Spring Newsletter 2018
| cesj_spring_newsletter_2018_web.pdf |
Statement of Solidarity for Critical Scholars/Scholarship
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society; therefore, we encourage the participation of educators whose work is founded upon these principles.
We write this letter to emphasize our commitment to supporting critical scholarship and supporting critical scholars. Dr. Rochelle Gutiérrez has recently come under attack due to the critical nature of her work, such as explicit discussion of power and privilege in mathematics education. (For a timeline of events and relevant links and resources please visit this site: https://equitymathed.wordpress.com. This site also links to statements of support from 11 national organizations, such as the Research in Mathematics Education SIG, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators.)
These attacks have been aimed at other critical scholars in the past, and we know that they will likely and unfortunately continue to happen in the future. The Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG stands in solidarity with critical scholars engaging in transformative research and scholarship. We urge university administration to support scholars engaging in critical social justice research agendas. And we urge our community to come together to support each other. We also commit to supporting our graduate students doing this work and supporting the P-20 youth who may be participants in research projects. We know that when we stand together we are stronger and more powerful in our ability to create meaningful change in education.
Thank you,
CESJ Co-Chairs
Kari Kokka and Wayne Au
A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society; therefore, we encourage the participation of educators whose work is founded upon these principles.
We write this letter to emphasize our commitment to supporting critical scholarship and supporting critical scholars. Dr. Rochelle Gutiérrez has recently come under attack due to the critical nature of her work, such as explicit discussion of power and privilege in mathematics education. (For a timeline of events and relevant links and resources please visit this site: https://equitymathed.wordpress.com. This site also links to statements of support from 11 national organizations, such as the Research in Mathematics Education SIG, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators.)
These attacks have been aimed at other critical scholars in the past, and we know that they will likely and unfortunately continue to happen in the future. The Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG stands in solidarity with critical scholars engaging in transformative research and scholarship. We urge university administration to support scholars engaging in critical social justice research agendas. And we urge our community to come together to support each other. We also commit to supporting our graduate students doing this work and supporting the P-20 youth who may be participants in research projects. We know that when we stand together we are stronger and more powerful in our ability to create meaningful change in education.
Thank you,
CESJ Co-Chairs
Kari Kokka and Wayne Au
Fall 2017 CESJ Newsletter
Inside this issue:
Letter from the Chairs: DACA, Charlottesville, Mexican American Studies, Radical Healing and more
AERA Reports- Business Meeting, Early Career Scholar Forum, Graduate Student Forum & Award Winners
AERA 2018 Committees: Invitation to Serve
Interview: Curtis Acosta on the MAS court case
Meet the 2018 CESJ Board
Click here to download the Fall 2017 Newsletter
| CESJ Fall 2017 Newsletter |
CESJ at AERA 2017
The 2017 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in San Antonio, TX is nearly here! CESJ has a lot of events and exciting sessions planned, including our pre-conference forums, business meeting and fireside chat featuring a panel of distinguished critical scholars, and a co-sponsored super SIG social. For more information about CESJ specific events, check out a special edition of our 2017 CESJ Spring newsletter below.
| spring_newsletter.pdf |
Registration Now Open for the 2017 CESJ Graduate Student Forum "Hope and Resistance: Strategies for Social Justice Scholarship and Praxis"
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) invites you to apply to participate in the ninth annual Graduate Student Forum (GSF) prior to the start of the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in San Antonio, TX. This forum is a designated session free of charge for ~ 20 doctoral students. The session includes a light breakfast, full lunch, and a panel of distinguished professors with opportunities to interact informally with panelists and other participants. The GSF will take place Thursday April 27, 2017 8a-1p. To be considered please fill out the application by Friday, March 3, 2017 5pm PST. The application link can be found here: https://goo.gl/forms/7oBBYqD8Bdx2WfsG3
Confirmed panelists:
➢ Dr. Michael Dumas, University of California Berkeley
➢ Dr. Rita Kohli, University of California Riverside
➢ Dr. Crystal Laura, Chicago State University
➢ Dr. Sonia Nieto, University of Massachusetts Amherst
The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to:
1. Help prepare critical scholars for future scholarship and related work.
2. Identify strategies and tools to share and take back to our colleagues, students, communities, and home institutions.
3. Learn from scholars and peers about the possibilities and tensions that arise in social justice and critical education research.
