{"id":78,"date":"2020-05-15T12:17:04","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T16:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/?page_id=78"},"modified":"2020-05-15T19:27:37","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T23:27:37","slug":"organizing-in-new-haven","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/organizing-in-new-haven\/","title":{"rendered":"Organizing in New Haven"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Kathleen Megan<\/p><\/div>\n

The ethnic studies movement came in Connecticut as a response to a failing curriculum. <\/span>For years, Connecticut has had a\u00a0<\/span>troubling<\/span>\u00a0achievement gap between white students and students of color<\/span> in various subjects, with Asian students being exceptions to this trend. <\/span>For example,\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0of 2019, only 36 percent of\u00a0<\/span>Hispanic<\/span>\/<\/span>Latino<\/span>\u00a0students and 34 percent<\/span>\u00a0of African American students tested at grade level for\u00a0<\/span>English<\/span>, compared to 70 percent of white students<\/span>\u00a0in grades three\u00a0<\/span>through<\/span>\u00a0eight<\/span>. Asian students were the highest performing group <\/span>(<\/span>Megan, 2019<\/span>)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>To\u00a0<\/span>tackle<\/span>\u00a0this issue,\u00a0<\/span>r<\/span>epresentative<\/span>\u00a0Bobby Gibson<\/span>\u00a0introduced the idea of\u00a0<\/span>incorporating<\/span>\u00a0ethnic studies courses into Connecticut\u00a0<\/span>curriculums<\/span>. He argued that students of color would be less likely to understand and r<\/span>emain<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>engaged<\/span>\u00a0with lessons if they could not see themselves represented\u00a0<\/span>within<\/span>\u00a0them.<\/span>\u00a0In 2019, he endorsed a bill that would make African American studies and Latino American studies a requirement of every school district\u2019s high school\u00a0<\/span>curriculum<\/span>\u00a0starting in 2021.<\/span>\u00a0Though students would not be required to take these courses, they would be\u00a0<\/span>available<\/span>\u00a0as electives.<\/span>\u00a0In the hearing for the bill<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0he held up a new history\u00a0<\/span>textbook<\/span>\u00a0on American history, paperclipping all the pages together that dealt wit<\/span>h African American history. The clipping was less than a quarter of an inch thick. With such powerful imagery, the bill quickly pas<\/span>sed through to the senate, with a vote of 122 to 24.\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Megan 2019<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While it was\u00a0<\/span>originally<\/span>\u00a0representative Gibson that\u00a0<\/span>introduced<\/span>\u00a0ethnic studies to\u00a0<\/span>Connecticut education policy, it was the student and community organizing around the bill which led to its victory. A large part of the support was from groups from<\/span>\u00a0New Haven<\/span>,<\/span> a city in which, according to U.S Census Bureau<\/span>\u00a0estimates<\/span>, over 50 percent of the population identifies as a person of color<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>U.S Census\u00a0<\/span>Bureau<\/span>, 2020<\/span>)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>In 2009, New Haven Public Schools launched the\u00a0<\/span>S<\/span>chool\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>hange\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>nitiative, which aimed to close the achievement gap and ensur<\/span>e that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>students\u00a0<\/span>were\u00a0<\/span>on the path to higher education<\/span> (U.S Department of Education).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Though students have made gains, recent scores show that the gap\u00a0<\/span>persists<\/span>\u00a0and that the district\u00a0<\/span>lags\u00a0<\/span>behind<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>state<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>scores<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>Tabio, 2019<\/span>)<\/span>. Seeing the\u00a0<\/span>inefficiency<\/span>\u00a0of the high\u00a0<\/span>stakes<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>testing\u00a0<\/span>approach<\/span>, students and community groups have been advocating for\u00a0<\/span>curriculum<\/span>\u00a0reform for some time. The Gibson bill proved to be the perfect opportunity to share their support and the reasoning behind\u00a0<\/span>culturally<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>relevant<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>pedagogy<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Groups Involved <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"

