Author: Nellie Mae Ed. Fdn.

Statement from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation on “Patriotic Education”

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Allison Shelley for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation condemns any efforts by the federal government to silence curriculum and frameworks that explicitly address the centrality of enslavement in the historical narrative of our country. As an education funder, we believe that nurturing a democracy means committing courageous attention to our nation’s history in order to prepare for the future. Continuing to whitewash our public institutions perpetuates violence and injustices, and will only harm our future prosperity as a country. Actions by the federal government to develop commissions to promote “patriotic education,” and threats to defund schools that utilize projects such as the New York Time’s 1619 Project continue to harm and erase the histories and experiences of entire groups of people. This poses danger to our young people, and the future of our nation. It is not until we are able to confront our original sin as a nation founded on a bedrock of white supremacy culture that we will truly be able to “make America great.”

Statement from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation on “Patriotic Education” was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Rest as Revolution

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“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” — Audre Lorde

Rest is an integral but often neglected aspect of any movement — sufficient rest rejuvenates our minds and bodies and allows us to bring our best selves to our work. We recognize that for many Black people, present, past, and intergenerational trauma is compounded as they are forced every day to deal with the hardships from systems that were built to oppress and marginalize them — from our education system to our housing system to our healthcare system and beyond.

Rest, and healing justice, are important parts of any movement, and we believe they are a critical part of racial justice work. As Prentis Hemphill, Director of Healing Justice at Black Lives Matter notes, “Healing justice means that we begin to value care, emotional labor and resilience, not as add-ons but as central components of sustainability that restore us to life.”

Rest is revolution. It can restore, empower, heal, and cultivate joy.

That is why we are teaming up with Getaway and anti-racist educator Rachel Cargle, to lead “A Year of Rest” campaign, which will offer in total 365 nights of rest to Black people working for change, and those fighting for the Black community in combating racism.

Getaway will provide their tiny cabin outposts as spaces to isolate, disconnect from work, and truly rest for those selected. Learn more about the “A Year of Rest” campaign and nominate someone today!

Rest as Revolution was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Reopening New England Schools

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As New England communities grapple with what learning will look like in the fall, we’ve sponsored a series of conversations across the region that have invited families, educators, young people, health professionals and others to discuss what equitable reopening will look like. We invite you to watch recordings of each of the conversations.

Massachusetts: “The Digital Divide: Education, Race and Virtual Learning,” The Boston Globe

New Hampshire: “Live From Home: Navigating Back-to-School as a Family,” New Hampshire Public Radio

Maine: “Reopening Schools: Maine Considers Complex Factors in How to Resume K-12 Schooling in the Fall,” Maine Public

Rhode Island: “Reopening Rhode Island Schools,” Center for Youth and Community Leadership in Education (CYCLE), Parents Leading for Educational Equity (PLEE), Latino Policy Institute (LPI), Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE), Youth in Action (YIA), Rhode Island Center for Justice

Connecticut: “Connecticut Conversations: Is School Safe?” Connecticut Public

Upcoming- Vermont: “School Reopening Forum,” Voices for Vermont’s Children (taking place August 26–28)

Reopening New England Schools was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Announcing our Supporting Organizations Led By People of Color and Amplifying Youth Voice grant…

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Announcing our Supporting Organizations Led By People of Color and Amplifying Youth Voice grant recipients

As movements to combat systemic racism and anti-Blackness progress throughout the country, we have a moral and civic responsibility to foster a public education system that enables all of our young people to succeed and our communities to thrive. We are proud to support work that advances racial equity in service of an excellent and equitable public education during such an important moment for our society and to introduce our grantee partners who are leading these efforts.

Earlier this year, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation launched a new organizational strategy to advance racial equity in public education as the central focus of our grantmaking. Today, we are excited to take another important step in this work through two new grant funds that support youth- and community-based organizations, centered in communities of color who have been historically and systematically left out of education decision-making.

To ensure that these organizations have the supports they need to continue their important work and strengthen their development, we are providing flexible, multi-year grants. We hope this contributes to the attainment of a shared vision of high-quality, equitable public education.

Our Supporting Organizations Led By People of Color grant fund will provide $100,000 annually for three years to organizations led by leaders of color who are working to transform barriers to racial equity in public education. Additionally, this fund will support these organizations in a co-designed leadership development program designed to meet their capacity building needs. These organizations are embedded in their communities and actively engage parents, youth, and educators to address issues such as dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline; promoting more culturally responsive teaching and learning; supporting immigrant students and English Language Learners; supporting students with special needs; and advocating for educator diversity.