Forum Themes and Topics: "Hope and Resistance: Strategies for Social Justice Scholarship and Praxis"
While the collective struggles for educational equity, justice, and liberation are not new, our efforts towards social justice are reinvigorated in a historical moment marked by, a) the resurgence in overt manifestations of Islamophobia, racism, misogyny, ableism, nativism, and xenophobia, and the resultant increase of hate crimes on university and K-12 campuses, b) the ramped-up assault on public education through unbridled free market reforms, and c) the persistence of intersecting racialized, gendered, and classed schooling contexts that are simultaneously sanctioned and invisibilized by the state. In light of the continuing and current challenges facing the struggles for material change and educational equity, this year’s CESJ Graduate Student Forum collectively asks: What are our roles as doctoral students engaged in social justice scholarship in the struggle for collective resistance? What strategies might social justice doctoral students engage in to pursue our continued work alongside our communities in the current context?
The members of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG are committed to teach, promote, and implement the principles of critical pedagogy in order to establish an educational movement grounded in the struggle for social and economic justice, human rights, and economic democracy. The members of CESJ are committed to cultural, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
Application Process:
To be considered please fill out the application by Friday, March 3, 2017 5pm PST. Space is limited. We encourage applicants from diverse research interests, identities and graduate experiences. Interested participants are encouraged to complete registration form as soon as possible! To apply for the forum, graduate students will need to use this link to complete the application form with required information below:
a. General participant background.
b. Current participant academic status and institutional background.
c. Participant’s research interests.
d. Description of what you hope to gain from your participation in the forum.
The CESJ Graduate Student Forum aims to gather a diverse group of graduate students for this event whose work and backgrounds are in line with CESJ’s mission and values. We hope to have representation from many different universities, students’ years in graduate school, research interests, ethnic/racial groups (especially underrepresented Students of Color), gender identities, sexualities, among other identities present at the forum.
Thank you for your interest. Please direct any questions about the Graduate Student Forum (GSF) to CESJgradforum@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
2017 CESJ GSF Planning Team
Arturo Nevárez, University of California, Riverside
Kari Kokka, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Aja Reynolds, University of Illinois Chicago
Farima Pour-Khorshid, University of California Santa Cruz
Malayka Bustamante, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Steph Cariaga, University of California Los Angeles
Confirmed panelists:
➢ Dr. Michael Dumas, University of California Berkeley
➢ Dr. Rita Kohli, University of California Riverside
➢ Dr. Crystal Laura, Chicago State University
➢ Dr. Sonia Nieto, University of Massachusetts Amherst
The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to:
1. Help prepare critical scholars for future scholarship and related work.
2. Identify strategies and tools to share and take back to our colleagues, students, communities, and home institutions.
3. Learn from scholars and peers about the possibilities and tensions that arise in social justice and critical education research.
Forum Themes and Topics: "Hope and Resistance: Strategies for Social Justice Scholarship and Praxis"
While the collective struggles for educational equity, justice, and liberation are not new, our efforts towards social justice are reinvigorated in a historical moment marked by, a) the resurgence in overt manifestations of Islamophobia, racism, misogyny, ableism, nativism, and xenophobia, and the resultant increase of hate crimes on university and K-12 campuses, b) the ramped-up assault on public education through unbridled free market reforms, and c) the persistence of intersecting racialized, gendered, and classed schooling contexts that are simultaneously sanctioned and invisibilized by the state. In light of the continuing and current challenges facing the struggles for material change and educational equity, this year’s CESJ Graduate Student Forum collectively asks: What are our roles as doctoral students engaged in social justice scholarship in the struggle for collective resistance? What strategies might social justice doctoral students engage in to pursue our continued work alongside our communities in the current context?
The members of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG are committed to teach, promote, and implement the principles of critical pedagogy in order to establish an educational movement grounded in the struggle for social and economic justice, human rights, and economic democracy. The members of CESJ are committed to cultural, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
Application Process:
To be considered please fill out the application by Friday, March 3, 2017 5pm PST. Space is limited. We encourage applicants from diverse research interests, identities and graduate experiences. Interested participants are encouraged to complete registration form as soon as possible! To apply for the forum, graduate students will need to use this link to complete the application form with required information below:
a. General participant background.
b. Current participant academic status and institutional background.
c. Participant’s research interests.
d. Description of what you hope to gain from your participation in the forum.
