Many of us are not OK right now, but so many people are doing good work to change that—including good work in schools.

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September 16, 2020
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** Dear John,
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Most days I say I’m OK.

The truth is, as Dr. Neal A. Lester wrote for Teaching Tolerance this summer, “I am not OK, and I am not alone in not being OK.”

I know you’re not OK when you’ve been forced to return to a school building while fearing for your safety and that of your family and school community—or you’ve resigned for that very reason.

I think most of us are struggling to say we’re OK when COVID-19 continues to tear through our nation, disproportionately ravaging BIPOC communities. So many of us struggle to say we’re OK when police continue to senselessly kill unarmed Black people—and when our relatives or coworkers refuse to utter something that should go without saying: Black Lives Matter ([link removed]) .

That’s why, in the Fall 2020 issue of Teaching Tolerance magazine ([link removed]) , we’re being clear about the issues in and around our schools that are flat-out not OK.

It’s not OK that the racist confrontations we see in viral videos also play out against Black students every day—in physical and virtual school settings. As TT Staff Writer Coshandra Dillard writes in “The Weaponization of Whiteness in Schools ([link removed]) ,” that pattern is commonplace and takes the entire school community to end.

It’s not OK that people in positions of power are suppressing the vote, including voting by youth and especially Black and Latinx youth. Yet, as School-based Programs and Grants Manager Jey Ehrenhalt writes in “Uplifting the Student Vote ([link removed]) ,” educators can play an important role in fighting this status quo.

That’s the good news: People all over are working to flip one unjust status quo after another. As TT Senior Writer Cory Collins writes in “School as Sanctuary ([link removed]) ,” schools and districts around the nation are working to ensure that they remain safe spaces for undocumented students.

We’re encouraged by the work of educators like Tiffany Jewell, author of This Book Is Anti-Racist, who shared with us ([link removed]) the inspiration behind this book for youth and her hope that every school commits to anti-racism.

And as TT Editorial Assistant Anya Malley writes, we’re proud to announce the winners ([link removed]) of our 2020 Award for Excellence in Teaching, who are using their classrooms to teach the significance of loving oneself, being in community and speaking up against injustice.

You may not be OK. But TT is here to support you. As you read this issue, I hope you feel that support and are moved to take action in your community.

Thanks for your commitment to all of our students.
Monita K. Bell
Managing Editor
Teaching Tolerance
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