Facing our Learning Edges: Racism & Listening

With the murder of George Floyd, many white Americans are waking up to systemic racism that is a part of our country’s history and landscape. Making space to understand how racism is embedded in our lives, organizational systems, and perspectives requires a commitment to listen and learn. 

During the 2019-2020 school year, the Vermont Principals Association piloted a new initiative, the Equity Practitioner’s Network, for 28 school leaders from around Vermont.  WholeHeart was invited to provide equity coaching from a listening lens to provide space for the inner reflection and learning required to understand inequities in education.   

Listening has a way of calling us to our learning edges, rather than shutting down. Two of our equity coaches offer reflections on their learning edges and resources to practice listening as we/you continue to address the impact of racism in ourselves and our communities.  

Ally Oswald

Understanding white supremacy culture has definitely helped me resist the urgency and perfectionism that calls to me as a white educator. Using this framework has helped me see how white supremacy culture restricts learning environments and school cultures. I'm on a quest to find new ways of creating spaces where power can be transparent. Finding the WholeHeart community has helped me know that it's possible.

My job for this year was to develop trust, put aside my own judgement, and ask questions to help school leaders to develop their own understanding about how inequities show up in our schools. It's clear from this first year that we still have a lot of work to do to transform education in VT to be anti-racist.

I recognize that I am on my own learning journey about my whiteness and the impact that has on my students. I have so much more learning to do. This year has taught me to stay engaged in my community, to trust my instincts and allow space for silence and deep thinking about complex issues. We need more spaces like this, where we can share our own stories and see ourselves reflected in others, threads of similarities of human suffering and shared heartbreak about the injustices that continue to happen in our broken world.” 

Kathleen Brinegar

“The most important piece is listening -- listening not only to people’s words, but also to the silences and their subtle movements. When I am responsive to these, conversations feel most successful. I continue to practice my skills in following the lead of those who I share space with. 

When I slow down, and be present, listening comes more naturally. My need to feel supportive and meaningful dissipates the more I listen, the more I decenter myself. I’ve never believed that the terms equity and expert could possibly be synonymous, especially for my White body. This role helped me understand how to be in the work without the expectation of expertise. 

As I listened to school leaders share both the limitations and privileges of their power and where they feel powerless, I came to realize my role in giving and taking power in the spaces in which I inhabit, both with my physical body and with my words, especially in spaces I share with those with marginalized identities. My power as White, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodies, overeducated person is always present in every space that I inhabit. I can’t fully claim to be antiracist or a co-conspirator until I fully come to terms with that.”  

Resources for the journey of exploring equity and racism:

Akomolafe, Bayo. Dear White People

Ibram X Kendi, Antiracism and American

DiAngelo, Robin, White America’s Racial Illiteracy