The CESJ Graduate Student Forum aims to gather a diverse group of graduate students for this event whose work and backgrounds are in line with CESJ’s mission and values. We hope to have representation from many different universities, students’ years in graduate school, research interests, ethnic/racial groups (especially underrepresented Students of Color), gender identities, sexualities, among other identities present at the forum.
Thank you for your interest. Please direct any questions about the Graduate Student Forum (GSF) to CESJgradforum@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
2017 CESJ GSF Planning Team
Arturo Nevárez, University of California, Riverside
Kari Kokka, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Aja Reynolds, University of Illinois Chicago
Farima Pour-Khorshid, University of California Santa Cruz
Malayka Bustamante, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Steph Cariaga, University of California Los Angeles
Registration Now Open for the 2017 CESJ Early Career Scholar Forum: Navigating and Surviving the Academy as a Social Justice Scholar
The Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG will offer a pre-conference forum for early career scholars (non-tenured). The forum is open to early-career tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. During the forum, participants will gather with scholar-mentors from CESJ to discuss various topics related to research and scholarship, teaching, community-engaged scholarship, and service. The purpose of the forum is to provide early career scholars with 1) a sense of community with scholars committed to critical scholarship and social justice; 2) mentorship from a range of scholars (junior and senior level colleagues); 3) practical tools and strategies for navigating academic contexts; 4) a chance to network and build community with other CESJ early career scholars. This is the SIG’s second year offering this event. The CESJ Early Career Scholar Forum will be a powerful gathering of scholars across the country committed to producing and supporting critical scholarship and practice within education. We hope you decide to join us! *Refreshments will be served throughout the seminar.
Forum Themes and Topics:
This forum is designed to help social justice oriented scholars thrive in institutional settings, build community with like-minded scholars, and gain sustainable strategies for navigating the academy. Themes and topics explored during the forum may include:
Registration Process:
Space is limited and participants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Those who are interested in attending should complete our registration form as soon as possible! To apply for the forum, CESJ members should:
1. Use this link to complete the registration form: https://goo.gl/forms/0ZP5YcNXPfNvltTB2
Navigating and Surviving the Academy as a Social Justice Scholar Thursday, April 27, 2017, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Location: TBA; San Antonio, TX. *Space is limited and the deadline to register is March 3rd, 2017 at 11:59pm PST. Please note that in order to foster community, we ask you to commit to attending the full forum if you would like to participate.
2. The registration form will require the following information in order to facilitate planning:
(a) The applicant’s general background
(b)The applicant’s current academic position and relevant aspects of the institutional setting
(c) The applicant’s research interests
(d) A description of one or two significant challenges facing the applicant as a CESJ scholar and description of what you hope to gain from your participation in the seminar
Space is limited and the deadline for registration is Friday, March 3rd at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Participants will be notified by email in mid-March 2017.
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities. A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society; therefore, we encourage the participation of educators whose work is founded upon these principles.
Please direct any questions about the Early Career Scholar Forum to organizers Laura Quaynor (quaynola@lewisu.edu) or Shanta Robinson (srrobinson@uchicago.edu).
Early Career Scholar Forum Planning Committee:
Kelly Brown, Prairie View A&M University
Alison Dover, California State- Fullerton
Nini Hayes, St. Martin’s University
Leslie Locke, University of Iowa
Laura Quaynor, Lewis University
Shanta Robinson, University of Chicago
Forum Themes and Topics:
This forum is designed to help social justice oriented scholars thrive in institutional settings, build community with like-minded scholars, and gain sustainable strategies for navigating the academy. Themes and topics explored during the forum may include:
- Navigating different university contexts as a social justice scholar
- Negotiating, confronting, and challenging whiteness in the academy
- Publishing and advocating for justice-oriented scholarship
- Balancing scholar-activism, wellness, and the demands of the academy
- Finding mentors, community, and solidarity as faculty member
- Understanding the importance, risks, and strategies of public scholarship
- Articulating your scholarship outside of the academy
- How to create a successful tenure dossier as a social justice/critically engaged scholar
- How to define one’s self as a social justice and/or critically engaged scholar
- Additional topics may be added based on participants’ interests noted in registration
Registration Process:
Space is limited and participants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Those who are interested in attending should complete our registration form as soon as possible! To apply for the forum, CESJ members should:
1. Use this link to complete the registration form: https://goo.gl/forms/0ZP5YcNXPfNvltTB2
Navigating and Surviving the Academy as a Social Justice Scholar Thursday, April 27, 2017, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Location: TBA; San Antonio, TX. *Space is limited and the deadline to register is March 3rd, 2017 at 11:59pm PST. Please note that in order to foster community, we ask you to commit to attending the full forum if you would like to participate.
