Understanding Our Commitment to Anti-Racism

Amid pandemic losses and continuing shocks of racist violence, one legacy of this year’s trauma is a greater willingness on the part of many to take stock of their own role in perpetuating or responding to racism. Schools and communities have a key part to play in this necessary accounting, and for many educators and parents, the work is central and non-negotiable. Join us for a conversation in which we explore our commitment to anti-racism — and how the events of this past year have deepened our understanding of those commitments. We’ll share insight, inspiration, and actionable ideas for how schools, parents, and school leaders can work — from their individual roles, and collectively — to confront racism in our society and our schools. How can our own commitments help to empower communities — and the young people we are raising and educating?

Moderator: Tracie Jones, Director, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, HGSE

• Malcolm Cawthorne, Teacher and civic leader, Brookline (MA) High School
• Jennifer Perry Cheatham, Senior Lecturer on Education and Co-Chair of the Public Education Leadership Project (PELP), HGSE
• Heidi Shin, Journalist and a public radio and podcast producer

Resources:

• What Does Leading for Racial Justice Look Like? — a webinar from Education Week featuring Jennifer Cheatham
• Talking to Children about Anti-Asian Bias — a reflection by Heidi Shin in the New York Times
• The Exhaustion of Being a Black Teacher in a School When You’re One of Too Few Educators of Color — a Boston Globe Magazine piece featuring Malcolm Cawthorne

Classroom and family resources to teach about anti-racism:

• Embracing Race: Resources for caring for and raising kids in the context of race
• Immigrant History Initiatives: Classroom resources for teaching about immigrant history
• Teaching for Change: Culled list of children's books with diverse characters

Mental Health resources to support Asian American students:

• MGH Cross-Cultural Student Awareness Center: Educator and parent resources to support Asian American students and educators' mental health in the face of anti-Asian racism
• Harvard Graduate School of Education's Let's Talk Conference

Resources to learn about the Asian American experience and history

• Fiction and non-fiction writers, who have written about the Asian American experience in the United States
• PBS documentary series about the Asian Americans experience