Additionally, our Amplifying Youth Voice grant fund seeks to amplify the authentic voices of young people throughout New England, supporting their participation in decision-making that affects their futures. This grant fund will support youth organizing groups with three-year general operating support grants of $52,750 annually, as well as technical assistance focused on building their capacity, power, and voice. These brilliant and committed young people are experienced in leading campaigns such as implementing restorative justice practices in schools; promoting access to financial aid for youth who are undocumented; seeking funding for socio-emotional learning and access to mental health professionals and social workers in schools; dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline; developing ethnic studies curriculum; and advocating for inclusive policies for undocumented and LGBTQIA+ youth.

This is an early part of our strategic efforts to achieve our mission and vision as an organization and contribute to the regions’ future.

We look forward to learning from and working with these incredible organizations in the years ahead, in a collective effort to ensure our nation lives up to its promise of opportunity, equality, and justice for all.

You can learn more about both sets of grantees below.

Supporting Organizations Led By People of Color Grantees:

Make the Road CT (Bridgeport and Hartford, CT): Make the Road CT is a parent and youth organizing group focused on improving educational access and equity for public school students, empowering parents to advocate for their children within the school system, and providing training and planning resources to immigrant families with undocumented or mixed immigration status.

Step Up New London (New London, CT): Step Up is a parent organizing group focused on advocating for racial equity reforms in New London Public Schools. Step Up trains parents on community organizing and advocacy, supports parent-led efforts to advocate within the school system, and implements campaigns to push for reforms.

COMPASS Youth Collaborative (Hartford, CT): COMPASS works with schools, parents, educators, and community members to support disconnected youth, engaging them in relationships to provide supports and opportunities that help them become ready, willing, and able to succeed in education, employment, and life.

Educators for Excellence (E4E) (New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport, CT): E4E is a national organization with a Connecticut chapter serving teachers in New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport. E4E strives to ensure that teachers are included in education policy decisions. The organization identifies issues that impact schools, creates solutions to these challenges, and advocates for policies and programs that give all students access to a quality education.

The Chelsea Collaborative (Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, and Revere, MA): The Chelsea Collaborative empowers Chelsea residents to enhance the social and economic health of the community and its people while holding institutional decision-makers accountable.

Southeast Asian Coalition of Central MA (SEACMA) (Worcester, MA): SEACMA supports, promotes, and advocates for the success of the Southeast Asian population of Central Massachusetts in their pursuit of naturalization while also maintaining their own unique cultural identity. SEACMA provides youth and adult programing, educational advocacy, and parent engagement opportunities while advocating for language access and culturally relevant teaching and learning.

The Young People’s Project (YPP) (Cambridge, MA): YPP uses Math Literacy Work to develop the abilities of elementary through high school students to succeed in school and in life, and in doing so involves them in efforts to eliminate institutional obstacles to their success.

Teach Western MA (TWM) (Holyoke, Springfield, and Western Massachusetts): TWM is a partnership founded by Holyoke Public Schools and the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership, representing 30 schools and serving more than 11,000 students in Western Massachusetts. TWM works on teacher recruitment, preparation and retention with a hyper focus on diversifying the workforce to reflect the demographics of the children in Holyoke and Springfield public schools and six local charter public schools.

The Teachers’ Lounge (Greater Boston, MA): The Teachers’ Lounge seeks to drive unprecedented student outcomes by greatly diversifying the people, thoughts, and actions of the educational workforce in the Greater Boston Area and beyond.

Wôpanâak Language and Cultural Weetyoo, Inc. (Mashpee, MA): Wôpanâak Language and Cultural Weetyoo, Inc. works to restore Wôpanâôt8âôk (Wôpanâak language) as the principal means of expression among the Tribes of the Wampanoag Nation, and to return language home to Tribal families. Having worked for two decades to reclaim their Native American language from an extensive archival record after generations without fluent speakers, their teachers now instruct hundreds of students each year, including K-12 Wampanaog youth in Mashpee Public Schools on Cape Cod.

Women Encouraging Empowerment (WEE) (Revere, MA): WEE’s mission is to educate, advocate, protect, and advance the rights of immigrants, refugees, and low-income women and their families through organizing, leadership development, and service delivery.

Equity Institute (Providence, RI): Equity Institute serves educators of color in Providence and other Rhode Island communities, with a focus on educator diversity, the educator pipeline, and the retention of educators of color. It develops innovative systems that cultivate culturally responsive schools and communities for all learners through organizational development, research, and networking.

Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE)(Providence, RI): ARISE mobilizes policy, programs, and partnerships to prepare, promote, and empower Rhode Island’s Southeast Asian students for educational and career success.

Parents Leading for Educational Equity (PLEE) (Providence, RI): PLEE is a parent-led, grassroots organization with a mission to fight for a parent voice in education decision-making, and for access to a high-quality public school option for all children of color.

Gedakina (Essex, VT): Gedakina is a multigenerational endeavor to strengthen and revitalize the cultural knowledge and identity of Native American youth and families from across New England, and to conserve traditional homelands and places of historical, ecological, and spiritual significance.

Amplifying Youth Voice Grantees

Citywide Youth Coalition (CWYC) (New Haven, CT): CWYC is a youth organizing group dedicated to improving access to equitable education for youth in New Haven. The organization builds youth power through education, leadership development, and anti-racist community organizing.

Blue Hills Civic Association (BHCA) (Hartford, CT): BHCA empowers the people living and working in the Blue Hills and surrounding communities to create stable and attractive neighborhoods through organizing, advocacy, and multi-generational programs.

Revere Youth in Action (RYiA) (Revere, MA): Revere Youth in Action (RYiA) builds youth power through organizing, direct education and working in coalitions for social change. It is one of the few organizations in Revere, Massachusetts that organizes for racial, immigrant and economic justice.

Student Immigrant Movement (SIM)(MA): SIM is a statewide immigrant youth-led organization whose mission is to build the power of immigrant students by identifying, recruiting, and developing leaders across Massachusetts and the United States to address the problems in their own communities.

Worcester Youth Civics Union (Latino Education Institute at Worcester State University, Worcester, MA): Worcester Youth Civics Union works to achieve student excellence by actively engaging on issues of racial and socio-economic inequality in their educational experiences.

Maine Inside Out (MIO) (Portland, ME): MIO is an organization focused on supporting incarcerated and system-impacted youth across Maine to build power, develop leadership, and create community change inside youth prisons and in communities directly impacted by mass incarceration.

The Root Social Justice Center, Youth 4 Change (Y4C) (Brattleboro, VT): Y4C provides education, outreach, and capacity building for youth organizers in Brattleboro, Vermont who are focused on promoting anti-racist community organizing.

Outright Vermont (VT): Outright Vermont’s mission is to build a Vermont where all LGBTQ+ youth have hope, equity, and power. They do this through programs that support self-discovery and peer connection, strengthening families with education and adult peer connections, and training, organizing, and networking to transform schools, communities, and systems.

Providence Student Union* (Providence, RI): Providence Student Union cultivates students to become powerful advocates for their own education and well-being, uniting youth from across Providence to take the lead in reshaping their schools and communities.

Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM)* (Providence, RI): PrYSM is a youth organization that challenges and supports Southeast Asian youth to become leaders, organizers, and critical thinkers, by offering educational workshops, leadership opportunities, mentorship, and oversight of youth-led community organizing projects.

Youth in Action* (Providence, RI): Founded in 1997 by a group of young people motivated to make change in their community, Youth in Action (YIA) is one of the pioneers of youth-led work in Providence. The organization creates opportunities for young people in Providence to become agents of change through transformative youth programming.

Portland Empowered* (Portland, ME): Located at USM’s Youth and Community Engagement team, Portland Empowered strives to ensure that historically underrepresented student and parent voices are reflected in policy and practice within Portland Public Schools.

Granite State Organizing Project’s Young Organizer United (Y.O.U.)* (Manchester and Nashua, NH): Young Organizer United (Y.O.U.) is a group of mostly immigrant and refugee students attending high school in Manchester. Y.O.U. believes that students’ voices are crucial in shaping and implementing policies that concern their education.

Hearing Youth Voices* (New London, CT): Hearing Youth Voices is a youth-led social justice organization working to create systemic change in the education system in New London, CT. The group believes that organizing is the most effective tool for youth to build power and successfully make change in their communities.

Connecticut Students for a Dream (C4D)* (CT): Founded in 2010 by undocumented young people, Connecticut Students for a Dream (C4D) empowers youth through community organizing, advocacy, and leadership development, as well as providing educational programming for undocumented youth. C4D is the only youth-led, statewide network in Connecticut that fights for the rights of undocumented youth and their families.