2. The registration form will require the following information in order to facilitate planning:
(a) The applicant’s general background
(b)The applicant’s current academic position and relevant aspects of the institutional setting
(c) The applicant’s research interests
(d) A description of one or two significant challenges facing the applicant as a CESJ scholar and description of what you hope to gain from your participation in the seminar
Space is limited and the deadline for registration is Friday, March 3rd at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Participants will be notified by email in mid-March 2017.
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities. A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society; therefore, we encourage the participation of educators whose work is founded upon these principles.
Please direct any questions about the Early Career Scholar Forum to organizers Laura Quaynor (quaynola@lewisu.edu) or Shanta Robinson (srrobinson@uchicago.edu).
Early Career Scholar Forum Planning Committee:
Kelly Brown, Prairie View A&M University
Alison Dover, California State- Fullerton
Nini Hayes, St. Martin’s University
Leslie Locke, University of Iowa
Laura Quaynor, Lewis University
Shanta Robinson, University of Chicago
Winter 2017 Newsletter
Happy New Year everyone! We hope you're keeping warm and that your semester is off to a great start. We're happy to announce that our Winter 2017 newsletter is available and can be read right here! This issue features the following: a rousing letter from our SIG's co-chairs; an expansive listing of 2016 publications from our CESJ membership; inspiring stories of hope and resistance; and contact information for those interested in the application process for CESJ's 2017 Graduate Student and Early Career forums to take place at the upcoming AERA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX.
We will publish another short newsletter about 2017 CESJ conference sessions and events. So, be on the look out for that. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this issue of the newsletter and find it useful in both your practice and reflection.
We will publish another short newsletter about 2017 CESJ conference sessions and events. So, be on the look out for that. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this issue of the newsletter and find it useful in both your practice and reflection.
| cesj_winter_2017_newsletter.pdf |
A Message from the CESJ Executive Board Regarding the Recent Presidential Executive Orders
We, the Executive Board and other members of CESJ, stand in solidarity with those affected by the U.S. President’s executive order temporarily banning individuals from Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States.
We offer love and support to our members, friends, colleagues, and students who are impacted by this despicable order that makes us less safe, contrary to the rhetoric being used to promote this hate. It is reckless, destructive, bigoted, and short-sighted.
We are exhausted by the other executive orders and actions taken this past week, including the order to authorize reviving the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines, the building of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, the stripping of federal grant money to sanctuary cities, and the order to reinstate the so-called "Mexico City Policy" – a ban on federal funds to international groups that perform abortions or lobby to legalize or promote abortion to which we vociferously object and encourage our membership to remain vigilant.
We know that while words can be encouraging, they are often not enough. In terms of pedagogy, we would like to point you in the direction of The Kharij Collective of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. They are sponsoring a national Teach-In entitled ‘Presidential Executive Order Banning Muslims, Immigrants, and Refugees’ to be held on Wednesday, February 8th at 4pm EST. Registration is free at the following link: http://immigrationbanteachin.eventbrite.com
You can also get involved, get more informed, and donate to the following organizations that help advocate and work on behalf of Muslims and other refugees:
https://www.muslimadvocates.org
https://www.cair.com
https://www.mlfa.org
http://www.cunyclear.org/
https://www.aclu.org
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org
http://www.afj.org
http://ccrjustice.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org
http://www.aila.org
We pledge to work within our universities to push our institutions to offer sanctuary and support for these members of our community rather than act as agents of an administration whose orders are unethical, inhumane, and likely unconstitutional.
We acknowledge that the struggles for liberation, for equity and justice are not new phenomena, and that others have made infinite contributions toward our collective victories. We fight with a renewed purpose, with collective voice and resolution, and we vow to not leave anyone behind. Our advocacy will now and always be inclusive and intersectional, “For, if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night”.
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
With you in the long struggle,
The CESJ Executive Board
We offer love and support to our members, friends, colleagues, and students who are impacted by this despicable order that makes us less safe, contrary to the rhetoric being used to promote this hate. It is reckless, destructive, bigoted, and short-sighted.
