Transcript: Organizing and education has been something that I've been working on for many many years, and one of the things that I think is happening is that people who are starting to internalize the principles of anti-racism are really starting to bring it back to their schools. I'll use one example in New York, Brooklyn Friend School. There was a person hired there–an African-American man–as a diversity officer. When he started to bring an anti-racist analysis to the school, they said, “We don't need that; we're not racist.” Which is always the first line that people give. And he said, “Well, let's talk about it.” And he was very discouraged. He thought, “I can't stay here because they don't get it.” And he and I talked for a long time about how he needed to build a base. And that's the work that he did over the next four years. First 1, then 2, then 5, then 10, then 20, then 50, now 75 or 80 members of their school have been through our process. They have now set up an Undoing Racism Committee in the school and most of the policies are being shaped by what's going on in that group. That group is bringing a racial equity analysis to all the decision making. 

Last summer the new head of school was hired in part because of his belief that it's important to deal with racism in the school. The first thing this man did when he came to the school is come to one of our Workshops. The second thing he did was to go to the opening all school session with the parents, board, staff, and students all there, and he said, “This is the way this school is going. This is the direction we're headed.” And it gave permission to those like Jeffrey Cox, who had been working in that school for years, to expand the work they were doing. To start experimenting. They have new curricula they're developing for the young children, they're developing new programs in the middle and upper upper schools, and they are really making a difference. They're embedding an anti-racist analysis in the school.

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