The implementation of a white supremacist strategy is not limited to the work of white people. Colonialism infuses, in the minds of some Black people, deep-seeded internalized racism. It is easy to find cases where Black and Brown people cooperate with white people in constructing a white supremacist agenda.
It's important to get that out before you start looking at the black people in the room.
This is one of those cases. It's an example of how teachers, within a school system with an overwhelming majority of white teachers (78%), refuse to concede the interest and needs of Black and Brown students and their parents. Their statement indicates their advocacy for their own interest as puppets in a white supremacist system.
A strategy of
white supremacy is to cancel the leadership of Black and Brown people. It’s
done by delegitimizing people for not playing well with white people.
A person who dedicates their life as
an advocate for Black and Brown families is questioned for failing to
cooperate with people working to maintain the system. White supremacy plays
by a set of rules. Collaborating with controlling parties is viewed as a measure of effective leadership. White supremacy attacks people who refuse to succomb to their mandate. It punishes people for not doing what they want, how they want and when they want it done.
Advocates are
called lone rangers. They are labeled ineffective because they function outside
the established system. Their personality becomes the subject of disdain. They’re
called a scalawag for their consistent focus on the problem versus a willingness
to compromise within the existing system.
White supremacy has it's own agenda. It attempts to strip advocates of their integrity by punishing anyone for failing to bow and kiss the ring. The advocacy of Black and Brown students and parents, in the example of the Facebook mischaraterization of Alexandra, takes backseat to bowing down to the whims of an organizations agenda. It is a cruel hypocricy that makes voting for a block of perferred candidates more relevant that advocacy.
White privilege assumes
the problem is the person when it’s the system. In this case, the problem is a gang of teachers desirious of manipulating the political process at the expense of Black and Brown children.
Their aim is to credential leaders who affirm their position with limited critique of structures
from within. Organizations aren’t established to be examined from within. I call foul play. The power of an endorsement plays out as a weapon margainilizing Black and Brown advocacy. The system is a monster in need of review. All of it. From a gang of teachers dismissive of Black and Brown advocacy, to an endorsement process that makes who a person voted for the purity test. When teachers place politics outside the classromm above the needs of students within the classrom, it's time for those teachers to reconsider what they do for a living.
The attack against Alexandra Valladares is a case study regarding how the quest to maintain
white dominance plays out in real time. Reactions divulge the rage of white fragility.
We are witnessing how support for diversity and inclusion plays out when conversations
shift to the demand for equity.
We’re observing
how conversations regarding race shift after racial and cultural competency minimizes
the power of white people in Black and Brown spaces. The savior complex is uncovered
with massive assumptions and hypocrisy. The matter of representation moves
beyond the dynamics of diversity and inclusion to an attack on the character of
the Black and Brown people fighting for equitable participation.
This is where the
work is attacked. The effort that goes into advocating on behalf of Black &
Brown parents and children becomes the subject of contention. All of that work
to be heard and understood is translated into a litmus test for credible
leadership.
The white person
plays by the rules. That person works well with others. That Black or Brown
person stands alone. These are massive assumptions rooted and maintained by the constructs of white supremacy. The decision to select and fight for the white person unravels how white supremacy hinders the work of Black and Brown engagement. They say - we
can work with him, he’s one of us, he understands us, he plays by our rules.
White supremacy
seeks to own the terms of legitimacy. Rather than conceding a need to listen
and learn from advocates, people leading the work are challenged for
questioning disparity.
The assumptions
that follow are preposterous. Given the white person works better with the
people within the system – that person is better qualified to serve Black and
Brown students. Given the Black person
is attacking the system – we have reason to believe the white person is better qualified
to work within our system. Given Alexandra isn't working with us, she must be working alone.
Implying Alexandra is working alone negates all the students and parents she represents. Not working to endorse a white supremacist system is not the same as working alone. Not working with a gang of teachers, and the candidates they decided to endorse, is not a reflection of standing alone. It reflect not standing with them in Alexandra's desire to stand with the students and parents she represents.
Determining who to
vote for is a personal decision. Each of us has the right to decide on our own. In reflecting on what that means, it helps to minimize
language constructed from a white supremacist agenda. I’m not blaming people
for not understanding. Not knowing is one of the consequences of centuries of
institutionalized racism.
I do question
people who continue using language rooted in white supremacist powerplay after
hearing why that’s not okay. I also blame teachers for using their role as teachers to play political games at the expense of Black and Brown children.
Shame on all of you!
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