We are exhausted by the other executive orders and actions taken this past week, including the order to authorize reviving the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines, the building of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, the stripping of federal grant money to sanctuary cities, and the order to reinstate the so-called "Mexico City Policy" – a ban on federal funds to international groups that perform abortions or lobby to legalize or promote abortion to which we vociferously object and encourage our membership to remain vigilant.
We know that while words can be encouraging, they are often not enough. In terms of pedagogy, we would like to point you in the direction of The Kharij Collective of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. They are sponsoring a national Teach-In entitled ‘Presidential Executive Order Banning Muslims, Immigrants, and Refugees’ to be held on Wednesday, February 8th at 4pm EST. Registration is free at the following link: http://immigrationbanteachin.eventbrite.com
You can also get involved, get more informed, and donate to the following organizations that help advocate and work on behalf of Muslims and other refugees:
https://www.muslimadvocates.org
https://www.cair.com
https://www.mlfa.org
http://www.cunyclear.org/
https://www.aclu.org
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org
http://www.afj.org
http://ccrjustice.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org
http://www.aila.org
We pledge to work within our universities to push our institutions to offer sanctuary and support for these members of our community rather than act as agents of an administration whose orders are unethical, inhumane, and likely unconstitutional.
We acknowledge that the struggles for liberation, for equity and justice are not new phenomena, and that others have made infinite contributions toward our collective victories. We fight with a renewed purpose, with collective voice and resolution, and we vow to not leave anyone behind. Our advocacy will now and always be inclusive and intersectional, “For, if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night”.
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
With you in the long struggle,
The CESJ Executive Board
Call for 2016 Publications and 2017 Awards Nominations
It's that time again! In our ongoing effort to highlight and share the scholarship of our members, we invite all members to submit a list of their 2016 publications for our Spring 2017 newsletter by filling out this form.
We are also seeking nominations for our 2017 awards, as well as volunteers to serve on the awards selections committee. For more information about the awards and awards committees, please see this announcement.
Fall 2016 Newsletter
Welcome back! We hope everyone is settling in and off to a great start to another new school year. Our new Fall 2016 Newsletter is here and is packed full of updates about what CESJ has been up to this year. You will find information about: the new CESJ Executive Board members; the 2016 CESJ award winners; what our SIG accomplished at the 2016 AERA Annual Meeting; an important OP/ED statement from The People's Education Movement; some important tips and links on self-care; and even some cool book recommendations. You can either scroll through the newsletter displayed below or download it.
| cesj_newsletter_fall_2016.pdf |
The Winter 2016 Newsletter is here! Check it out for the latest updates about CESJ sponsored events for the upcoming 2016 AERA Annual Meeting. We also have a great list of the newest scholarship from your very own SIG colleagues, as well as tips for teaching social justice related to the Flint, MI water crisis, and so much more!
Check out our Fall Newsletter:
ANNUAL AERA MEETING PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE
WEDNESDAY ~ JULY 22ND 2015
Here's a friendly reminder that proposal submissions for AERA are due on Wednesday, July 22nd. We encourage you to submit ideas for papers, roundtables, poster sessions, symposia, etc. related to the meeting theme, Public Scholarship to Educate Diverse Democracies as well as to our SIG's mission. We invite scholars from all divisions and SIGs to submit proposals. As a reminder, paper and session submissions must not identify the author(s) in any way. Proposals for papers, posters, roundtables, and symposia/sessions are encouraged, and innovative session designs are welcomed. In order to accommodate flexibility in program decisions, please select all of the formats in which you would be willing to present your work. Keep in mind that the number of proposals and the size of our active membership determine the number of sessions allocated to each SIG. Please consider our SIG as a place to share your work, and renew your SIG membership when you submit your proposals. Encourage students and colleagues to join our SIG too! All information about the annual meeting can be found at www.aera.net.
Check out our AERA Preview newsletter:
NEWS & UPDATES
CESJ STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY
We, the Executive Board of the Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) special interest group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), stand in solidarity with communities working to challenge racism. Based on recent grand juries failure to indict the officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and as educators committed to equity and justice, we feel a responsibility to take a formal stance against the anti-blackness that plagues our schools, justice system, and society. The events in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York provide two examples of blatant racial injustice woven into the fabric of the United States. Even since the killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, we have seen multiple cases of unarmed Black youth shot and killed by the police, including twelve-year-old Tamir Rice.
