Closing out my time at @ncte in a session on “Reading as an Act of Resistance” with @SonjaCherryPaul, @juliaerin80, @sam_aye_ahm, @ibizoboi, & @zettaelliott. #NCTE19

@sam_aye_ahm says that we often ask ourselves: “What would we do in those terrible moments of history?”

That moment is now. #NCTE19

3 challenges from @sam_aye_ahm to take back for ourselves as educators of English:

1. Challenge cultural hegemony, question power structures.
2. Disrupt the exclusionary status quote.
3. Don’t be a bystander, be an upstander - whether with kids, faculty, or admin.

#NCTE19

@zettaelliott reads "A Woman Speaks" by Audre Lorde, which was 1 of 5 mentor poems for her book, including the inspiration for her poem "Black Girl Miracle". https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42583/a-woman-speaks

@juliaerin80 says "All of us would benefit from being a little more critical of ourselves and less of other people."

@juliaerin80 says that, too often, we as educators like to position ourselves as saviors, the ones with all the answers. We need to create systems that put us in a stance to listen to our students - which can be really helpful for us and them. #NCTE19

@ibizoboi says that when she learned the true history of oppression, she was angry. And angriest at the fact that she could only tell those stories, and dream, in the English language. It was a reminder of who had ultimately won. #NCTE19

@ibizoboi gives a task to educators, especially white educators in the room. We have to go through our own awakening - rage, healing, then resistance - before we are really able to effectively work through that with our students - especially students of color. #NCTE19

@ibizoboi recommends that "Stamped" by @JasonReynolds83 & @DrIbram (out in March) is going to truly change the game - bringing this material to students at an earlier age. But, she says teachers need to work through their own stuff before they can effectively teach it. #NCTE19

Question from @SonjaCherryPaul: How can we resist white savior tropes, even when we are required to read texts that emphasize them? #NCTE19

@ibizoboi answers that we need to question white supremacy and how it functions in our daily lives. #NCTE19

And that white saviorism feeds into white supremacy again and again and again. @ibizoboi emphasizes that she is speaking to a predominantly white room, rather than Black educators who could use this. She has had to do this time and time again as a published author. #NCTE19

@sam_aye_ahm says that not only do we live in a white supremacist patriarchy, but it also lives in us. And we need to constantly ask questions about this. #NCTE19

@zettaelliott says that we need to draw a distinction between people who intend to save and people who intend to serve. People who intend to serve ask questions about what folks need and what they can give. #NCTE19

@juliaerin80 says that, if we decide to teach texts that center racist ideas, that we need to be prepared using resources including @Tolerance_org & @CC_AboutRace. If we are not, we perpetuate serious emotional violence against students of color, especially if they are 1 of few.

Session closes with a reading from Audre Lorde’s “Poetry is not a Luxury” #NCTE19 – at Baltimore Convention Center