Empowerment Starts Here
This site is dedicated to the professional and academic work of Dr. Angela Dye.
The Case of EduColor (Ep53)
Empowerment Starts Here with Jose Vilson, the founder and executive director of EduColor (click here to listen).
Scroll down to access links and other resources mentioned in Episode 53- “The Case of EduColor.”
EduColor is an organization that formed as the result of an online movement to galvanize educators of color and to give visibility to education issues around equity and justice impacting students and teachers alike!
When I first encountered EduColor, I remember thinking… If only something like this was around when I started teaching. As a teacher of color, often the only or one of few on staff, my passion and pedagogy in the classroom was initially misunderstood … sometimes marginalized. The constant proving of myself in the face of doubt and sometimes opposition was taxing. While I persisted, having access to other people across the country, across the globe, who were experiencing and transcending the same phenomenon would have been helpful!
In the recorded conversation, Jose talks about what it means to be a teacher of color in predominately white spaces—not only with white educators but with educators of color as well. Not many people talk about the way racism lands at the intrapersonal level so I found this part of the discussion quite refreshing.
In the recorded conversation, Jose also talked about public school employment for educators of color and how it differs from what our white counterparts experience. He talked about educators of color only being allowed to teach in under-resourced schools. Finally, Jose talks about different access points to privilege and power.
In the close out of the episode, I talked about traditional public schools and charter public schools not only because it was a point discussed in the Case of EduColor but to set the stage for the final two episodes in the education set. Over the next four weeks, I have two men representing each side of the public school argument (traditional vs choice) and I plan to move into those conversations with some insight gleaned from my conversation with Jose.
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Additional Points Discussed:
- Teachers working in schools where they would not send their own children to get educated.
- Single versus multiple markers of middle class.
- Identity based teaching … childhood experiences that drive educators as practitioners.
- Liberal educators needing critical race conversations.
- Scripts for white culture/norms.
- Teachers living out narratives of white supremacy.
- Affirming students at the margins—and not just focusing on the margins (equity, justice).
- Education as integral to the American fascination and the role of teachers in that fascination.
- Stolen people standing on stolen land building an experience where other refugees want to come to locate their liberation.
- Taking credit and the dictates of capitalism (otherwise getting erased and not profiting off your own labor).
- People wanting black faces but not wanting black voices.
- Recognizing the value of black male teachers all while leaving black female teachers in areas of deterioration.
- Structural power transcends interpersonal power… you can change the faces but the structures of oppression remain.
- The political work of being employed at different levels in the system.
- Public, choice or private school—they are all structurally grounded. The question is are our children being treating as human.
- Creating better students versus creating better people.
- Supporting public schools while recognizing the need for different experiences (even if it is false choice.
Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:
- Jose’s Website
- This is Not a Test (Jose’s book)
- Empowerment Starts Here (Angela’s book)
- The Black Teacher Project
- #ClearTheAir
Other ESHpodcast Episodes Mentioned
- Ep23- The Case of City X
- Ep43- The Case of Social Class
- Ep45- The Case of White Male Privilege and Identity
- Ep54- The Case of Capital and Choice Schools
- Ep55- The Case of State Schooling and the Black Mind
Terms and Concepts Mentioned
EduColor, JoseVilson, CharterSchools, PublicSchools, Power, Privilege, New York, Teachers, Students, Race
Mistakes/Corrections
Please feel free to let me know if you catch any mistakes. Thanks!!
The Full Link for the Episode…
http://eshpodcast.libsyn.com/ep53-the-case-of-educolor
Please visit our Episodes at a Glance page to get a full episode list for Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4.
