Beyond Conversations About Race: A Guide for Discussions With Students, Teachers, and Communities (How to Talk About Racism in Schools and Implement Equitable Classroom Practices)

Product Description

Written by a collective of brilliant authors, this essential work provokes respectful dialogue about race that catalyzes school-changing action. The book masterfully weaves together an array of scenarios and discussions, and directly addresses challenging topics such as discomfort, violence, advocacy, bias, and responsibility. The authors call on their lived experiences and, most important, their work with tens of thousands of educators, leaders, and students to help all of us do better in our schools and communities.
Learn how to talk about race in the classroom and advocate for racial equity in schools:

Recognize the presence of systemic racism in schools and understand why racism is such an uncomfortable topic for many.
Use scenarios and effective discussion questions to encourage challenging conversations.
Learn how to advocate for underserved communities and those who suffer under racism.
Resist racial stereotypes and promote equity in the classroom.
Take appropriate action based on challenging conversations.
Ultimately develop classrooms, schools, and districts into safe, anti-racist educational strongholds and promote positive learning experiences for marginalized students.

Contents: Acknowledgments Table of Contents About the Authors Introduction: How to Get the Most Out of This Book
Part 1: Getting Ready for Challenging Conversations Chapter 1: Why Is Talking About Race So Hard? Chapter 2: Why Is Discomfort Required? Chapter 3: Why Scenarios as an Educational Tool? Chapter 4: How Can We Create a Safe Space for Conversation? Chapter 5: How Will Faculty and Staff Set the Standard for Challenging Conversations?
Part 2: Using Scenarios for Important Conversations Chapter 6: Talking About Bias–How Can I Be Biased When I’m Not a Racist? Chapter 7: Talking About History–How Does the Shadow of 1619 Affect Us Today? Chapter 8: Talking About Action–How Can Something Be My Responsibility When It’s Not My Fault? Chapter 9: Talking About Advocacy–What Is My Duty to My Friends? Chapter 10: Talking About Law Enforcement–How Do Police Officers Help Us? How Do They Sometimes Hurt Us? Chapter 11: Talking About School–Where Are the Black People? Chapter 12: Talking About Violence–How Can We Talk About Terrible Things?
Part 3: Moving From Discussion to Action Chapter 13: How Do We Engage Our Communities? Chapter 14: How Can We Advocate for Change? Chapter 15: Why Isn’t Being Right Enough? Chapter 16: How Do We Create Equity Consciousness? Chapter 17: The Next Chapter–How Do We Shift From Opposing Bigotry to Practicing Anti-Racism?
References and Resources Index

Review

“Beyond Conversations About Race will be seen as one of the most important educational books of our time regarding what can be done to create equity for all students, especially our students of color. This book comes out less than a year after the death of civil rights icon John Lewis, who lived his life with both the courage and fierce elegance to not only have challenging conversations about race but also fight for equity. It draws attention to the unjust voting system rooted in racism and white supremacy that Lewis and the other marchers on Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge protested. Issues of systemic racism still pervade society today.
“The authors courageously and adeptly take on the issue of racism, which still leaves our schools not fulfilling the goal of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Although that decision struck down the ‘separate but equal’ law, our supposedly integrated school system of today continues to be unequal because the system and some members of that system refuse to face or address the continued racism that is a stain on our country. The authors do a magnificent job of not only giving irrefutable evidence of systemic inequities but also providing tools to have uncomfortable and yet safe conversations about race for all, including students from elementary age thro