After George Floyd’s assassination on May 25, 2020, a colleague told me that “their minds are full and their hearts heavy”. I felt the same.

Throughout my teaching career, I have witnessed a myriad of manifestations of racism and a plethora of initiatives for racial equality and social justice.

Yet despite the good intentions behind them, the unique narrative of colonialism and empire still dominated our classrooms, along with deficit models to combat the underachievement of students from racially marginalized groups.

But I have felt a growing sense of hope over the past 12 months. I saw that when attempts were made to silence those who spoke about institutionalized racism here in the UK people refused to acquiesce. Collective voices for social justice, equality and fairness have continued to speak the truth to power.

And I have high hopes because after more than 30 years in education, things feel different. The schools with which I am involved as part of our Racial, Identity and School Leadership Program now recognize that new racial equality narratives cannot be written overnight.

They recognize that becoming anti-racist is a lifelong commitment, which has as much to do with decolonizing their own minds as it does with decolonizing the agenda.

The legacy of George Floyd: the need to fight racism in schools

It gives me hope for the future. Finally, teachers and school leaders are starting to see that, in the context of race, who they are as people matters as much, if not more, than the content of the curriculum and what they know. .

Even though inter and intra-personal development has never been the strong point of this country’s CPD offer for educators, I have seen teachers and school leaders willing to take risks and learn. in new ways, all in the service of promoting a healthier, stronger interracial. relationships.

It is important to recognize that this work is about authenticity. All students (and especially those who are racially marginalized) demand authentic relationships with their teachers. For many, the test of authenticity relies on these three elements:

1. Interact with the key questions

These are questions as fundamental as “Who am I?” and “Who are we?”. As American author Parker Palmer puts it, “We teach from who we are.” And when it comes to race, students want and need to be taught by teachers who have done their own internal work around race and, therefore, are able to demonstrate both vulnerability and confidence. when they broach the subject.

2. Listening and hearing lived experiences

The lives of students outside of school can no longer be dissociated from what happens inside the classroom. When racism is a reality for young people, they want their teachers to recognize it, understand and co-create learning environments that allow their experiences to be heard.

3. Accept emotions

We must abandon pedagogical approaches that advocate reasoning, objectivity and the separation of facts from feelings on this issue. Racial dialogue, by its very nature, is emotional and requires an educational approach that can embrace it. There are few teachers in this country whose training or NPQ qualifications have equipped them with the knowledge, skills, expertise, and levels of emotional literacy necessary to teach race. Yet our young people tell us that schools need an educational approach that makes it easier to focus their experiences and the emotional reality of their lives.

It is our young people, our future leaders, who are leading the way. They are our future. We have to hear their voices and we have to listen to them. As educators, we have a moral duty not only to help them develop their critical awareness but also to work alongside them. Together, we can, if the will is there, be the co-creators of a more just, more equitable and more humane society.

Viv Grant is founder and director of Integrity Coaching, author, speaker and former director. She is also a member of the advisory board of the UK’s premier center of excellence for mental health in schools at the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University.