Ida B. Wells Education Project
Points of unity
Our teaching is not “neutral”.
We believe that education is never neutral. Every day in the classroom as educators we make choices about what words to use, topics to highlight and values to convey. Pretending that official sources are “unbiased” only serves to maintain an unjust status quo. We value liberation for oppressed people above all and we are consciously building towards that goal, both in and out of the classroom.
Our curriculum is
Student-centered And Purposeful
We are dedicated to creating student-centered, rigorous, and social justice oriented lessons to counter dominant narratives, oppression, and anti-Blackness in schools. We will unapologetically address racism in schools and the impact it has on all students by developing curricula that celebrates a rich history of resistance of oppressed people, identifies and challenges historical and current systems of oppression, encourages critical thinking, is culturally responsive and most importantly, encourages students to go out and change the world.
We center the humanity
of oppressed people.
We believe in centering the humanity and resistance of people who have experienced oppression throughout history. We center and raise their voices in our curriculum, resources and in our work. We believe that leadership from oppressed communities is vital to any organization that wishes to challenge oppression and while everyone should participate in the struggle against racism, we aim to develop leadership from communities who have been historically targeted, to lead in this work. We are committed to maintaining a majority of women and people of color on our leadership team, to ensure we are anti-racist and anti-sexist.
We fight racism with solidarity.
As the great Fred Hampton said, “we fight racism with solidarity.” We believe in building solidarity between all oppressed peoples. While some may not experience particular forms of oppression, all of us experience some forms of oppression while living our intersectional lives under capitalism. It is on the basis of mutual interest in eradicating our shared oppression that we welcome all who wish to join the struggle against racism. As the famous quote from indigenous artist Lilla Watson goes: “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” We welcome all who wish to build on the basis of solidarity and we hope to build and maintain partnerships with diverse, new voices and organizations committed to this urgent work.
We believe in youth leadership and empowerment.
We believe in empowering young people to become leaders in movements for their own liberation. As educators, we lead in our classrooms and communities but we know that ultimately, the true test of our skill is in the development of new leaders. What do young people do with your lessons after class has ended? How will this knowledge help them change the world? These are questions that guide our work every day. We are dedicated to equipping young people with the skills, knowledge and support that they need to lead movements that can change the world.
We believe in the leadership of classroom teachers.
We believe in the leadership of classroom educators when it comes to developing, creating and implementing transformative classroom practices. We will embrace, empower, and support anti-racist teaching with our fellow educators who also are in this battle for humanity. The anti-racist educator is not alone. Historically, teaching was considered “women’s work”, it was often a job done by Black women and not coincidentally, tends to be a job that does not garner much respect. We respect the leadership of teachers in understanding and addressing the needs of their students and communities. We believe in helping, supporting, challenging and uplifting each other as we engage in this crucial work, together.
We radically confront the truth about systemic racism.
As Angela Davis said, “Radical simply means "grasping things at the root.” The roots of oppression in this country run deep, the unprecedented wealth and power of the United States was born and maintained via centuries of genocide, slavery, systematized sexual abuse, theft and brutal violence. Our textbooks try to avoid or gloss-over these aspects of our history but as educators we know that students must learn to understand the roots of injustice, if they are going to eliminate it. That means being clear about the role of systems of oppression like: imperialism, capitalism and settler colonialism and confronting those dehumanizing systems in our work. We consider radically confronting the roots of oppression to be vital to teaching for liberation. We believe in making clear connections between past and present manifestations of oppression and we look to past examples of people's resistance to oppression to help guide our work today.
We oppose all efforts to privatize public education.
We oppose corporate-driven education reform, market-based approaches, and the privatization of public education. These practices represent a threat to our children and families. We believe that these policies attempt to quantify and commodify student learning and teacher practice, narrowing teaching and learning through culturally biased, undemocratic standards and high-stakes tests. We further believe that these practices take time away from high-quality, holistic education and drain desperately needed funds from public schools. Likewise, we believe that these policies benefit corporate reformers while imposing a vision for public education that undermines and ignores the cultural resources, expertise, and vision of community members, educators, parents, and students.
We demand: Defund the POLice, Military and ICE.
We believe in organizing to create schools and cities in which oppressed communities are free from terror and abuse at the hands of the police or ICE. Every day we work with students and families who have been traumatized by police violence, mass incarceration, deportation and detention. We have seen the harm that these violent institutions can wreak in our communities up close. Additionally, money that is funneled to these institutions could better serve our population by funding schools and community relief programs instead. We stand in solidarity with the people of the world who strive for peace and self-determination. The current US military budget is around 690 billion dollars, with real military spending estimated to exceed 1 trillion dollars. As Dr. King once said, the bombs that are dropped overseas reverberate in our under-funded and over-militarized schools and communities at home. Our students should not have to join the military as a means of escaping the hood, trading one trauma for another. We want better for our young people, and young people all over the world.
We believe in celebrating, building joy and pride in young people.
Pride is essential for the healthy growth of young people and communities. We believe in teaching every student to feel pride in their community, heritage and identity. We believe in teaching with joy and celebrating the beauty and diversity of the many cultures that make up our world. We are dedicated to fostering positive self-image, artistry and self-expression in young people.