Taking Action on Equity and the Superbowl Half-Time Show

Hi Friends!

I have some amazing resources to share with you that I’m a bit embarrassed that I just discovered because they are so essential to our work, particularly in educational equity:
- Strive Together works to address exactly what so many of us are trying to address in our schools. I’m really excited to learn more about them and their work.
- Education First does some incredible work nationwide and has a great resources page.
- The Center for Urban Education at USC created “Equity By Design: Five Principles,” which I’m copying here because they are so important:

“Principle 1: Clarity in language, goals, and measures is vital to effective equitable practices.
Principle 2: “Equity-mindedness” should be the guiding paradigm for language and action.
Principle 3: Equitable practice and policies are designed to accommodate differences in the contexts of students’ learning — not to treat all students the same.
Principle 4: Enacting equity requires a continual process of learning, disaggregating data, and questioning assumptions about relevance and effectiveness.
Principle 5: Equity must be enacted as a pervasive institution- and system-wide principle.”

- Creative Reaction Lab has created Equity-Centered Community Design content, including a field guide and some great resources on the Case for Equity.

EVENTS:
- Arlington’s Encore Stage & Studio is doing a Flip the Script production at the Kennedy Center on desegregation in Arlington, TONIGHT, February 5 at 6:00 pm (Millennium Stage, free to the public, just show up to attend).
— Flip the Script Promotion Trailer
— Video of production at Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute at Wakefield High School on January 19, 2020.
- Arlington Public Library is hosting “Between the Fire and Me: Discussing Baldwin & Coates” TONIGHT, February 5 from 6:30–8:00 pm at the Columbia Pike Library
- Arlington Public Schools is holding its Black History Month celebration, We Are Arlington, on February 13 from 6:30–8:30 pm at Kenmore Middle School

RESOURCES:
- Andrew Ford writes about “What integration advocates get wrong,” particularly regarding the way diversity can be treated like a commodity. That can distract from the real problem and be quite offensive to people of color. Ideally, he says, “The conversation would not devolve into protecting the positional advantage of privileged students, but focus on how the plans repair racial injustice.”

- Donna St. George writes about “African American mother says her 10-year-old was cast as an enslaved person in a school play.” Why does this keep happening?
- Theresa Vargas writes about former D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans and privilege
- Liz Bowie writes that “Kirwan recommendations could change ‘college for all’ thinking” in Maryland. This idea is something we should probably consider in Virginia as well. The Kirwan Commission Report came out in November 2018 and was commissioned by the Baltimore Community Foundation.
- The Anti-Defamation League has wonderful education resources on their website including opportunities for training and dialogue and tools for talking to kids about race and bias.
- A group member shared two podcasts about race and friendship: “Ask Code Switch: What About Your Friends?” and “Between Friends: Your Stories About Race and Friendship”
- Brentin Mock writes about “How Racism Became a Public Health Crisis in Pittsburgh,” following similar decisions in Madison and Milwaukee.
- Tafeni English writes about “2020: African Americans and the Vote” including some of the origins of Black History Month and how it has been celebrated over time.
- Lawrence Lanahan writes about “The Legacy of a Landmark Case for Housing Mobility” and the question of “Who gets to live where?”

- A group member shared an article by Poppy Noor, who writes about “Why liberal white women pay a lot of money to learn over dinner how they’re racist” — so much to think about, but particularly, “‘If Trump were impeached tomorrow and we got a new president, a lot of white liberal people will go back to living their lives just as before, and that’s what we have to prevent,’ she [Lisa Bond] says. ‘All that’s happened is we can see racism now, while before we could cover it up. That’s why we need these dinners. So when we get a new person in and racism is not as obvious, we won’t just crawl back to being comfortable.’”

- Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) has created a Racial Justice Voter Pledge that, even if you don’t sign it, has a wonderful description of what it means to be a racial justice voter.

And a couple of feel good moments in entertainment and pop culture:
- Bethonie Butler writes about “Hair Love” by Matthew A. Cherry, nominated for an Oscar.

- Sarah L. Kaufman and Chris Richards each wrote about the Superbowl half-time show, and while some artists chose not to participate because of the NFL’s treatment of Colin Kaepernick, the artists who did perform took the opportunity to comment on our current times and brought depth and meaning and incredible skill to the event. From Chris Richards’ article, “When it was over, maybe you were one of those inconvenienced viewers asking, ‘Do we have to make everything about race?’ Maybe you should stop asking that question. There’s no making. In America, everything is about race. This country promises an equality it has not yet achieved. Dreaming about that equality inside a song on Super Bowl Sunday is a good thing. How good depends on how many people wake up fighting for it on Monday morning.” (my emphasis added)

That.

Emily
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