Tony is a champion of Restorative Justice
and co-facilitates the work of the EGUSD
Equity Implementation Team with me.
Tony is my counterpart and helps to provide
validation and access to belief systems I have
no knowledge of.
To that end, White leaders need their
non-White counterparts to bridge the gap
of the experiences they lack related to bias,
discrimination and race-based stress. Tony
is a witness to the injustices I face daily, but
because of White privilege he does not ex-
perience them first hand, and, therefore, I
provide credibility to him in this work.
Celebrating our humanity and diversity
isn’t just about recognizing and accepting
our differences and opportunities. It is about
requiring the intentional redistribution
of influence. Those who have privilege are
complicit if they never lift a finger to support
and correct those circumstances that create
marginalization. White anti-racist activist
must come forward and invite other non-
White people to take a stand, a decree, and
demand racial justice.
Tony is a White anti-racist social justice
advocate, and together we are committed to
ensuring that all students have the access to
the appropriate resources that will give them
the opportunities to contribute meaning-
fully to our society. Some of the work we are
fully invested in together as co-conspirators
is planning and implementing educational
equity professional learning for our school
leaders. Our allyship is focused on support-
ing our leaders to move from awareness to
advocacy to action – promoting social justice
and ensuring equity in our system.
Anti-racist essayist, author and educator
Tim Wise says, “Ignorance of how we are
shaped racially is the first sign of privilege.
In other words. It is a privilege to ignore the
consequences of race in America.”
White skin privilege is not something
that people necessarily do, create or enjoy
on purpose. That privilege is a hidden and
transparent preference that is often difficult
to address. It creates a sense of entitlement,
generates perks and advantages for White
people and elevates their status in the world.
Tony can speak to me about this privilege
because he freely acknowledges that he has
a space and place in this privilege.
It really is up to co-conspirators like Tony
to give up their privilege and be OK with
that. Tony’s daily example of recognizing and
giving his privilege away, helps other White
people who are sensitive to the issues like rac-
ism, classism, sexism and homophobia.
White anti-racist activists need to under-
stand that they can’t completely understand
or “get” the experience of a person of color.
They should trust that their people of color
allies are not being too sensitive or com-
plaining. The facts speak for themselves:
Black and Latino students are more likely
to attend poorly funded schools; schools
are more segregated today than they were
when Brown v. Board was enacted, and most
schools that serve people of color receive
fewer resources. As early as preschool, Black
students are punished more frequently and
more harshly for misbehaving than their
White counterparts.
Let’s face it, everyone, especially U.S. citi-
zens, has some sort of privilege in their lives,
and, as a person of color, I am purposeful in
making sure that people have a space to ex-
press themselves in a way they feel is right. I
need to trust that my equity allies will do the
same for me when I need it.
Although underserved communities are
not obligated to provide support to the dom-
inant people and structures in our society,
people of color can extend grace in the belief
that when people know better, they can do
better. I am a dealer of hope and believe that
it is this same grace that creates opportuni-
ties for dialogue, for us to remain open to
seek out our co-conspirators.
Because education is a civil right, serv-
ing all students means confronting racism,
privilege and justice. Working side by side to
dismantle racism and ensure equity liberates
us individually and collectively as a human
race and we all benefit. As leaders, we must
seek out our co-conspirators to fight along
with us to be kid champions.
Sonjhia Lowery is director of Learning
Support Services at Elk Grove
Unified School District and Region
3 representative to the ACSA Equity
Committee.
March | April 2018
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