Over the last two years NYCoRE has been focusing the relationship between structural racism and privatization-focused (neoliberal) education reform. After spending several years exploring the privatization of public schools (in NYC, the U.S. and globally) through private philanthropy, corporate politics, and government, we felt an urgency to be explicit about the role of structural racism in this reform.
Our analysis guides the kinds of projects we develop and informs how we go about expanding our organization and collaborating with other groups and individuals involved in the struggle for justice in education and society, more broadly. This page is a listing of various NYCoRE-related activities that seek to bring racial and economic justice front and center in our work. Please note that page is not a complete listing, but if you have questions about different projects please contact us at: info@nycore.org
Undoing Racism Workshops
In the fall of 2011 NYCoRE collaborated with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (pisab.org) to provide NYCoRE members , and other interested educators, with the Undoing Racism Workshop.
Undoing Racism® Community Organizing Workshop
Undoing Racism is our signature workshop. Through dialogue, reflection, role-playing, strategic planning and presentations, this intensive process challenges participants to analyze the structures of power and privilege that hinder social equity and prepares them to be effective organizers for justice. The multiracial team of organizers/trainers includes more than 40 men and women whose anti-racist organizing expertise includes years with civil, labor and welfare rights struggles, educational, foster care, social service and health reform movements, as well as youth and grassroots community organizing. An average of 10-15 groups per month participate in The People’s Institute Undoing Racism®/Community Organizing process. (from: http://pisab.org/programs)
What’s Race got to Do with It?
In 2011 NYCoRE received funds and support from the Ford Foundation through the Ford Seminar on Structural Racism and Secondary Education. With this generous support NYCoRE organized a discussion series that examined education reform by asking, “what’s race got to do with it? Educators met once a month for four months to examine different components of the larger education reform landscape (including school closings, the charter school movement, and testing).
Follow these links to find statements developed by the discussion group and a list of resources regarding the topic.
School Closures (forthcoming)
Testing (forthcoming)