Our SIG has, at its heart and in our mission, a commitment to “the struggle for social justice, human rights, and democracy in education for diverse communities.” This includes a challenge to the ongoing and systemic racial oppression that we see in Ferguson and beyond. As critical education scholars, we must recognize the socializing message of this callous disregard of Black lives. We have a responsibility to reframe the discussion and illuminate that #BlackLivesMatter. We cannot afford to stay silent.
We also recognize that the academy itself perpetuates messages of racism and other forms of structural oppression of marginalized groups. We are all implicated. We urge the academic community to use their tools of power and privilege to speak and act out against continued injustices in our nation. From writing and teaching, to organizing and marching in the streets, there are many ways to voice our opposition. We believe that education is a critical component of speaking truth to power and working to dismantle oppressive systems and structures. As our CESJ mission states, “we believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society.”
Building on the ideological and political intervention the #BlackLivesMatter movement, as well as on the public solidarity statements from several faculty at Smith College and Portland State University, we commit to the following and encourage our communities to:
In solidarity,
The Executive Board of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG
Rita Kohli, Ph.D., Co-Chair
University of California, Riverside
Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Ph.D, Co-Chair
Michigan State University
Bianca Baldridge, Ph.D. Communications Co-Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Katy Swalwell, Ph.D., Communications Co-Chair
Iowa State University
Keisha Green, Ph.D., Fiscal Co-Chair
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
La Mont Terry, Ph.D., Fiscal Co-Chair
Occidental College
Nicholas Hartlep, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair
Illinois State University
Cleveland Hayes, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair
University of La Verne
We, the Executive Board of the Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) special interest group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), stand in solidarity with communities working to challenge racism. Based on recent grand juries failure to indict the officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and as educators committed to equity and justice, we feel a responsibility to take a formal stance against the anti-blackness that plagues our schools, justice system, and society. The events in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York provide two examples of blatant racial injustice woven into the fabric of the United States. Even since the killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, we have seen multiple cases of unarmed Black youth shot and killed by the police, including twelve-year-old Tamir Rice.
Our SIG has, at its heart and in our mission, a commitment to “the struggle for social justice, human rights, and democracy in education for diverse communities.” This includes a challenge to the ongoing and systemic racial oppression that we see in Ferguson and beyond. As critical education scholars, we must recognize the socializing message of this callous disregard of Black lives. We have a responsibility to reframe the discussion and illuminate that #BlackLivesMatter. We cannot afford to stay silent.
We also recognize that the academy itself perpetuates messages of racism and other forms of structural oppression of marginalized groups. We are all implicated. We urge the academic community to use their tools of power and privilege to speak and act out against continued injustices in our nation. From writing and teaching, to organizing and marching in the streets, there are many ways to voice our opposition. We believe that education is a critical component of speaking truth to power and working to dismantle oppressive systems and structures. As our CESJ mission states, “we believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society.”
Building on the ideological and political intervention the #BlackLivesMatter movement, as well as on the public solidarity statements from several faculty at Smith College and Portland State University, we commit to the following and encourage our communities to:
- Challenge and interrupt systemic oppression through participation in social, political, and individual actions;
- Create opportunities for critical, collective dialogue about racism, white supremacy, and other oppressive forces that affect communities of color;
- Collaborate within and across our spheres of influence (professional and personal) to develop ways to dismantle racist institutions and practices
- Encourage White allies to remember that they they are there to support people of color rather than be at the center of the movement, to listen more than to speak, and to redirect misguided (even if well-intentioned) attempts to universalize the narrative of Black lives matter to all lives matter.
- Work with students, teachers, administrators, and other school personnel at all levels to discuss these important issues in classrooms and out-of-school contexts in ways that best support students for being agents of change.
In solidarity,
The Executive Board of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG
Rita Kohli, Ph.D., Co-Chair
University of California, Riverside
Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Ph.D, Co-Chair
Michigan State University
Bianca Baldridge, Ph.D. Communications Co-Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Katy Swalwell, Ph.D., Communications Co-Chair
Iowa State University
Keisha Green, Ph.D., Fiscal Co-Chair
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
La Mont Terry, Ph.D., Fiscal Co-Chair
Occidental College
Nicholas Hartlep, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair
Illinois State University
Cleveland Hayes, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair
University of La Verne
Click here for information about "The Scholactivist" blog featuring a member spotlight and short essay written by a SIG member each month. If you would like to nominate someone to be highlighted (or would like to self-nominate), please email Communications Co-Chair Bianca Baldridge at bbaldridge@wisc.edu.