Ryan Lindsay<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the main groups behind this <\/span>initiative<\/span>\u00a0was Students for Educational Justice<\/a>, a non-profit\u00a0<\/span>organizing<\/span>\u00a0organization\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0aids New Haven youth in\u00a0<\/span>fighting<\/span>\u00a0for educational reform while also teaching them t<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>basics<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>organizing<\/span>\u00a0and community planning.<\/span>\u00a0They began working with Representative Gibson<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Senator<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Douglas Mccrory\u00a0<\/span>to work out the logistics of the bill<\/span>\u00a0and ensure its<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>suc<\/span>c<\/span>ess<\/span>\u00a0by proposing\u00a0<\/span>amendments<\/span>\u00a0to the bill<\/span>. They also connected with other\u00a0<\/span>organizations<\/span>\u00a0within the state to raise awareness about the\u00a0<\/span>proposal<\/span>, as<\/span>k those organizations to provide<\/span>\u00a0testimonies<\/span>\u00a0supporting the bill<\/span> for the upcoming Senate hearings, and<\/span>\u00a0had<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>student representatives within the organization share their\u00a0<\/span>testimonies<\/span>\u00a0at these hearing<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Students for Educational Justice, 2020<\/span>)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Most\u00a0<\/span>testimonies<\/span>\u00a0came from fellow students of varying grade levels and\u00a0<\/span>schools throughout the state<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Gellman, 2019<\/span>)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Citywide Youth Coalition<\/p><\/div>\n

Another group that was heavily involved was the Citywide Youth Coalition<\/a>, a network\u00a0<\/span>of student-led organizations, parents, community activists,<\/span>\u00a0and \u201cyouth-serving professionals\u201d\u00a0<\/span>seeking to create\u00a0<\/span>a community in which all\u00a0<\/span>y<\/span>outh<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>can<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>succeed<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>They argue that the way to do this is by connecting youth organizers and activism efforts across the state to build a network for youth\u00a0<\/span>empowerment<\/span>\u00a0and a space for youth leadership<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>They\u00a0<\/span>helped<\/span>\u00a0form connections between Students for Educational Justice and other groups fighting for similar cause<\/span>s,<\/span>\u00a0such as Hearing Youth Voices. They<\/span>\u00a0also offered\u00a0<\/span>trainings<\/span>\u00a0on\u00a0<\/span>u<\/span>ndoing\u00a0<\/span>r<\/span>acism and\u00a0<\/span>the basics of\u00a0<\/span>y<\/span>outh\u00a0<\/span>o<\/span>rganizing to best equip them to continue to make change<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>Citywide Youth Coalition<\/span>)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0They went to senate hearings on the bill to cheer students\u00a0<\/span>on<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>Gellman<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>2019<\/span>)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Elm City\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/span>Undoing<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Racism Organizing Collective<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(UROC)<\/span><\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>a group of organizers and educators working for social change in New Haven, also worked closely with these groups. They helped host the undoing racism and community\u00a0<\/span>organizing<\/span>\u00a0workshops. Their focus<\/span>\u00a0was to teach students and community partners what racism\u00a0<\/span>was<\/span>, where i<\/span>t<\/span>\u00a0c<\/span>ame<\/span>\u00a0from, how it work<\/span>ed<\/span>, and what c<\/span>ould<\/span>\u00a0be done to build a more equitable city<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Elm City UROC<\/span>)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>They were also present at hearings to provide support<\/span>\u00a0(Gellman, 2019)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0It should be noted that\u00a0<\/span>neither<\/span>\u00a0this group nor the Citywide Youth Coalition directly told students what to do. They instead served as supports for the students as they figured out how to\u00a0<\/span>organize<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>fight for a sometimes\u00a0<\/span>seemingly<\/span>\u00a0unreachable goal.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Results\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"

Lucy Gellman<\/p><\/div>\n

Thanks to the\u00a0<\/span>collaboration<\/span>\u00a0of these groups and the unwavering commitment from youth to seeing that the bill gets passed, b<\/span>y the time the final senate hearing came, the support for the bill was\u00a0<\/span>substantial<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>O<\/span>ver 200<\/span>\u00a0people were in\u00a0<\/span>attendance<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>over 100<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>testimonies were given<\/span>\u00a0from students, educators, and\u00a0<\/span>politicians<\/span>; no<\/span>\u00a0one<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>testified<\/span>\u00a0against the bill.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Unsurprisingly<\/span>, the bill passed. By 2022, all Connecticut high schools must offer elective courses on African American, Puerto Rican, and Latino history<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>N<\/span>ational Education Association, 2019<\/span>)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span> After so much work, community members and activists left the hearing feeling victorious and empowered. For students, the victory made them feel like they had ownership of their education (Students for Educational Justice, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ethnic studies movement came in Connecticut as a response to a failing curriculum. For years, Connecticut has had a\u00a0troubling\u00a0achievement gap between white students and students of color in various subjects, with Asian students being exceptions to this trend. For example,\u00a0as\u00a0of 2019, only 36 percent of\u00a0Hispanic\/Latino\u00a0students and 34 percent\u00a0of African American students tested at grade […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1103,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-78","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}