Black Lives Matter at Work

12
HOW TO BEAT THE BACKLASH
Moving forward, what else are folks in East Orange and the Newark
area doing to build the struggle?
There are several projects within Orange, New Jersey, and surrounding
communities moving forward. There are local politicians and organizers
fighting to change the Orange Board of Education to elected officials
rather than an appointed board. There has been a very successful twitter
talk around, not only my case but, social justice education and how we
can implement culturally relevant pedagogy in elementary classrooms.
The hashtags used were #isupportmarylin and #sojustedu, the latter
being a continuous discussion that will occur on a monthly basis.
Furthermore, The Maroon Project (Newark) is working on multiple
educational projects, including Books & Breakfast which is the last
Saturday of every month at Source of Knowledge Bookstore in Newark.
Our organization is also looking at different initiatives to engage parents
and family members of Newark students this upcoming school year. Last
year we organized a parent talk-back where parents were able to voice
their opinions about the current state of education, specifically in Newark
Public Schools, and create concrete solutions to their concerns.
What would you tell a teacher who has heard about
#BlackLivesMatter, or heard about your case, but is unsure how or
whether to get involved? What would you say, in general, that
workers can do to resist anti-Black racism?
There are two components that I focus on: (1) ideology and (2) practice.
Ideologically, the best advice I can give is, don’t be afraid. Stand up for
what you believe in. Practically, teachers should join an organization or
collective that is doing critical work and making necessary change in the