Tyrannies of silence tear through educational institutions with searing ferocity. In hallways and classroom corners and cloaked under the din of the cafeteria hum, many faculty, staff, and administrators of color exchange knowing glances, shaking heads, and cold stories—rushed and whispered—about the race-based treacheries they see, hear, deflect, and absorb in their schools. So often, these same people, especially those who identify as black, are expected to remain silent, internalize race-based trauma, deescalate and/or sanitize situations, and respond in "gentle ways" that do not offend or disrupt the oppressor. Some school leaders create and offer adults and students of color "safe spaces" to meet and "talk about issues." Although important and helpful to some, this retreat and regroup practice reinforces the unspoken but deeply held notion that people of color are to work quietly in these spaces to hold themselves together, repair wounds, and emerge ready to reenter the institution on the institution's terms.
Systemic silences around issues of race, whiteness, and equity in schools sustain a status quo where whites maintain privilege while retraumatizing people of color and sapping any efforts at meaningful, transformative interventions. Instead of sanctifying silence, use this guide to stay vigilant and committed to exposing and disrupting the subtle forms of oppression at work in your school.
How to Spot and Disrupt Six Silences of Inertia
- "I don't know where to begin." Many white educators insist they have no idea where to locate resources about "this stuff," even though there are hundreds of books, thousands of essays and articles, and dozens of reputable sites housing scaffolded, sequenced, highly appropriate material on race, oppression, and equity. Some school administrators set aside funds to attend conferences and institutes to help reframe curricula and provide meaningful professional development, yet some educators are still allowed to practice strategic disengagement around racial equity using this pattern of silence.Disrupt this silence by visiting sites like <LINK URL="http://www.tolerance.org/" LINKTARGET="_blank">Teaching Tolerance</LINK>, <LINK URL="http://www.educolor.org/" LINKTARGET="_blank">EDUCOLOR</LINK>, and <LINK URL="https://radicalteacher.library.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/radicalteacher" LINKTARGET="_blank">Radical Teacher</LINK> for relevant plans, points of reference, community support, and opportunities for meaningful collaboration.
- "The social studies teacher will deal with it." Some (usually but not always) white educators avoid issues of race and equity by insisting that "the humanities teachers will take care of 'that stuff'" and "this race stuff is not doable in math and science." These educators often assert that the content they teach is "neutral" and they would have to "give up something important" to make room for "that stuff."Disrupt this silence by participating in your local <LINK URL="http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml" LINKTARGET="_blank">Rethinking Schools</LINK>' Teachers for Social Justice groups and conferences. Examine and articulate the way privilege affords individuals and whole groups the chance to opt out of opportunities for growth on issues of race and equity.
- "But I've already acknowledged my privilege." Many educators mistake declarations of white privilege awareness for a moment of transformational change and meaningful intervention. Generally, once white folks recognize and articulate awareness of their privilege, there seems to be a significant drop off in the stamina needed to engage in constructive, long-term change. It's as if the privilege recognition party occurs, the party ends, and the guest of honor disappears from the party, from their own words, and from their own opportunity to grow.Disrupt this silence by studying Shakti Butler's film <LINK URL="http://world-trust.org/mirrors-of-privilege-making-whiteness-visible/" LINKTARGET="_blank">Mirrors of Privilege</LINK>, either individually or with a professional learning community. Learn to practice race-based self-awareness and self-respect. Find those white people who ally with and support other white people who are willing to share their healing practices around their white identity. Then, confidently address the race-based repair work that is so obviously, deeply needed.
- "We have a plan already, but that's outside our focus." Educators who engage in single focus social justice without also questioning or naming larger systems of automated historical oppression undermine or may even make moot the success of their social justice intervention. These educators often expend vast amounts of energy actualizing plans and actions but do not support students and/or themselves in exploring why there is a continuous need for such interventions.Disrupt this silence by auditing or evaluating how school curriculum centers or decenters oppressive whiteness. Refer to sites like <LINK URL="http://www.racialequitytools.org/" LINKTARGET="_blank">racialequitytools.org</LINK> or <LINK URL="http://www.raceforward.org/" LINKTARGET="_blank">raceforward.org</LINK> for experts who can support this kind of institutional endeavor.
- "Why don't you take up the charge?" An institutional silence occurs when school boards, many of which authorize and market diversity and inclusion campaigns, vote to defund and destabilize transformational, long-term equity initiatives. In response, some school administrators expect overextended educators (some of whom are white, but most of whom are people of color) to "take up the charge" with little or no direction, support, or strategic planning. Disrupt this silence by observing the connections between external school policy and internal school dynamics. Notice what initiatives receive sustained financial backing and are held at the center of the school's ethos and vision. Strategically engage school boards by inviting members to attend conferences and participate in professional development alongside other school community members.
- "But I'm not a racist. Really, I'm not!" Finally, the most treacherous silence comes in the form of an observable resistance of many white educators who refuse to look closely at what it means to be a white person who has unintentionally inherited the multigenerational task of upholding white supremacy. Many of these educators become defensive, angry, and frightened when they are asked to explore this part of themselves. In an attempt to mask those response, some of them quickly revert to staunch silences. This noisy silence hovers and envelops, and it is evident well beyond the school environment. These educators and administrators fail to recognize the ancient wound of white supremacy vibrating from within them.Disrupt this silence by naming, owning, and changing patterns of both private and public racial bias and race-based internal and external violation. Choose to unlearn the inaccurate (but highly evolved) racial narratives that have been placed on us and instead learn about actualizing a connected, racially conscious, and racially literate self. Use all of the resources in this article and beyond to move forward and relearn. In the absence of the immediate gratification of a "quick fix," one will need to repeat this process.
Just as there have been decades of effort to interrupt oppressive patterns in schools, so too have decades of silence been interlaced into equity work. These silences, although rarely explored, heavily infiltrate and reorder/disorder equity work because of their rootedness and dependability. Individuals, whole groups, and institutions rapidly employ and deploy these silences to avoid addressing and rectifying race-based inequities.
As racism becomes more sophisticated, so must our interventions. My hope is that you will use this guide—alongside essays like Robin DiAngelo's "Nothing to Add: A Challenge to White Silence in Racial Discussions," Jamilah Pitts' "Don't Say Nothing," Kẏra's "How to Uphold White Supremacy by Focusing on Diversity and Inclusion," and Mab Segrest's chapter "Of Soul and White Folks" (in the book Born to Belonging: Writings on Spirit and Justice)—to help reveal the entrenched and complex normalization of silences within both individuals and institutions. Turn the sword of silence on itself by identifying and acting on the causes and patterns of racial injustice and oppression in schools.