Elevated Thought* (Lawrence, MA): Elevated Thought exposes young people to the power of the arts as a tool for social change, helping them to harness their voices to transform their communities. As a community of predominantly Caribbean and Latinx immigrants, Lawrence youth face racial and economic injustices, and Elevated Thought allows Lawrence youth to leverage their creative skills to make positive transformations within their community.

Youth on Board* (YOB) (Boston, MA): Youth on Board (YOB) has been a leader in the field of youth organizing in the Boston area and beyond since 1994. Youth on Board is a youth-led, adult supported program where young people have the space and tools to recognize and utilize the power they hold to dismantle political and economic structures that reinforce inequity. Youth on Board co-administers the Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) in partnership with the Boston Public Schools. BSAC acts as the student union of the district, leading organizing efforts, forging relationships with district and city-leaders, impacting policy change, and transforming school culture across the board.

Pa’Lante Restorative Justice Program* (Holyoke, MA): Pa’Lante’s mission is to build youth power, center student voice, and organize for policies and practices that dismantle the school to prison pipeline in Holyoke and beyond. Pa’Lante youth leaders use restorative practices and youth organizing to resolve conflicts, reduce school suspensions, decrease violence, strengthen relationships, increase equity, and build community in Holyoke Public Schools.

Students for Educational Justice* (SEJ) (New Haven, CT): Students for Educational Justice (SEJ) is a youth-led, intergenerational organizing body that drives efforts for racial and educational justice in Connecticut. SEJ envisions a just education system and an equitable society in which all people understand the history of race in the United States, and are actively committed to dismantling systemic racism and other forms of oppression.

*Denotes a returning Amplifying Youth Voice grantee

Announcing our Supporting Organizations Led By People of Color and Amplifying Youth Voice grant… was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Safely Resuming In-Person Schooling Requires Creativity and Flexibility

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Guest Post from Noe Medina, Education Policy Research

Photo by Kate Trifo from Pexels

There has been considerable attention paid recently to the re-opening of schools in the fall. These discussions have emphasized the learning losses that students have experienced due to school closures in the spring, particularly among students who were already struggling. They cited concerns from pediatricians about delays in social development that have already occurred among younger children and could continue to grow. They talked about the impact on the economy and family finances for parents who could not get back to work without someplace safe to send their children.

All of this makes sense and provides very compelling reasons for action. What doesn’t make sense are the actions being proposed for the fall. Too much of the discussion has focused on the school buildings themselves and the mechanics of the re-opening rather than on the real purpose of these actions — to safely foster high-quality, in-person learning for all our children for as long as possible. The result has been a profound lack of creativity and a fairly narrow set of solutions, particularly in light of the resurgence of the coronavirus in so many states and communities across the country.

The problem starts with the language that is being used. Instead of talking about re-opening schools, we should be focusing on safely resuming in-person schooling in the fall and beyond. Too many people have concluded that now is not the time to restructuring schooling. Because of the pandemic, they claim that we must focus on the basics of re-opening school. That is exactly wrong. Now is time to be as creative and flexible as possible and to explore ALL options.

In thinking about safely resuming in-person schooling, communities should begin by asking the following questions:

· How can we involve other spaces in the community in addition to school buildings (such as public libraries, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs and YWCAs, daycares, and museums) to provide in-person schooling to more our students more of the time each week?

· How can we enlist others in our community (including youth workers, social service providers, daycare staff, government agency employees, community volunteers, and parents) to work with teachers and other school staff to foster more in-person schooling?

· How can we use distance learning methods to support greater in-person schooling for our students rather than just isolated, at-home learning?

· How can we use this situation to foster better and more equitable schooling opportunities for all students rather than seeing the existing inequities widen, particularly for students of color?

To safely resume in-person schooling for all students in the fall and to sustain that schooling throughout the school year, we must strengthen and expand the connections and authentic cooperation between schools, community agencies, businesses, and families so that this becomes a community-wide imperative rather than just the responsibility of teachers and school districts. Federal and state governments must provide sufficient funding and practical guidance to communities to ensure that this cooperation is successful.

Early examples of these cooperative efforts have already begun to emerge. In response to the pandemic and the closing of schools, several Maine nonprofit organizations formed Community Learning for Maine in a grassroots effort to respond to these challenges. The group has grown in the last few months to include almost one hundred Maine-based organizations including nonprofits, businesses, public agencies, and higher education institutions. Drawing on the collective knowledge and creativity of these organizations, the group has provided online resources, support, and networking opportunities for students, families, and teachers during these difficult times. This has laid the groundwork for further collaboration around how to support communities and schools as they develop plans for the fall. Efforts such as Community Learning for Maine can provide both inspiration and concrete lessons for others in our region and around the country.

