Exploring the Challenges and Possibilities of the #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool National Week of Action in Higher Education

• In Event: Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice

Abstract

Purpose
On October 16, 1963, author and activist James Baldwin (1985) implored teachers to "go for broke" (p. 325) in their attempts to address the racism operating not only in their classrooms but also in every aspect of U.S. society. Fifty-seven years later, Baldwin's call to action still holds true for educators at every level of teaching and learning. This session explores both the challenges and possibilities for organizing #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool efforts at institutions of higher education, based on experiences at two different college campuses on the East coast.

Perspective
U.S. schools remain racially and economically segregated (EdBuild, 2018; Orfield, Frankenberg, Ee, & Kuscera, 2014; Reardon & Owens, 2014) and racial injustices are omnipresent in our social, economic and political realities (McKernan, Ratcliffe, Steuerle, & Zhang, 2013; Shapiro, Meschede, & Osoro, 2013; Edwards, Lee, & Esposito, 2019; Nellis, 2016). K-12 educators across the country, however, have been centering Baldwin's charge of fighting for racial justice in the work of teachers and teacher unions.
Created and bolstered by social justice union caucuses (Dyke & Muckian-Bates, 2019; Maton, 2016; Morrison & Porter-Webb, 2019; Stark, 2019), the #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool Week of Action has since gained public endorsements from educational scholars, local organizations, several school districts, and even the National Educational Association. Entering its fifth year, the #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool National Week of Action has taken root in over thirty cities, extended into the academy, with more and more college campuses joining in with each passing year.

Methods
First, the authors will situate the Week of Action within the current wave of K-12 social justice unionism, before discussing important differences between this wave and the dominant vision of unionism in higher education faculty associations. Next, the authors will identify and analyze particular challenges and possibilities from their collective organizing for the Week of Action at their respective universities.

Findings
Some progress has been made as a result of #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool Weeks of Action initiatives at institutions of higher education; however, additional work is needed.

Significance of the work
Participants in this session will leave with a more thorough understanding of social justice unionism and educator organizing for racial justice, as well as practical strategies for taking up #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool efforts on their own campuses.

Authors

• Kiersten Greene, SUNY - College at New Paltz

• Dana Morrison, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

• Anthony Dandridge, SUNY - College at New Paltz