R.I. educators rally for antiracism programs for students

PROVIDENCE — Since the killing of George Floyd in May, nationwide protests have largely focused on defunding the police, but a rally in Providence on Saturday took aim at dismantling racism within another system: education.

“We are all educators and understand the importance of our students, particularly our Black students, knowing that we have their back, that we understand that this is a really difficult time for them,” said Juanita Montes De Oca, a former Providence middle school teacher and one of the organizers of Saturday’s march. “It’s always been difficult, but this year in particular.”

Teachers at Saturday’s march, which drew about 100 people to the Rhode Island State House, said they were well aware of how the graphic images of Floyd’s killing, and the police killings of other Black Americans, have affected their students.

“My biggest responsibility was to create space and dialogue, which was a challenge at that time during distance learning,” said Aarav Sundaresh, an art teacher at Classical High School. “But my teaching practice and teaching philosophy really rests on open dialogue and building understanding across differences.”

Beyond supporting individual students, educators need to do their part to address racism across the system, Montes De Oca said.

“I think right now, one of the most important things is to have training for all of our educators, whether they are white or not, on how to be antiracist, not just culturally responsive,” she said.

“Thinking about how to be antiracist, to identify your biases walking into the classroom and realizing the comments that you make or the curriculum that you’re teaching or the way that you interact with your students makes a big impact.”

Some of the issues raised Saturday included recruiting teachers of color, creating diverse curricula and eliminating school resource officers from schools while providing funding for more mental health counselors.

For Anya Correia, a 12-year-old student at the Community Preparatory School in Providence, increasing teacher diversity is a priority.

In Providence, 91% of students are children of color, while 77% of teachers are white. Statewide, 89% of educators are white, 3% are Hispanic and 2% are Black, according to the Rhode Island Department of Education.

“I’ve only had one Black teacher since kindergarten,” she said. “It makes me feel like we need more Black teachers.”

Black students also need to be given the same opportunities to succeed as their white peers, said Kevin Fofanah, 21, who graduated from Classical High School. Even at Classical, the city’s highest-performing school, Black students, in his experience, weren’t held to the same academic standards as white students, he said.

“The only time I ever saw Black students like myself actually thrive were in classes like gym or afterschool programs,” said Fofanah, who now attends North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. “During English, we weren’t pushed to take the AP [Advanced Placement] courses, AP tests. I’d really like to see that change.”

— mlist@providencejournal.com

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