All of our kids, ready for life
Rise Up for Students is a blog advocating for racial equity and radical empathy in our schools, in Seattle and beyond
Rarely in life do you meet people whom you instantly know are one-of-a-kind, authentic and unique in their presentation, passion, purpose, performance and personhood.
Yet when you meet these people, whether you know it or not, their energy completely transforms your life. One of those people is Letta S. Mason.
Read MoreSundays are for many a day of reflection and rest, a day to grow closer and get in touch with the creator. Whether tied to religion or not, people’s faith manifests hope and hope manifests belief and belief manifests destiny.
One person who uses her belief and her faith to manifest the destiny in others is April Bowman. As the founder and CEO of Bold Believers, April travels the country helping others live their best lives through a connected faith and through promoting and living her beliefs.
Read MoreOne of the greatest gifts, if not the greatest, is walking alongside someone else and encouraging them as they uncover their own gift. Then finding another and another to walk beside, giving the gift of being a gift, in service to others.
To do this with people is work, but very doable. To do this and begin to create systemic and institutional change, that is a gift in and within itself. When I think about people who hold that gift, brotha Chris Chatmon comes to mind.
Read MoreFrom the streets of Seattle that many don’t even know exist, to finding himself at Washington State University (the one mistake we can’t forgive him for 😂), to becoming a teacher on the rise back home in the neighborhoods he walked, realizing that there was more and a call to his life.
Keith B. Wheeler now lives in the hope that he espouses, traveling the country and giving to others the gift that has been given to him, never stopping short of acknowledging his own flaws and blemishes, while making sure to point out that it's those things that make us unique.
Read MoreWhen I was a child, I didn’t understand what things like Black Pride, Black Power, heroes like Malcolm X, the Pan African movement or even local things Umoja Fest, etc. Being proud to be something other than what society put in front of us and learning more than what schools dared to teach us.
Beginning to understand different religions and philosophies and maybe most importantly, learning what it meant to advocate for others in truth and in authenticity. One of the strongest if not the first to teach me those lessons and so much more was Gwen Allen-Carston.
Read More“What a teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.”
Many have said that it’s the respect from your peers, no matter the profession, that matters the most.
When I think about men who teach not just from the book but from who they are, full in their authenticity and growth, and inspire students, families and staff, Caine Lowery is one of the first that comes to mind.
Read MoreJesse Owens famously stated, “We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.”
When I think about determination, dedication, self discipline and effort, few spring to the forefront of my mind faster than Phil Jerrod Heath, a South Seattle product and one of the most hungry yet humble people you’ll ever meet.
Phil is a seven-time Mr. Olympia competition champion, amongst numerous other accolades. Five years ago (and every year since) I decided to go to Las Vegas to go support a childhood friend. Little did I know that in his world, he’s a megastar.
Read MoreAs kids, we are often told to follow our dreams. As parents, we often tell our children to chase their dreams. Somewhere in between, though, we begin preaching practicality and reality and a part of us dies.
One person who lives his dreams in a way that is unapologetic and to his own beat is Anthony Rose. Anthony embodies the notion that only those whom dare to chase their dreams are bold enough to catch them.
Read MoreI deeply believe that your life has to be a reflection of your values and beliefs. That’s truly the only “legacy” we have. It's what living every day is about.
One of the idols who exemplified and taught me that powerful lesson was Rev. David Hardy, Sr.
Read MoreIf you’ve been fortunate enough to be successful in spaces, you know for people of color, especially Black men, the higher up you climb the lonelier it tends to get.
Ten years ago I was told I had to meet Cornelius Minor. I knew immediately we were being put on a Black professional “play date” 😂. While I respected the thought, I wasn’t that enthused.
I’ve never been more proud to be wrong.
Read MoreWhen I think about powerful leaders, I think about those who are constantly in the mode of service. Utilizing their gifts and talents for the benefit of others.
When I think of one of those people I am always struck by the talent and deep humility of Jacqueline Hardy. She comes from an incredible line in the same last name but is a musical icon in the Pacific Northwest and around the country.
Read MoreMalcolm X once said, “the most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.” That quote always resonated with me as I know so many STRONG, POWERFUL, BEAUTIFUL Black women.
I’ve been blessed to have my formative adult years, profesionally specifically to be led by Black women. My first in education is a national and Seattle treasure, Princess (should be Queen) Princess Shareef.
Read MoreWe all strive to make a difference in our community. One of the staples of the Black community, especially for its men, is the barbershop.
