May-June-2020-Advisor

RALLYING

MAY-JUNE 2020 CEA ADVISOR 7

COURAGEOUS CONVERSAT IONS: EQU I TY AND SOC I AL JUST I CE

For 16-year veteran educator and building rep Monique Butler, who teaches fourth grade at East Hartford’s Norris Elementary School, the switch to distance learning this spring—and the inequities it brought with it—were evident almost immediately. “Many of our students lacked access to technology and the Internet at home, and many of their parents are essential workers,” she explains. “For the first few weeks, we were passing out copies of work for students when their parents came for school-provided lunches. We had to figure out how to get technology out to these families and how to access students’ completed assignments when they don’t have scanners at home.” While these

challenges are largely nonexistent in wealthier suburbs, they are major roadblocks to distance learning in Connecticut’s higher-poverty areas. “I have 23 students,” says Butler, “and while initially families were involved in their children’s distance learning, that number is down. Many parents lack the time or capacity. Some work third shift. For parents of children with special needs, the challenges are even greater.” One solution, she says, is initiating conversations with legislators and, relatedly, getting out the vote in local districts and holding elected officials accountable. “It’s going to be a lot of work, but we need to figure it out,” she says. “We need to have those courageous conversations that lead to answers.” Some of those

predominantly black or brown. “Having these conversations can feel uncomfortable,” Butler acknowledges, “but they can lead to understanding and cultural competence. The district where I teach is predominantly black and brown, but the majority of our teachers are white.” Peace rally Butler has been hard at work with colleagues and community members organizing a rally called BLACKOUT, which stands for Black Lives Actually Can’t Keep being Oppressed Until Tomorrow. The rally is scheduled for

East Hartford teacher and building rep Monique Butler has organized a rally for racial justice.

Saturday, June 20, from noon to 3 p.m., and, Butler says, “The overall message I’m sending is that we all stand together. I am working with the East Hartford police to have a safe route, to practice social distancing, and to ensure our kids are seen and heard. I’ve also been speaking with State Representative Jeff Currey, because change often starts at the local level.”

Butler stresses that the work does not end when the rally is over. “We are talking about what’s next and how to change policies that create inequality and disparities. We are planning follow-up forums with community members, parents, students, law enforcement, and legislators, because these courageous conversations must continue. This will help kids see what they can do.”

conversations, she says, must center on what it’s like to be a black or brown child, what it means to be a teacher or other adult in the life of a black or brown student, and what it means to serve a community that is

CEA Passes Resolution to Combat Racial Injustice, Economic Inequality, and Education Inequities A resolution passed at the June virtual meeting of CEA’s Board of Directors seeks to eliminate racial, gender, and other disparities in income, education, professional achievement, and more. One of the main ways of achieving these goals is by a sustained, comprehensive approach that ensures CEA members are fully engaged at the ballot box and the bargaining table in the fight for educational opportunity and for all Americans to share fully in the wealth and productivity gains of their labor. “This will tap into our deep relationships with the communities we live in and serve and our ability to move the general public and engage legislators and politicians,” says CEA President Jeff Leake, adding, “The urgency surrounding economic inequality is greater than ever, and the seriousness has never been clearer: Our economy can never be remotely fair when systemic racism and sexism exist.” To illustrate these disparities, the resolution passed by CEA’s Board of Directors points out, among other things: • The total compensation for the top 25 hedge fund managers exceeds the total compensation for all kindergarten teachers in the United States. • Disparities in employment rates are so pronounced that the very best unemployment rate for African Americans is essentially equal to the white unemployment rate during the height of the Great Recession. • Women earn less than men with the same level of educational attainment, and, in many cases, the median income for women with higher educational attainment is even lower than that of men with less educational attainment. “CEA’s agenda to combat economic inequality and education inequities will be front and center as we engage members and support candidates through the 2020 election and beyond,” says Leake. “We will hold ourselves accountable, knowing that we are succeeding when our locals, members, and communities are engaged in the battle for their own economic destiny, and when we make progress—with racial disparities lessening, wages rising, and income inequality diminishing. We will tap the knowledge and skills of our members and leaders to create a powerful movement that promotes educational opportunity for all and embrace a head-on challenge to those forces that benefit from economic inequality.” The full text of the resolution is available at cea.org .

WHY RALLY? In the wake of George Floyd’s brutal murder and other high-profile attacks on men and women of color, Carmen Arace Intermediate/Middle School teacher Mary Kay Rendock has participated in vigils and rallies in Bloomfield, where she teaches, and Windsor, where she lives, and has continued to be an outspoken educator calling for change. “Everybody is focused on this, as they should be,” Rendock says. “The vigils I’ve attended have been incredibly powerful, with a variety of amazing speakers and diverse voices making themselves heard. Everything feels different now, between the diversity of the crowds and the number of people actually responding to this latest cry for help. Ninety-five percent of my students are black and brown, and they matter. Their lives matter.” CEA and thousands of Connecticut teachers are working on effecting systemic change and keeping the public focus on the need for such change. “Why do black and brown students not graduate at the same rate as white students?” asks CEA Vice President Tom Nicholas, who last year spearheaded a major CEA initiative to increase the number of people of color entering the teaching profession in Connecticut. “Why do black and brown children not enter into honors classes at the rate that their white classmates do? Why do they not have the same

academic standing? Why do black and brown parents have to have ‘the talk’ with their children about how they speak and move when addressed by the police? George Floyd’s dying words were, ‘I can’t breathe.’ How is it that anyone can breathe and flourish in a society that, at best, views them as inferior and has put up roadblocks to keep them disadvantaged and fearful for their well-being? The answer is simple: racism, bias, prejudice. That is why we rally.”

At a vigil in Bloomfield, teachers, students, and others gather to demand change to systemic racism and inequality.