This WILL be hard work. It will require resources and time from many people in our communities. More important, it will require all of us, including educators, to approach schooling differently. We must accept that one size does NOT fit all. Instead, the needs of different students and the changing conditions in each community will demand flexible responses. Communities must embrace creativity as a necessity rather than a luxury. We must recognize that EVERYONE in our communities has a stake in the successful resumption of in-person schooling for students in the fall and beyond.

Noe Medina lives in Massachusetts and has dedicated his career to promoting high-quality educational services for all students, particularly those that have been traditionally underserved by the public school system.

Safely Resuming In-Person Schooling Requires Creativity and Flexibility was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Race and Equity in the Time of COVID-19

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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the racial inequities our country was built on, bringing to light how deeply systemic racism impacts our society at every level. At the same time, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others expose the fact that anti-Blackness and police brutality have not stopped during this pandemic. In this video, members of Nellie Mae’s community advisory group share the struggles their communities are facing during these dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racism. They encourage us to think of how we can continue to build an anti-racist community, and how we as a foundation can support communities of color in this unprecedented time. We appreciate the time and effort they put into participating in this video, and are excited to amplify their work.

Race and Equity in the Time of COVID-19 was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“Huey’s Kites”

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“Flying kites is such a simple act of freedom. The peacefulness, open field, endless sky and seemingly unlimited ways the kite can move or flow. And yet, this freedom isn’t afforded to everyone. A basic childhood (and adult) act never experienced, to me, is a metaphor to the basic human rights that have failed to be fully realized by Black people and communities of color due to the oppressive (intentionally so) structures in which we exist.

“What happens to society, communities, the world when there are no limitations for people to flourish; when the wind of their freedom can carry them wherever they want?” — Marquis Victor

This film was created by Elevated Thought Founder and Executive Director Marquis Victor and parts of it were featured in Nellie Mae’s Community Advisory Group’s “Race and Equity in the Time of COVID-19” video. We are excited to share “Huey’s Kites” in full here.

“Huey’s Kites” was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This Moment Shows Us Why Philanthropy Should Reinvent Itself

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By: Dr. Gislaine N. Ngounou, Vice President of Strategy and Programs, Nellie Mae Education Foundation

Brooklyn Museum / CC BY

Much of the philanthropic community is earning praise for its response to COVID-19. To date, funders across the country have provided over $10 billion in grants, prompting some to even dub the pandemic as philanthropy’s “shining moment.”

While it is encouraging to see many stepping up, foundations should use this experience to reflect on the strengths and shortfalls of our work, and how we can better wield our power and privilege to support communities in the future. COVID-19 is exacerbating inequities and rapidly harming people of color — especially Black people — who for centuries have been failed by our economic, education, and healthcare systems. As painful as the realities and data are, they are neither new nor shocking. We have seen this play out time and time again in the murder of Black people living in this country. Our systems are not broken; they are merely functioning as they were designed to operate — that is, privileging some while perpetually oppressing many. Racism has been the pandemic that Black people in America have endured for over 400 years.

Read the full article in Nonprofit Quarterly

This Moment Shows Us Why Philanthropy Should Reinvent Itself was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

No justice, no peace. Know justice, know peace.

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By: Colleen Quint

Photo Credit: Lorie Shaull

I have a confession: I pretty much stopped watching the news a few weeks ago. The daily litany of lies and self-congratulations while we passed 100,000 dead from the pandemic was just too much. A great day for the Dow, indeed.

And then George Floyd was killed, and I turned away again sickened by what I saw. I felt the range of emotions — sadness, shame, anger — and heard the cries for justice. And I looked away. It was just more than I felt I could take on, more than I wanted to deal with.

And that, my friends, is my White Privilege in action. I can look away and tell myself I feel their pain. I can tell myself I am sympathetic and understanding and supportive. I can say “I would never…” And my silence negates any of that self-congratulatory pablum. My silence is complicity.

What can I as a White woman from Maine say about this? What insight can I bring? The reality is, I cannot bring insight because I have no idea what it is like to be a Black or Brown person in America today. I can see it, I can read about it, I can talk with friends and even strangers of color….but I have not grown up with the daily drumbeat of racism and intolerance literally and figuratively beaten into me.

