The Anti-Racist Educator

Here Hashim chats with esteemed educator from the States, Curtis Acosta. He and his students were the focus of the film "Precious Knowledge" which told the story of the Mexican-American Studies program at Tuscon Magnet High School in Arizona. We go in depth on the significance of the program, the orchestrated backlash against it from reactionary elements of the media and state legislature, and how it, Ethnic Studies, and decolonising the curriculum in general are necessary parts of any anti-racist education.

Check out Curtis and his work here https://twitter.com/CurtisAcostaLLP

In partnership with the Scottish Association for the Teaching of English (SATE), this episode features two members of The Anti-Racist Educator, Navan and Melina, who discuss decolonial theory and explain how it can be applied to the secondary English curriculum in Scotland. 

Navan and Melina return to the theoretical roots of "decolonising the curriculum," a popular catchphrase which often risks losing its meaning. They then present examples of good practice and opportunities for listeners to reflect on how they too could apply it to their own subjects, classrooms and other learning environments.

This episode was originally recorded by SATE as a webinar with slides and live comments. Thank you to Tom from SATE for making this happen!

After taking us through some of the key tenets of Critical Race Theory, interest convergence and counter-narratives, Professor Gloria Ladson-Billings shares her expertise in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.

There are 3 key ideas in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, all outlined in her research (see The Dream Keepers: Successful Teachers of African-American Children):

- student learning (this does not always translate to what can be traditionally/academically assessed. So much learning happens at home during a pandemic.)

- cultural competence (how competent are teachers in valuing young people's culture in the classroom?)

- sociopolitical/critical consciousness (often forgotten, but crucial: how critical is the teacher of issues of power in the knowledge that is presented in the classroom? Remember that the curriculum is never neutral.)

As we see more pressure being put on schools to decolonise the curriculum in the midst of a pandemic, often with limited resources, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy can make education more inclusive and equitable. Thanks to critical consciousness, you can save a bad curriculum with good pedagogy. Gloria uses the example of race being fully-funded in society and how critical consciousness requires educators to question this and themselves in unlearning racism.

As we approach the end of the episode, Gloria shares her analysis of these uncertain times by drawing on Arundhati Roy's claim that the pandemic is a portal. According to Gloria, we are experiencing a quadruple pandemic:

- Covid-19 (a literal pandemic)

- a white supremacist pandemic (that has been going on for a while, but it has resurfaced for us all to see)

- an economic pandemic (financial crisis along with high levels of unemployment)

- a climate pandemic (similar to white supremacy, it's been going on for a while, but it's reaching its peak).

At the end of the episode, we finish our discussion with some helpful advice for people of colour feeling overwhelmed by the permanence of racism, and some useful reminders for white people aspiring to race equality.

For this second episode on Critical Race Theory (CRT), Professor David Gillborn shares his own journey with CRT and how it helped him become a better thinker, a better scholar and a better anti-racist activist. 

CRT is a theory that predicts how race is always going to be used against racialised minorities, particularly Black people. We applied CRT to examine how apparently contradictory discourses are often mobilised and adapted to benefit racialised elites. The episode concludes with David's brilliant advice for anti-racist educators and activists: 

- Stay critical. Always be aware of how racism taints every aspect of our lives and the education system. Racism has the upper-hand and the best arguments since all things seemingly rational are tainted by racism.

- Be realistic. Accept that racism is permanent (it took centuries to build, so it won't be dismantled in one generation) and it continues to adapt and evolve over time.

- Take care of yourself. Since racism isn't going away anytime soon, our efforts will be wasted if we burn out.

This episode is part of a series looking at anti-racist theory and pedagogy with key experts from the UK and beyond. In this episode, Dr Paul Warmington helps us unpack Critical Race Theory and uncovers some of the hidden histories of Black British intellectuals.  Dr Paul Warmington is a Black British Professor at the University of Warwick and his book, Black British Intellectuals and Education: Multiculturalism’s Hidden History, introduces the rich British history of Black thinkers and leading activists and it traces the evolving discourses in education around multiculturalism, anti-racist education and Critical Race Theory.

This episode comes with a blog post in which you will find more of the show notes (i.e. links to all the Black intellectuals mentioned and a breakdown of Critical Race Theory following Paul's explanation on the show).

Acronyms and Terminology used in the show:

CRT: Critical Race Theory

BME/BAME: Black, (Asian) and Minority Ethnic people

Political Blackness: racialised people in the UK (e.g. African, Caribbean, Asian communities)

What, exactly, is state racism? We know what it means to be subjected to explicit, in-your-face racist abuse, but what about the racism that lives in our government and the departments and institutions that flow from it? We chatted to the amazing Smina Akhtar about her research into this topic and consider the history of British immigration policies, how anti-racist the Scottish government and local authorities really are, and the current fightback against the inhumane treatment of people living in asylum accommodation in Glasgow. 

NOTE: this episode was recorded before the Park Inn attack. 

In this episode, acclaimed poet, playwright and educator Hannah Lavery joins us to discuss her poignant work and touch upon how Scotland can be a violent and oblivious place for black people and other people of colour. We talk about the Sheku Bayoh case, her play "Lament for Sheku Bayoh", an amazing reading of one of her poems from "The Drift" called "Scotland, You're No Mine", and general chat about growing up as racialised individuals in Scotland. 

Note: some strong language in poem reading.

This is the second of a series of episodes looking at the media and popular culture through the lens of anti-racism. In this episode, we discuss four anti-racist songs spanning across the US and UK, from various genres: Dave- Black, Beyonce- Brown Skin Girl, Aretha Franklin- Respect and Bob Marley- Redemption Song.

Join Sangeeta, Abbey and Titi (3 brown skinned girls!) as we unpack these anti-racist anthems which actively challenge racism throughout the years, from 1967 to 2019. 

Listen, comment and subscribe to get all the latest episodes direct to you. Follow us on Twitter at @AntiRacistEd to let us know what you think!

Enjoy listening! 

This is the first of a series of episodes looking at the media and popular culture through the lens of anti-racism, and discusses two classic British Asian movies: East is East, and Bend it Like Beckham. Join Hashim, Navan, Sangeeta, and Melina as we sift through these two pretty groundbreaking films and tie them into our own identities and stories.

Follow us at @antiracisted and let us know what you think! Subscribe to get all the latest eps direct to you! Share it with your friends!

Political Blackness is more about the colour of your politics than the colour of your skin.

Back in October 2019, to celebrate Black History Month in Scotland, we recorded an event in which Khadija, Hashim, Franklin, Eyram, Jatin, Azita and Mélina discuss the origins of political Blackness, its current use and its future. This episode explores the lived experiences of political Blackness in the UK, in Scotland and beyond. What are its benefits and drawbacks? It can challenge whiteness and resist the erasure of the “B” in BME, BAME which risk simply becoming ME (Minority Ethnic). But does it erase anti-blackness and colourism?

If you enjoy our work and want to support us, you can share this episode on social media and make a donation to help us continue our work.

References:

Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (https://www.crer.scot/)

National Union for Students (https://www.nus.org.uk/)

Franz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Skin,_White_Masks)

Kalwant Bhopal’s White Privilege: The Myth of a Post-Racial Society (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/white-privilege)

BME/BAME (https://www.theantiracisteducator.com/bme-bame)

Person of colour (https://www.theantiracisteducator.com/person-of-colour)

Political Blackness (https://www.theantiracisteducator.com/political-blackness)

Whiteness (https://www.theantiracisteducator.com/whiteness)