Statement on Anti-Black Violence

In response to the ongoing first-degree murder of Black people, The Center for the Education and Equity of African American Students (CEEAAS) acknowledges that anti-Blackness is the most dominant form of racism in the U.S.

We recognize that the anti-Black violence experienced by Black people in the U.S. and in the world is paralleled in K-20 school settings. The endemic and ongoing violence against Black people in all segments of society has existed since 1619 (and before) when African people were violently brought to the U.S. against their will. We propose that  the United Nations’ declaration of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) should be extended to International Centuries for People of African Descent- the equivalent of the four centuries since African people were first brought to the U.S. until now. Beginning immediately, emphasis should be placed on dismantling anti-Black racist policies, laws, and mores. However, undoing the damage that has been done will take generations of humane treatment of Black people.

We stand in solidarity with universities, schools, organizations and others that are speaking up and taking reflective action as long as Black people are being murdered in society and our children are being spirit-murdered in schools.

We call for ongoing actions and efforts to change existing endemic, racist policies in all institutions—e.g., educational, political, governmental, healthcare, economic, religious.  The violence against Black people, both covert and overt, must stop and desist immediately. We understand that these institutions must re-write their constitutions, laws, bylaws, and policies so that they are fair to Black people and acknowledge our humanity.   

Borrowing from the American Educational Research Association (AERA)’s Commission on Research in Black Education (CORIBE) report that was published in 2005, we recognize that dismantling anti-Black racism is a precondition of global social justice since African thought and Blackness represent the diametric opposites of Eurocratic thought and Whiteness—which have been privileged in institutions and society.

Hence, we are committed to continuing, amplifying, and extending our unapologetic commitment to dismantling anti-Black racism and other forms of racism. To then end, we will continue:

• Our Pedagogy of Love for Black Students, Families and Communities which acknowledges Black wisdom, strengths, history, culture, epistemologies, cosmologies, and so forth.
• Monthly roundtables which focus on cultural and academic excellence of African American students.
• Annual conferences which focus on cultural and academic excellence of African American students.
• Professional development with P-20 educators on cultural and academic excellence of African American students.
• Drs. Diaspora Historians in Residence program.
• Coursework through the University of South Carolina (Educating African American Students).
• Working to change educational policies to reflect educational equity for African American students.
• Advocating in K-12 schools for African Diasporic students and families.
• Exemplars of effective teaching of African American students.
• International solidarity throughout the African Diaspora through collaborative work to counter anti-Blackness.

In Solidarity, 

Gloria Swindler Boutte, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director
Jarvais J. Jackson, Director
and the CEEAAS Family Internationally

Download our statement on Anti-Black violence here [pdf]

 

Our Mission

The Center for Education and Equity of African American Students seeks to:

• Model exemplary educational practices for African American children via collaboration with public schools, colleges, and universities.
• Conduct individual and collaborative cutting-edge research that enables and advances innovative and effective instructional programs, professional practices, and public policy.
• Serve as a forum for public discourse and debate regarding educational equity issues through seminars, workshops, and courses.
• Serve as an advocate for African American children and elevate the awareness of their needs, perspectives, and voices.
• Influence and lead policies that impact the education of African American children and families.
• Maintain a clearinghouse on information, resources, literature, and research relating to the education of African American children.

 

Online Graduate Courses

Online graduate courses listed below are open to students in the U.S. and abroad. P-12 schools and districts can contract with us to have courses offered to them.

• EDTE 776 - Educating African American Students
  An analysis of historical and contemporary factors that influence the education of African American children in the United States. Emphasis on the knowledge, skills and dispositions required for educators and parents to provide an effective equitable education for African American students.
• EDTE 779 - Equity Methodologies in Teacher Education
  Study of the influence of cultural diversity on instruction with emphasis on teaching strategies and programs for multicultural student populations.