The current U.S. education system should be abolished and rebuilt to be more supportive of Black students, advocated an abolitionist teaching expert during a webinar on Tuesday.
During the “We Want to Do More Than Survive: A Conversation on Abolitionist Teaching with Dr. Bettina Love” event, the associate professor of educational theory and practice at the University of Georgia discussed the concept of abolitionist teaching.
The event was sponsored by the San Jose State Connie L. Lurie College of Education.
Abolitionist teaching calls for eliminating any institution that oppresses the education and livelihood of Black people. Abolitionists also look for ways people can end that oppression.
“Abolition is about saying … we are going to remove oppression from its roots and at the same time build something more loving and just that centers Black lives,” Love said during the webinar.
Love is also one of the founders of the Abolitionist Teaching Network, an organization founded in August that develops and supports educators to help fight educational and racial injustices in their schools and communities.
She said schools are the biggest systems of oppression for Black and brown children. Black children’s potential are limited because educators implement a curriculum that only centers on the cultures and values of white people.
“Schools are murdering (Black and brown children’s) spirits,” Love said. “They walk into a classroom where they don't hear their language spoken, where they open up a history textbook and only see that they were slaves.”
Love said that when educators aren’t able to help Black students recognize and reach their highest academic potential, they forfeit their dreams of becoming educators, scientists or politicians.
“(People) have this perception that racism hurts Black people,” she said, “But society loses when we don't teach (Black and brown) students to their highest potential.”
In order to fix this, Love suggested that schools should remove their current curriculum and textbooks and replace them with ones that portrays all Black culture and history. She said every teacher should also learn how to facilitate conversations about racism and racial injustice.
“Yes, we (abolitionist teaching allies) want to tear the educational system up,” Love said, “But we want to build something more beautiful, just and loving for students.”
Faculty members and students in the college of education who attended the webinar said they support Love’s teachings and believe it’s a conversation students need to hear.
Marcos Pizarro, Chicanx studies professor and associate dean for the Connie L. Lurie College of Education, said in a Zoom interview that Love’s teachings aligned with faculty member’s desire to talk about creating anti-racist instutions.
“(This webinar) was an opportunity for (SJSU students and community members) to have more intense conversations about our need for racial justice and anti-racists practices in school,” he said.
Jacqueline Lopez Rivas, a child and adolescent development senior and one of the webinar moderators, said in a Zoom interview that she was impressed by Love’s teachings and finds it relatable to her major.
“(Love’s work is) just mind-blowing and really aligns with what I'd like to do in my own career, to change the education system and make it more supportive of students,” she said.
Rivas hopes students who attended the meeting identified with Love’s teachings and felt inspired to create a more compassionate and understanding educational system.
“I hope (the event) inspires people to bring in the change they want to see, or make them feel like their experiences are valid,” she said.