And as so often is the case, it matters less what you say than what you do. And what I can do is hold myself to account, to acknowledge my White Privilege and to listen and to learn. And I can call out racism when I see it. And I see it plenty. I see active racism in the ways we treated George Floyd and Christian Cooper. I see institutional racism in the ways we educate and incarcerate people of color, and in the disproportionate and devastating impact of the pandemic on Black and Brown and Native communities. And I see casual racism in my own weariness and when I allowed myself to look away. As if it were not my fight. As if it were not my responsibility.

No justice, no peace. Know justice, know peace. Say. Their. Names.

Colleen Quint is a Board Member at the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, and President & CEO of the Alfond Scholarship Fund in Maine

No justice, no peace. Know justice, know peace. was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Educator’s Letter to Families in This Moment

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This letter was written by Manuel J. Fernandez, Head of School at Cambridge Street Upper School (CSUS) in Cambridge, MA to CSUS Families

Dear CSUS Parents and Caregivers,

1968 was a pivotal year in my upbringing. I was in my early teens, and it was the year of assassinations (notably Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy), urban protests, college campus takeovers, the rise of the anti-Vietnam protests, and so much more. Growing up in Brockton, Massachusetts, I felt pretty invisible as a Black Cape Verdean boy among my white classmates. I only felt noticed when one of them would call me the N-word or bullied me verbally and physically. I know now that I suffered from internalized racism, which was burrowed into me every time my white teachers were dismissive of my racial harassment concerns. I did not like being Black, and it seemed no one else liked it either. The only Black teacher I had was when I was a high school senior. He was the P.E. teacher, and he wasn’t too impressed with my unathletic and uncoordinated self. I am not sure what was internalized in my psyche from that, but I certainly didn’t fit the stereotype of a tall Black boy.

I observed many changes in society at that time and within my self-identity. In the ensuing years, I latched on to the Black Consciousness movement spurred on by my Uncle and Aunt’s membership in the Black Panther Party. I became more and more racially conscious through the readings of James Baldwin, W.E. B. DuBois, Toni Morrison, and the literature of the Harlem Renaissance period. As I came to know of the many contributions Black people had made to the country and the world, I felt proud of being Black. I was becoming increasingly aware of my Cape Verdean ancestry, particularly about our history in southeastern Massachusetts. I was equally proud.

As a young educator, I endeavored to support the aspirations of my Black students and advocate for their needs with higher-ups. I became increasingly aware that my white students and the white educators I worked with needed my support to embrace an anti-racist lens. We learned from our consultant Beverly Daniel Tatum (author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria) that anti-racism was an active choice. Choosing not to be actively engaged in the dismantling of racism in our society was to implicitly or explicitly support racism. This past week, I have heard from scores of those students, Black, White, Asian, Latinx, and LGBTQ accomplices. I am so proud of these many women and men who, like me, have made the struggle for racial equity their life’s work.

This week that pride has been tempered by feelings of rage, fear, and despair. As the father of three Black daughters and two young Black grandsons, I cannot look at the graphic videos of unarmed Black men and women being murdered without seeing my family members in harm’s way. They all embody some of my voice — proud, unapologetic, and strident on all issues of equity. I caution my daughters often to consider their surroundings when they publicly object to inequity. They don’t always heed my advice.

As a Black school leader, I have struggled with ways to support our scholars devoid of my emotions at a time when they need clarity and perspective. Since its founding in 2012, CSUS has centered equity in our mission. At this time, I find comfort in the leadership and advocacy of so many of our CSUS educators. They have stepped up in a big way and have responded to scholar inquiry on the horrific events of the past few months and engaged scholars with strategies rooted in an anti-racist lens to help CSUS move forward.

I have spent my forty years as an educator as a staunch advocate for equity and anti-racism. It has not always made me friends, but it has created opportunities and a vision for all the scholars that I have been fortunate to serve. I will continue to do that as long as I am able. I will stand for my scholars and with my colleagues to advance anti-racism in our school and the community. There is no other choice. I hope you choose to do the same within your sphere of influence.

1968 changed America. Unfortunately, the change was incomplete, and many of the small gains have little influence on our present situation. 2020 is changing our society, whether because of the pandemic or because of the heightened awareness of the anti-Black racism and other forms of bigotry that pervade every aspect of our society. We can embrace the change and stay the course. But the new day that we want for all of our children and grandchildren will not be realized unless we all step up.

Thanks for reading.

Peace, Manuel

An Educator’s Letter to Families in This Moment was originally published in Nellie Mae Education Foundation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.