NSCC Library: Anti-Racism Resources : Racism in Education, Teaching, and Learning

Black Minds Matter was designed as a free, public course to draw parallels between the violence facing Black Lives in policing and the symbolic violence facing Black Minds in schools, colleges, and universities.

Living Thinkers: An Autobiography of Black Women in the Ivory Tower
This documentary examines the intersection of race, class and gender for Black women professors and administrators working in U.S. colleges and universities today. Through their diverse narratives, from girlhood to the present, Black women from different disciplines share experiences that have shaped them, including segregated schooling as children, and the trials, disappointments and triumphs encountered in Academia.

The Class Divide: Battle to Fix Inequality in Education
Hosted by Jesse Williams, this episode of the series American Divided, looks at the the town of St. Petersburg, Florida often considered the epicenter of the student achievement gap and the school-to-prison-pipeline. This episode explores resegregation and the divide created in education and criminal justice for students, as well as looking at strategies to confront the problems and heal the divide. ,

For a local perspective here in Massachusetts, journalist Latoyia Edwards is joined by a panel of changemakers who take a deep dive into systemic racism in our area from classroom to career. They delve into the problems, what is being done, what needs to be done, and we shine a light on beacons of hope, one of which is Nativity Prep in Jamaica Plain.

Tools for Educators

Institutionalized Racism: A Syllabus
The United States has seen escalating protests over the past week, following the death of George Floyd while in custody of the Minneapolis police. Educators everywhere are asking how can we help students understand that this was not an isolated, tragic incident perpetrated by a few bad individuals, but part of a broader pattern of institutionalized racism. The listed articles were published over the course of JSTOR Daily’s five years try to provide context to recent events.

E-Books from the NSCC Library

Teaching about Race and Racism in the College Classroom by Cyndi Kernahan
Call Number: NSCC E-Book
Publication Date: 2019
Teaching about race and racism can be a difficult business. Students and instructors alike often struggle with strong emotions, and many people have robust preexisting beliefs about race. At the same time, this is a moment that demands a clear understanding of racism. It is important for students to learn how we got here and how racism is more than just individual acts of meanness. Students also need to understand that colorblindness is not an effective anti-racism strategy. In this book, Cyndi Kernahan argues that you can be honest and unflinching in your teaching about racism while also providing a compassionate learning environment that allows for mistakes and avoids shaming students. She provides evidence for how learning works with respect to race and racism along with practical teaching strategies rooted in that evidence to help instructors feel more confident. She also differentiates between how white students and students of color are likely to experience the classroom, helping instructors provide a more effective learning experience for all students.