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A reminder as people are getting fired up and wanting to present, inform, start meaningful conversations about antiracism; much of the learning new to you is not new to IBPOC, and there's a reason for that.
We have to learn about power and oppression early, in order to survive. We learn about the politics of language and how to use (or shield ourselves from) it early, in order to survive.
I won't speak for everyone, but I will speak for myself and say that when I present, my greatest hope is that people will be inspired to be part of the solution instead of continuing to be part of the problem.
I will also add that there are many who still think it is okay to learn from me and then present the ideas I shared as their own in another setting. Some will even cite me while doing this (thank you).
However, due to the dynamics of race, power, and privilege within education, much of the predominantly White female teaching force still continue to cite the same five to ten White educator pedagogical influences as the main people they have learned from, when asked.
There are lots of reasons the academic publishing industry is dominated by White authors and just because someone isn't published doesn't mean they cannot be (and aren't) learned from.
Here is a little more about racial bias and citations within academic settings. It's an opinion piece I like.
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/04/27/racial-exclusions-scholarly-citations-opinion#:~:text=Citation%20is%20political.&text=Racially%20biased%20citations%20patterns%20are,and%20the%20history%20of%20anthropology.
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/04/27/racial-exclusions-scholarly-citations-opinion#:~:text=Citation%20is%20political.&text=Racially%20biased%20citations%20patterns%20are,and%20the%20history%20of%20anthropology.
Citations matter, but it also matters for folks to be aware of the erasure and invisibility that happens when you are right there shouting the same message and nobody hears you until it's socially or economically advantageous.
So please cite, but also please hire and pay IBPOC providers of professional development content rather than listening to the ideas, co-opting them, and then leveraging your power, positionality, and privilege do what you might see as "the work". #POCPD w/ @TchKimPossible
Sometimes "the work" is sitting down and listening. Sometimes "the work" is amplifying others. Sometimes "the work" is speaking up when in board rooms or other spaces without representation.
I'll add that in order for us (and kids who look like us) to do more than survive, it's going to take people who are willing to take the time and invest in establishing a firm foundation of listening and learning, rather than jumping to expert, presenter level immediately.
This is a great book. The audiobook and ebook are available. You should check it out! https://bookshop.org/books/we-want-to-do-more-than-survive-abolitionist-teaching-and-the-pursuit-of-educational-freedom/9780807069158
This goes with it...
and this too... https://bookshop.org/books/cultivating-genius-a-four-layered-framework-for-culturally-and-historically-responsive-literacy/9781338594898
One last thing. I try to be really conscious of the ego attachment to the notion that anything is original or "intellectual property". Ideas are meant to be shared. It's GREAT if someone is so inspired they begin to think differently, just act differently too. Please.