Bridging the Racial Divide One School at a Time

2315 Durant Ave,Berkeley CA 94704

07 September, 2022

Description

“Our public schools perpetuate racism and classism more systematically and effectively than almost any other institution we’ve got in this country,” asserts Courtney Martin, author and social justice activist. “If you want to fight white supremacy and the legacy of slavery, public schools are a decent place to start.” The public school in Courtney’s Temescal neighborhood became the focus of her attention soon after she moved to Oakland from Brooklyn. She noticed that nearly all the students at Emerson Elementary School were Black and Brown and wondered why none of her White neighbors were sending their children there. Courtney, who is White, eventually chose to enroll her daughter — and later her younger one — in Emerson. She writes about that decision and its aftermath in her recent book, Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially Divided America From My Daughter’s School. On Wednesday, September 7, Courtney will discuss the difficult issues she explores in her book with Alicia Simba, a transitional kindergarten teacher at Prescott Elementary School in Oakland. This event is open to the public. Tickets, available on Eventbrite, are $5 for City Club members and $10 for non-members. Masks will be required, and copies of the book will be on sale. A popular podcast host once introduced Courtney as “the literary equivalent of a first responder … [who] courageously charges into some of our most fiery debates with her keen mind, her compassion, and her inspiring call to action.” Courtney’s own activism includes co-founding Solutions Journalism Network, which fosters rigorous reporting about the responses to social problems; Fresh Speakers, a speakers’ bureau that represents young, diverse thought leaders; and the Bay Area chapter of Integrated Schools, a grass roots movement promoting integration. She also writes a weekly newsletter, The Examined Family, and is the author or co-author of five other books, including The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream; Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: How the Quest for Perfection is Harming Young Women; and Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists. Her essays have appeared in, among others, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation. Her Ted Talk, “The New American Dream,” has been viewed almost 3 million times. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and sociology from Barnard College and a Master of Arts in writing and social change from New York University. Alicia Simba, another Barnard alumna, starts her third year of teaching next month. Originally from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, she has a strong commitment to social justice. She majored in political science and minored in education, and her classmates voted her the senior who had contributed the most to Barnard during her four years there. She then earned a Masters in Education and a K-5 teaching credential at Stanford. The field of early childhood education attracted her, she says, because she saw it as a way “to create change every single day.” “I want to make a difference in the world immediately through educating students,” she explains, while still working on “the larger policy issues” to ensure that all students get the best education possible. Alicia welcomed the opportunity to teach at Prescott, a school where the students were predominantly Black and she would not be the “token” Black teacher. She also hoped to instill in her students pride in their racial identity, something she says she learned when she was in school in Southern Africa. Courtney describes Alicia as someone with a “fierce brain and big heart.” We are fortunate to be able to listen in as they discuss Learning in Public and the role schools can play in bridging the racial divide. Register early for what promises to be a thought-provoking, inspiring evening.