologetically Black
A panel will discuss “Beauty, Society, & More” and the effects on Black girls and women. This event will start at 5 p.m. at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, 3700 Walnut St., Room 203.

Jan. 28: Conversation & Closing Panel Discussion
After screening clips from the movies Pariah and Moonlight, there will be a conversation about LGBTQ people’s lives as they relate to the film and the Black Lives Matter movement. This event will be held from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Ritter Annex at Temple University. 

The closing panel will discuss “Next Steps: How Does the Work Continue Beyond Black Lives Matter Week?” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Temple, Tuttleman Learning Center, 1809 North 13th St. 

Black Lives Matter Week is co-sponsored by the Teacher Action Group Philadelphia and is also endorsed by many education organizations, including Parents United for Public Education, Neighborhood Networks, Philadelphia Children’s March, Philly Socialists, Teachers Lead Philly, Youth United for Change, and United Caucuses of Rank and File Educators (UCORE). Organizations that support these invaluable school and community dialogues can sign up to endorse here.

In addition, dozes of scholars and professors have signed on to a statement of support for the Philly Black Lives Matter At School action. You can read the statement below and if you are a professor you can add your name by visiting their website.

Academics Sign Statement of Support for Black Lives Matter Week

We, the undersigned professors and scholars, publicly express our support for and solidarity with teachers and community members and their January 23-28 action in recognition of making Black Student Lives Matter in our schools.

We believe that these goals are vital for educators, parents, students, and all communities in order to…

• create a space for introspection and dialogue around the 13 guiding principles;
• build deeper connections between educators, parents, students, and community organizations;
• stand in support of national organizing supporting Black Lives Matter;
• empower students and student groups to play a leading role in this week and moving forward.

As this work continues beyond January 28, we support the Racial Justice Statement written by the Caucus of Working Educators, which asserts that “purposeful action needs to be taken in order to eliminate the adverse outcomes derived from perpetual structural racism evident in public education.”

This ongoing work will promote equality; the value of human life; and educational, political, and social justice.  It requires us to develop the knowledge and actions necessary to eliminate the barriers that structural prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination, and bias create in Philadelphia and beyond.  We are committed to teaching, learning, and culture in our classrooms that reflect these missions and goals, and to our role in building the leadership of our students to live by them.  The survival and empowerment of all communities demands this.

Signed,

Rhiannon Maton, Ph.D., Critical Writing Program, University of Pennsylvania

Mark Stern, Ph.D., Department of Educational Studies, Colgate University

Amy Brown, Ph.D., Critical Writing Program, University of Pennsylvania

Sonia M. Rosen, Ph.D., Arcadia University School of Education

Camika Royal, Ph.D., Loyola University Maryland School of Education

Imani Perry, Ph.D., J.D. Princeton University Department of African American Studies

Kathleen Riley, Ph.D., Department of Literacy, West Chester University

Casey Bohrman, PhD, MSW Undergraduate Social Work, West Chester University

Seth Kahn, PhD, Department of English, West Chester University

Katie Solic, Ph.D., Department of Literacy, West Chester University

Kristen B.Crossney, PhD, Department of Public Policy and Administration, West Chester University

Gabriel A. Piser, PhD, Ohio State University

Tabitha Dell’Angelo, PhD, The College of New Jersey

Jill Hermann-Wilmarth, PhD, Western Michigan University

David I. Backer, PhD, West Chester University

Laura A. Roy, Ph.D., Penn State Harrisburg

Erin Hurt, PhD, Department of English, West Chester University

Craig Stutman, PhD., Department of Liberal Arts,

Delaware Valley University

Timothy R. Dougherty, Ph.D., Department of English, West Chester University

Edwin Mayorga, Ph.D. Dept. of Educational Studies and Program in Latin American & Latinx Studies, Swarthmore College

Miriam Fife, Ed.D.

