Please join us tomorrow for our monthly Race Conversations session, 6:30-7:30. We will be meeting virtually for the first time - if you are interested please fill out this Google Form and a link to a Zoom meeting will be sent to you beforehand:
https://forms.gle/GTikJEFbekvZ3pzk9
We will be discussing Chapter 8 of Ijeoma Oluo's book _So You Want to Talk about Race?_. The chapter focuses on the school to prison pipeline, which Oluo defines as describing "the alarming number of black and brown children who are funneled directly and indirectly from our schools into our prison industrial complex, contributing to devastating levels of mass incarceration that lead to one in three black men and one in six Latino men going to prison in their lifetimes" (p. 125).
If you are wondering whether this is a problem in Vermont, the answer is definitely yes. Check out the 2016 report Education Matters: The Impacts of Systemic Inequity in Vermont, which includes a bundle of stats (on p. 12) like this one:
• Students with disabilities and students of color were two to three times more likely to be suspended or expelled, and were more likely to be restrained and referred to law enforcement by school staff.
When I used to see statistics like that I would think "well that's likely because those students are more likely to misbehave." Oluo and others have helped me realize that disparities like these are signs of SYSTEMIC discrimination and that the racism built into our institutions is often more damaging than face-to-face acts of racism. Our first step is understanding systemic racism and the school-to-prison pipeline is an important starting point.
So please join us, whether you are a first timer or a regular, whether you have used Zoom before or not, or whether you've read the chapter or are just bringing your perspective and an open mind. Hope to "see" many of you there!
Dec 21, 2024, 10 AM to 1 PM
Public Indoor Tennis at Norwich UniversityDec 23, 2024, 9 AM to 12 PM
Relieve Some Stress Through Art-MakingDec 25, 2024, 7 to 8:30 PM