Miami-Dade education leaders are disturbingly silent on assaults on black lives | Opinion
The 2019-2020 school year ended with confusion, uncertainty and fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of COVID-19. And for black students and educators, fear of having our last breath taken by white supremacy. The list of victims seems endless, with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery the most highly publicized recently.
Our black lives are being taken, not only by racist police, but also by others who believe their whiteness serves as a badge to patrol black bodies. Thanks to cell phones, the world has seen the fear that blacks feel on a daily basis.
Over the past few weeks, major corporations and universities have released statements pledging their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Even the NFL, which condemned players kneeling, issued an apology regarding its stance on peaceful protests. The nation is seeing and calling out racism because people realize this isn’t a political issue, but a human-rights issue. However, why are white and non-black colleagues in K-12 education silent?
As a black teacher in Miami-Dade County, I have received countless important emails addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected all students and personnel.
But why have the emails ceased in the face of Minneapolis police officers’ public assault of George Floyd while school was still in session. Thousands of black students and teachers saw this atrocity and cried. We cried tears of anger and fear, which have been largely ignored by our education system. It’s a system that, as a whole, must do better. Passive platitudes are not enough.
My message to principals, assistant principals, School Board members, district leaders, and even our teacher’s union — your silence is deafening. Where is the unity? Where is the outrage? Where is the acknowledgment that black students and black teachers are falling victim to a pandemic of racism?
Floyd was killed in broad daylight, fighting for his life while the world watched. Breonna Taylor, murdered in her home. Her sanctuary turned into a war zone. Ahmaud Arbery was jogging, as many of your own teachers and students do on a daily basis. Again I ask, Where are the voices of our allies in education?
We tell students we are living in a time that will go down in history. Yet, in the same breath, we suffocate the validity of our movement with silence. How do we educate on tolerance, and anti-racism when the very institution designed to implement those lessons is silent? Certain topics that actively affect the lives of everyone shouldn’t be so delicate that we are afraid to speak out. Black students and teachers are made painfully aware of the cricket chirps from our national, state, and local leaders in education.
I know that my students are hurting from the murders they see. I know my fellow black teachers are hurting and outraged from the silence. As educators, we impact the future. We shape the next generation of activists, leaders and change makers. But it is impossible to teach tolerance when we ignore reality. George Floyd could have been the father of one of my students. Trayvon Martin could have been in my classroom.
As a black teacher who educates black students, I call up the Miami-Dade Public Schools district to join the global fight against racial oppression.
Once you have broken your silence, continue to create change. Collaborate with non-white teachers and personnel to create a curriculum that addresses tolerance and highlights alliance; one that acknowledges historical and present injustices to black bodies. Create a culture of anti-racism. It is imperative that the district urgently consider how to address policing within schools, specifically schools that reflect the population of our Trayvon Martins, Breonna Taylors and George Floyds.
Because, right now, all we hear is your silence.
Kalyn Lee is the 2020 Francisco R. Walker Rookie Teacher of the Year from Miami Carol City Senior High School. She is a Teach for America alumna.
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 1:45 PM.