Social Justice Work

Answer the following questions:

1. What does it say about our culture and politics when a school district is still segregated decades after the Brown decision?

2. How does real estate, current school culture and discipline, testing, and urban and suburban community access to resources (transportation, healthcare, quality schools, and public safety) create scenarios of de facto segregation?

3. What are at least two of the overarching lessons or messages gleaned from the The Little Rock Nine videos?

4. In 2019, how does the statement “separate but equal” live on; even though it supposedly died in the Brown decision?

5. How would you, as a school administrator, handle disproportionate school discipline against minority students in your school?

6. In your school, the white students sit with the white students, the African American students sit with the African American students, and the Latinx students sit with the Latinx students in the cafeteria. How would you handle this situation as a school administrator?

7. Imagine the courage it took for The Little Rock Nine to go to school that first day in 1957, and to continue to attend everyday afterward. How can school administrators, today, ensure that all students feel welcome and safe in school?

8. In regard to social justice leadership, how can you use your critical lens to evaluate the current educational landscape, and advocate for equity in your words and practice?

9. In the article from Pacific Standard, list examples of social justice work that should be entertained to truly desegregate America’s schools.

10. How does your current practice as an educator maintain or disrupt the status quo?