The movement to #KeepSchoolsOpen seems positive on the surface, and like one we should all be aligned with, but upon further inspection we find a startling trend of silencing BIPOC parents, attacking teachers & tokenizing students of color. #AnotherWorldIsPossible
#YesOpenButHOW

We encouraged building closures in the hopes they would be opened EQUITABLY if given enough time. Our asks- such as language access, free municipal broadband & prioritized in person learning for students with disabilities- are not radical, nor are they on #KeepSchoolsOpen radar.

After MONTHS of shouting down, slandering and blocking some of our most impacted and engaged parents, students and educators- the individuals at the helm of #KeepSchoolsOpen are NOW framing themselves as inclusive- but don’t be fooled. BIPOC know tokenization when we see it.

A years worth of calls for an equitable reopening across cultures, ethnicities and generations has been drowned out by a news cycle all too happy to paint white women as saviors and a department of education too scared to address its privileged contingent of parents head on.

This COULD have been an opportunity for a group of moms quoted in Vogue magazine saying they’d ‘never planned a protest before’ & ‘had to google how to start a petition’ to learn from those closest to the harm and reimagine education together. #KeepsSchoolsOpen

Instead? They spend their time attacking pregnant teachers on Twitter & slandering parent leaders in private FB groups, only showcasing data that suggests schools are safe even as cases spike amongst children, never acknowledging this year’s trauma beyond ‘learning loss.’

It would be laughable if angry white parents didn’t have such an outsized impact on educational policy. One need only look at the history of bussing or desegregation to understand whose desires matter, and whose violence is acceptable in our supposedly progressive city.

To add insult to interpersonal injury, and in a mad dash to seem connected to the communities they ruthlessly tokenize, #KeepSchoolsOpen thought they’d come to HARLEM and use some student athletes of color as fodder for the press. We weren’t having it.

As longtime activists, loving parents, educators & classmates and intersectional creators of mutual aid and policy, we had to address not only the flagrant use of students as props, but also the alignment of mayoral candidates with this problematic single issue advocacy group.

To our comrades in Harlem who were not aware, and were seeking support from alignment with #KeepSchoolsOpen, please know that long after these parents have gotten their wish and forgotten about you, advocates on the ground will still be fighting for you.

While #KeepSchoolsOpen is just now throwing their hat in the ring regarding ‘at risk Black & Brown youth,’ with no real plan to support them beyond open buildings, WE have worked to save Single Shepherd Services, fund Community Schools, prioritize #CounselorsNotCops & CRSE.

While #KeepSchoolsOpen proudly boasts that attacking the very educators tasked with supporting our children is the ‘hill they’ll die on,’ we work in solidarity with our educators who we know are human just like us- and have born the brunt of this traumatic year with a smile.

Because you see, when schools are fully open- and your children are ‘back to normal,’ OUR children will still have to contend with over policing, underfunding & having to prove they’re human enough to deserve comfort & opportunities based on how well they test. #KeepSchoolsOpen

It is for these reasons and countless others I implore you to have an honest conversation about #KeepSchoolsOpen While we all want our children back in school, we certainly have a larger collective imagination than ‘open the buildings and our job is done.’

This moment requires more, our children deserve more & quite frankly, ACTUAL organizers & activists could use all the air time y’all give these violent white women & the unsuspecting BIPOC they tokenize. Y’all have our #. You see us doing the work. Stop playing in our faces.