Kira J. Baker-Doyle, Ph.D. Arcadia University School of Education

Jessica A. Solyom, Ph.D., Center for Indian Education, Arizona State University

Benjamin J. Muller, Ph.D., King’s University College at Western University (Canada)

Chonika Coleman-King, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Bruce Campbell Jr., Ph.D. Arcadia University School of Education

Erin Whitney, Ed.D., School of Education, California State University, Chico

Susan Bickerstaff, Ph.D., Teachers College, Columbia University

Katie Clonan-Roy, Ph.D., Colby College

Jerusha Conner, Ph.D., Villanova University

Jill E. Schwarz, Ph.D., The College of New Jersey (TCNJ)

Anita Chikkatur, Ph.D., Carleton College, Minnesota

Kim Dean, Ph.D., Arcadia University

Rick Eckstein, Ph.D., Villanova University

Ali MIchael, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Kelly Welch, Ph.D., Villanova University

Shivaani Selvaraj, D.Ed., Penn State Center for Engaged Scholarship, Philadelphia

Amy Stornaiuolo, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Sukey Blanc, Ph.D., Creative Research & Evaluation LCC

Vicki McGinley, PhD, Department of Special Education, West Chester University

Rob Connor, PhD, CSA

Graciela Slesaransky-Poe, Ph.D., Professor and Former Founding Dean, School of Education, Arcadia University

Brian Lozenski, Ph.D., Educational Studies Department, Macalester College

Kathy Schultz, Ph.D. Dean and Professor, School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder

Jonathan Shandell, Arcadia University

Dean J. Johnson, Ph.D., Peace and Conflict Studies Program, West Chester University
Dean Rachael Murphey-Brown, PhD, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University

Lan Ngo, PhD, Critical Writing Program and Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania

Jessica Whitelaw, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Ashon Crawley, PhD, University of California, Riverside

Shaleigh Kwok, PhD, Critical Writing Program, University of Pennsylvania

Rochelle Peterson, School of Education, Arcadia University

Keely McCarthy Ph.D.,  Chestnut Hill College

Kathy Hall, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Marc Meola, MA, MLS, Community College of Philadelphia

Jamie A. Thomas, PhD, Dept. of Linguistics, Program in Black Studies, Swarthmore College

Steven Davis, PhD, Dept. of English, Community College of Philadelphia

Anna (Anne) Ríos-Rojas, Ph.D., Department of Educational Studies, Colgate University

Encarna Rodríguez, Ph.D., Saint Joseph’s University

Monica L. Mercado, Ph.D., Department of History, Colgate University

Debora Broderick, EdD., Chester County Intermediate Unit

Chandra Russo, PhD, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Colgate University

Ali Stefanik, SERVE 101 Coordinator, Office of Student Engagement, Philadelphia University

Sally Wesley Bonet, Ph.D., Department of Educational Studies, Colgate University

Emily A. Greytak, PhD.

Danny M. Barreto, Ph.D., Colgate University

Rosemary A. Barbera, Ph.D., MSS, Lasalle University

Rachel Throop, Ph.D., Education Studies, Barnard College

Caitlin J. Taylor, Ph.D., La Salle University

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Ph.D., African American studies department, Princeton University

Cheryl A. Hyde, PhD, MSW, School of Social Work, Temple University

Jessie M. Timmons, LCSW, School of Social Work, Temple University

Mansura Karim, LSW, School of Social Work, Temple University

Emeka  Nwadiora, LLM., MED[c]., MSW., PhD., JD., PhD/DSW, College of Public Health, Temple University

Adam Miyashiro, Ph.D., Stockton University

Susan Thomas, PhD, International Studies, American University

Miguel Muñoz-Laboy, DrPH, MPH, School of Social Work and College of Public Health, Temple University

Debora Kodish, Ph.D., Philadelphia Folklore Project, retired

Dana Morrison Simone, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Delaware and West Chester University

Lauren Ware Stark, MA, PhD Candidate, University of Virginia

Richard Liuzzi, Ed.D. student, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania

Martha Carey, PhD, Urban Education, Temple University

Jen Bradley, Ph.D., Educational Studies, Swarthmore College

Susan L. DeJarnatt, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law

Ryan Villagran, MSW, School of Social Work, Temple University

Katie Pak, Ed.D student, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania

Jody Cohen, Bryn Mawr College

Anne Pomerantz, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Len Rieser, Temple University Beasley School of Law

Sherisse L. Laud-Hammond, MSW, School of Social Work, Temple University

Ryan M. Good, Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Temple University

Monica L. Clark, M.S., Ph.D. Student & Undergrad Gen Ed Instructor, College of Ed, Temple University

Maia Cucchiara, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Urban Education, Temple University

Stephen Danley, DPhil, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Rutgers-Camden University

Juliet Curci, PhD, Temple University College of Education

Elaine Leigh, Ph.D. Student, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania

Lynnette Mawhinney, Ph.D., Associate Professor, The College of New Jersey