Watershed Voice columnist Aundrea Sayrie writes, “Although there has been much recognition of the historical trauma experienced by people of color in this country, there has never been a time that these racist institutions have been tossed out and rebuilt. They have only been reimagined and enforced in ways that continue to oppress people of color. Racial inequalities exist in financial, educational, judicial, medical and social constructs.”
Systemic racism
Republican members of the Michigan Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee voted on Tuesday to advance legislation that education officials said is dividing parents and teachers and would silence teachers attempting to discuss race and racism.
WSV’s Aundrea Sayrie writes, “I don’t want to see another hashtag. I want to see the dismantling of White Supremacy. It is a monster that is coming for you if you are a person of color, a woman, young, old, poor, or a member of a dispensable marginalized group. Shock, thoughts and prayers… it’s a useless cycle. We need real reform.”
The Michigan State Board of Education passed a resolution Tuesday to counter the anti-critical race theory (CRT) bills introduced in the Legislature last year, but it didn’t happen without lengthy debate among board members and hours of public comment. Tuesday’s meeting stretched nearly 10 hours due to hundreds of public comments.
A coalition of education groups made up of history educators joined together in opposition of two state bills that they say “misconstrue Critical Race Theory (CRT).
Teachers from Tennessee to Iowa are swept up in a wave of outrage led by GOP politicians nationwide over how schools teach kids about race in U.S. history.
Michigan Advance’s David Hecker writes, “Michigan can and should be a place where every child, regardless of race or ZIP code, has the opportunity to get a quality public education that will set them on a path to success. But we’re not there yet, and it is incumbent on all of us to do the work necessary to strengthen public schools for all students, and specifically to ensure our classrooms are safe, empowering spaces for Black, Indigenous and other students of color.”
From statehouses to Congress, Republicans have launched into a fight against the teaching of “critical race theory,” which just a year ago was a niche academic term. Experts in critical race theory say it’s about acknowledging how racial disparities are embedded in U.S history and society, and the concept is being mischaracterized by conservatives. But GOP lawmakers in the past few months have succeeded in pushing it to the top of state legislative agendas.
As part of WSV’s “Badass Women” series, Columnist Amanda Yearling honors figure skater Surya Bonaly, who Yearling says is “powerful, unrelenting, and forever pushing the boundaries of the sport.”
At its regular meeting Monday, the Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) Board of Education (BOE) voted unanimously to adopt a statement on racial justice it has been discussing and revising since a draft was first introduced at a July meeting.
Torrey Brown expresses his frustration with systemic racism and hypocrisy in his latest poem “Just my thoughts.”
Three Rivers native, poet, and Watershed Voice columnist Torrey Brown answers the hard questions between a father and a son in his first WSV poem.