That is one detailed relationship that many men are more loyal to than their local sports teams. It’s a place of political, familial, familiar, sports, health, religion... you name it, it happens in the shop.
Read MoreThe Seattle School Board is in the beginning stages of finding a new superintendent to lead Seattle Public Schools. Also, they're apparently near the finish line.
Despite the fact that the application materials still aren’t available online, Ray and Associates, the firm chosen to conduct the search, still lists Feb. 28 as the deadline to apply. The board, meanwhile, after opening their ears to a brief moment of community input, has apparently decided to stay the course and still plans to hire the new superintendent before the end of March.
That doesn't give us much time.
First off, here's what the board says they're looking for in a candidate...
Read MoreThis post is part of an ongoing Black History Month series written by Marcus Harden, a pillar of the South Seattle community and a truly unsung hero, as he honors the living legacy of Black history in his neighborhood and beyond, and recognizes the people who are shaping the future.
I love Black History Month. It should be weekly. That said, enough folks are posting history. I’m inspired to honor people who are shaping today and tomorrow. History is today.
So for 28 days, I just want to shout out to (s)heroes and heroes whom are living history, now.
First is a brotha I call my mentor. I’ve known him for close to 15 years, and he’s always had his eyes on making things better for his people (black and brown folks) without apology.
He’s got his hands on the pulse of the business and economic scene in Seattle and does it with swag. The motto is simple: build it yourself. And he’s doing that, for everyone else.
So mad love and respect to Jaebadiah S Gardner for making Black history, today.
Write here…
We’ve been navigating the ins and outs of assimilation and inequitable public schooling for our whole lives — and as parents for several years now with Julian. We’re being as conscious as we can be and going a day or a school year at a time, but I’m confused most of the time and not at all sure that we’re doing the right thing. The idea of now voluntarily giving our three-year-old over to the same system — of willingly starting this whole process anew, even knowing what I know — caused me such momentary near-panic that I wasn’t sure I would find a school for him that I could stomach.
Then one day last summer we stumbled onto a brand new preschool that was about to open in the south end of Seattle. Columbia City Preschool of Arts & Culture, we learned, would be centered around an anti-bias, anti-racist curriculum, with a focus on loving service to the community. And play, of course.
"We're looking to create the confidence that when these kids go into predominantly white schools that they can bring counter narratives to the school," Benjamin Gore, one of the preschool’s teachers and founders, told KING5 News last year.
If we’re being honest, that alone addressed most of my concerns.
Read MoreGood day, friends.
I’m just writing to give you a heads-up that I’m crazy now.
I had been hovering right on the edge for quite a while, obviously, but I think Neal Morton's recent Seattle Times article officially pushed me off the deep end. He pointed out that we’ve been talking about the opportunity gaps along racial and socioeconomic lines in Seattle Public Schools since the ‘50s — and that today, they’re worse than ever.
In other words, we’ve been acknowledging that things need to change for 70 years now without actually making any changes.
Tell me that’s not enough to drive you crazy.
Read MoreOur schools are inequitable. That much I knew coming in. Students of color are disciplined more frequently and harshly than white students, even for the same basic behaviors. The are typically viewed and treated differently based on their teachers’ implicit biases. These and other factors combine to produce opportunity gaps along racial and socioeconomic lines.
In other words, students of color and low-income students have access to fewer, different and inequitable opportunities than their more affluent white peers. This creates what is often referred to as “achievement gaps,” which refers to the discrepancy in academic outcomes based on these same factors of race, gender identity and family income.
But the more I wrote, the more I found I had to learn, and as I learned about the theories and realities that have created our current inequities, I also started to live first-hand the experience of inequity in education. I experienced the failures of our public school system at Emerson Elementary School, the neighborhood public school where we send our son, and I realized — vividly, painfully — that every year we fail to close the gap or to improve a struggling school represents at best a year lost for thousands of kids and families in Seattle. At worst, it represents a year of continued trauma.
I tried to figure out what to do. I began to surprise myself by wondering, at what point is it irresponsible to send my biracial son through these doors every day?
Read MoreI rode out to Ferguson from St. Louis with DeRay Mckesson on the night after the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s murder. We parked on a side street and walked a few blocks to the intersection of Florissant Ave. and Canfield Dr.
From there, we walked into a buzz of people and activity.
Read MoreI figured some stuff out that time we went down to Ferguson, Missouri, on the anniversary of Michael Brown's murder. Mostly thanks to DeRay Mckesson.
Read MoreCheck out music from Matt Halvorson
