The Black Lives Matter at School Movement: Demanding Educational and Racial Justice

• In Event: The World Yearbook of Education 2023: Racialization and Resistance

Proposal

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) at School Movement, started in the United States in 2017, encourages a focus on the dignity of Black students and communities through an annual Week of Action as well as year-round programming. This paper offers an in-depth glimpse into BLM at School, their principles, and the core demands they advance, namely to (1) end “zero-tolerance discipline” and replace it with restorative justice; (2) hire more Black teachers; (3) mandate Black History/Ethnic Studies in all schools, kindergarten through 12th grade; and (4) fund counselors, not cops, in schools. The perspectives of BLM at School’s steering committee members are interwoven with information about the organization’s emergence, activities, and impact.

Author

• Denisha Jones