While many scholars have identified the need for educators to descriptively represent the communities they teach in, few pose solutions to the hurdles teachers of color (TOCs) must jump to be successful. \u00a0The works of Farima Pour-Khorsid and Carol Gist explore the significance of \u201ctestimonios\u201d (Pour-Khorsid, 2016, p. 1), or the sharing of personal experiences among educators of color, in building resilient communities of TOCs.<\/p>\n
Testimonios<\/strong>: Both research studies focused on the \u201ctestimonios\u201d of teachers and aspiring teachers. These written and oral testimonies, borrowing from Critical Race Theory\u2019s counterstory narratives, allow teachers to communicate their experiences in order to learn from each other & to disprove white supremacist narratives of urban education (Pour-Khorsid, 2016, p. 5).<\/p>\n A key difference between the two studies is what value they place on the testimonio. While Gist focuses more on educators\u2019 testimonios as a way to identify and draw attention to problems teachers of color face that might otherwise go unnoticed\/unexamined by others, Pour-Khorsid views the testimonio as a solution to problems in and of itself.<\/p>\n Pour-Khorsid explores how testimonios can be used to fight these problems directly, through building communal resilience and maintaining teachers\u2019 desire to fight against a system that constantly wears them down. Sharing defeats apathy by creating a community to remind TOCs why they teach in the first place.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Gist explores how \u201cteacher community groups\u201d (Gist, 2018, p. 17) not only help build resilience through solidarity; testimonios also help identify the specific needs of TOCs & boundaries they face that might otherwise go overlooked by a white supremacist system. Bringing together a<\/p>\n