I don't like a non-Black public school superintendent holding up what Darnella Frazier did as something to emulate. Holding Darnella up as a hero means that white adults don't have to do anything to fix the system that puts her and other Black Americans in this position in the first place. I think Darnella was incredibly brave but she is a child and our society failed her by putting her in that position to begin with.
Children, particularly children of color should never have to risk their lives like this when we know that risk is far larger than the tiny bit of hope it might lead to justice.
This was my gut takeaway. So Black and brown kids have to put themselves at risk in order for there to be "justice" in this country? The fuck?
The vibe this letter gives off is that we can all make a difference in our world, especially young kids like Darnella. That's the opposite message I want kids to hear as it relates to Floyd's murder and Chauvin's conviction. Darnella should not have been forced to step up and film a man being murdered. The fact that she had to do that only highlights how fucked up our system is.
Thank you! I've also noticed that a lot of people (on my home message board and social media) were trying to explain the take away re: Darnella as it being a lesson in being a courageous bystander or an upstander. I'm all for that, but THIS IS NOT THE EXAMPLE. A child witnessed a murder. A child saw how police officers would not come to this man's aid. That EMTs were not allowed to do their job and assess George Floyd; that without video evidence and public outcry, Chauvin would never have been arrested, let along convicted.
In response to that statement I wrote an email to Dr. Elizalde explaining why I thought it was problematic.
She replied to me with this:
Hello Ms. Litt,
Thank you for taking time to express your thoughts regarding my statement. I am so sorry that I came across as disingenuous. That was the exact opposite of what I was working towards. However, because of your communication, I do recognize now, how this happened. I need to learn from your words and if you would be willing, I would like to set up a time to visit with you, at your convenience, zoom or in person, to engage in understanding more. I have copied our equity officer, Dr. Stephanie Hawley so that she an I may also engage in a discussion. Is this something you would be open to? Again, I apologize.
Sincerely,
Stephanie S. Elizalde
Stephanie S. Elizalde, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools, Austin ISD
***************
WOW! This is really a golden opportunity and I don’t take that lightly. If you had this chance to talk to the superintendent at her invitation about racial equity, racism, messaging, etc. what would you want her to know?
In response to that statement I wrote an email to Dr. Elizalde explaining why I thought it was problematic.
She replied to me with this:
Hello Ms. Litt,
Thank you for taking time to express your thoughts regarding my statement. I am so sorry that I came across as disingenuous. That was the exact opposite of what I was working towards. However, because of your communication, I do recognize now, how this happened. I need to learn from your words and if you would be willing, I would like to set up a time to visit with you, at your convenience, zoom or in person, to engage in understanding more. I have copied our equity officer, Dr. Stephanie Hawley so that she an I may also engage in a discussion. Is this something you would be open to? Again, I apologize.
Sincerely,
Stephanie S. Elizalde
Stephanie S. Elizalde, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools, Austin ISD
***************
WOW! This is really a golden opportunity and I don’t take that lightly. If you had this chance to talk to the superintendent at her invitation about racial equity, racism, messaging, etc. what would you want her to know?
As a white woman, I haven’t given this enough thought about this because it really doesn’t feel like my place. But all of us should be thinking deeply about how to improve equity and awareness in our school communities. I guess I’d want to start with knowing what they’re doing - is it trainings? How many, what do they cover? Are they implementing an equity lens that is supposed to be considered at every level - classroom work, field trips, who gets a playground first, etc? Do they get classroom support or is just something for teachers? What districts or groups do they think are doing this well, and how are they learning from them?