Xena Goldman Photo, Mural by Xena Goldman, Greta McLain, and Cadex Herrera
Texas AFT is made up of educators, healthcare workers, public employees, and more. We do not just serve the communities across Texas, but we are members and leaders in those communities. On May 25, 2020, we lost a member of our community. George Floyd, an HISD graduate from Yates High School class of 1993, died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
Texas AFT is committed to issues of social justice and equality, so whenever an unarmed black person is needlessly killed, we as an organization are saddened but moved to action. But we are deeply saddened by the truly heinous nature of this particular murder of our community member. Many teachers marched across downtown Houston with George Floyd’s family this weekend and attended many other protests and acts of solidarity across the state.
Several union members and education leaders attended protests this past week including Aldine AFT president Candis Houston, Babak Far and Bryan Lozano from HFT, Alpa Sridharan and Tarah Taylor from Community Voices for Public Education, Hany Khalil from the AFL-CIO, along with many, many others. You can read statements from some of our union leaders here.
Fear and bigotry flourish in the fertile soil of ignorance. Education is vital to combating institutionalized racism and white supremacy in this country. As educators and community leaders, we can actively dismantle racist systems by teaching our students the value of all human life during their formative years. Below is a set of links compiled by Education Minnesota, an AFT affiliate, on how to actively teach equality in the classroom and confront issues of social justice. To visit their website and see what further actions you can take online, click here.
Anti-racism resources:
5 anti-racism resources for teachers: http://edmn.me/36EHUvs
More anti-racism resources: http://edmn.me/2AlbDxa
5 ways to address bias in your school: http://edmn.me/36FaE7u
Share My Lesson racism collection: http://edmn.me/3ccMjqs
Ibram X. Kendi blog: http://www.ibramxkendi.com
Racial Justice in Education resource guide: http://edmn.me/2zDzSa5
Teaching Tolerance: www.tolerance.org
Talking about race in the classroom: http://edmn.me/3det6pY
Confronting White Nationalism in Schools toolkit: http://edmn.me/3gCQrDV
Equity & social justice websites: http://edmn.me/2TO5bWC