Black Lives Matter: A Letter to Teachers

To the teachers watching Black Lives Matter protests around the country, around the world. To the teachers watching people topple vestiges of racism and treason called Confederate Statues. To the teachers watching youth lead a revolution against racial and social injustice centuries in the making…

Take pride.

Take pride in the obvious, visual displays against injustice, and take pride in the nuanced arguments that accompany them. Take pride in the social awareness to wear masks while they do it. Take pride in the unmistakable anger that represents empathy manifested.

Take pride.

That most valuable demographic, people 18-34 years old, have a voice. They always have. They are now using it en masse, and the results are changing the world. And they are valuable in every sense of the word. They are valuable to politicians looking for reelection. They are valuable to businesses looking for longevity. More importantly, they are valuable because they are people. And they are showing the world that being created equal and being treated as such have long been two different things.

Not only do they notice, they also know how to advocate. They know they have a voice, and they know that their voice is powerful. They are using that voice in unison by organizing and strategizing, by thinking critically about how to bring about change, since the what is just so obvious. And, it’s working. The world is changing.

Two months ago, Black Lives Matter was still just a phrase to many. It was still nervously being watched by professional sports leagues, and kneeling during an anthem or before the start of a game was still unacceptable. Two month ago, we had not yet seen or heard from protesters because we had not yet seen another seemingly unimaginable recording of an all-too-familiar scene in Black and Brown communities. George Floyd was still alive two months ago. Breonna Taylor was not. Ahmaud Arbery was not. Elijah McClain was not. And those are just the ones that are top of mind right now.

As I look at daily protests, as I hear young people speak calmly or with the fire of a thousand suns, I cannot help but think of their teachers. I cannot help but think that there was at least one teacher in each of their lives that helped them to recognize that they have a voice and that that voice is important. I cannot help but think that at least one teacher, one parent, one coach at one point or another encouraged them to stand up for themselves and to stand up for what’s right.

I look at these kids, in many cases, and I see students. Some of them are even wearing backpacks. I see kids confronting the bully that everyone sees and that everyone has accepted as part of the everyday (this is not the writing to go into the word “bully). I see kids not asking for help but demanding it. I see kids hearing their friends demand for help and demanding they get it. I see kids confident enough in their identification of injustice that anything less than systemic change will not suffice. I see kids holding the world to a higher standard, a standard that is the bare minimum.

And that is why I am right there with them, we are right there with them. Diversity, equity, and inclusion always require 100% participation and a 100% success rate. Anything less is just not good enough. Anything less demands us to change.

As I look at the change-makers holding elected officials accountable, holding systems of racial inequality accountable, holding communities that venerate racist traitors accountable, I see students of every age leading by example. They demand change, and that change is imperative. Black Lives Matter.