Statement of Solidarity with the Black Community

Communication Works is horrified and heartbroken by the senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others before them. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and offer our enduring partnership and support. We join those that oppose hatred and inequality in all its forms. Likewise, we believe we have a moral and civic responsibility to work toward addressing it to the best of our ability. 

We look forward to partnering in efforts that will arise from our profession, our colleagues, and others within the education system in which we serve.  We embrace the call to action of former President Obama “to work together to create a 'new normal' in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts."

As educators/ therapists in public education, it is our responsibility to create change in our schools. Policies and patterns that support racism and discrimination are unfortunately embedded in our educational system. Change is possible when professionals like us start recognizing these patterns and finding ways to interrupt them.

Here are some concrete actions for educators and therapists from teacher and podcaster Angela Watson that we encourage you to consider and try: 

1. Research and identify discriminatory practices: To get started, find out if your school or district has conducted an Equity Audit.

2. Decide how to make adjustments in your classroom or therapy room: How do you interact with different students? What kind of classroom environment have you created?  Consider the rules you make and how you enforce school policies. What can you do to create change with your sphere of influence? 

3. Create a plan for approaching school leadership and offering suggestions and solutions: Identify a handful of things that need to be changed at the systemic level and offer up some best practices to your school leaders. Administrators need your support and solutions in this area even if they are not asking for them.

4. Get familiar with areas where you or the system you work in have bias, meaning the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.  This article on implicit bias includes a test we can use to measure our own unconscious or automatic bias.

Other ways we can take action are to LISTEN, LEARN, VOTE, ADVOCATE, and DONATE.

At this pivotal moment in history, educators and all humans have a unique opportunity to propel positive change and work for equity and racial justice in our schools. Through conversations, listening, and learning, we can grow and make a difference together!

Please feel free to share your thoughts or feelings as well as ways that we can take action as a team or individually.

With Love and Sincerity,

CW family