Educators for Black Lives Matter March in Solidarity

Racial injustices aren't just simply happening in our society, NASCAR, entertainment, voter suppression or our government systems. 

It's very present within our education system as well. We have an equity problem in educational services rendered to Black and brown children. 

We aren't recruiting and retaining male teachers of color with a lower number of males in areas such as special education, counseling and general ed classrooms. Historically we have ignored and silenced the voices of Black educators who have been on front-lines of segregation and systemic racism in schools for years. Well, time's up! 

On Friday, June 26, 2020 Educators, Parents, Activists and Community leaders will march for and demand for school policies that will recognize and ensure that Black Lives Matter at School. 

The march will begin at 3pm at the Rosa L. Burney Park (477 Windosr St. SW, Atlanta, GA 30312) and end at Liberty Plaza at the Georgia State Capitol (200-252 Capitol Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30334). 

Along the route the organizers and educators will briefly stop at landmarks that currently effect the educational system such as the the juvenile justice center, the Atlanta jail and it’s pending transformation to a community center, the APS headquarters, the GA DOE headquarters, the courthouses, city hall and finally the Georgia State Capitol. 

Once we reach the APS headquarters, protestors will line up shoulder to shoulder along the sidewalk, to demonstrate "Strength in Numbers" as well as holding a brief moment of silence to honor the lives lost to racial discrimination. 

When we reach the Liberty Plaza an educator will be preset to read the 8 demands that we are taking from the school level to the district level and finally to the state level. The march will end at 5:00 pm at the Liberty Plaza. 

DEMANDS 

• End “zero tolerance” discipline, and implement restorative justice
• Hire more black teachers
• Mandate black history and ethnic studies in K-12 curriculum with a social justice lens
• Fund more counselors.
• Invest in Social-Emotional Learning.
• Redesigning the school funding formula and including stakeholder input (participatory budget)
• Well-rounded assessment instead of high-stakes testing
• Fund wrap-around service to support community needs (ie. food banks).

For all inquiries regarding "Educators For Black Lives March" please contact: Civic GA (678) 532-8120 or blmatschool2020@gmail.com. 

If you are able to attend:

1)  The #1 most helpful thing you can do is SHOW UP and SHOW OUT! The more people march to the Capitol to demand policy change, the louder our voices will be.

2)  Invite all your friends! Bring a crowd!

3)  Sign up for a day-of volunteer job. It's an all-hands-on-deck day of action!  --  https://bit.ly/3hVc7f3

If you are NOT able to attend:

Visit our landing page at -- https://bit.ly/3fUKQHJ -- where you can:

1)  ORDER a "solidarity tee." All proceeds will be used for expenses related to the movement of our demands. Shirts ship in 2-3 weeks.

2)  DONATE to help cover the costs of the march

  (i.e., equipment & materials, web outreach, etc.)

3). SIGN UP for the mailing list to stay informed on future action steps. (such as adding your name to the forthcoming petition, and generating emails to elected officials regarding the 8 demands)

No matter which category you're in above...

*Follow* on social & help raise awareness in your channels!

- Facebook: facebook.com/BlackLivesMatterAtSchool
- Instagram: instagram.com/blacklivesmatteratschool
- Twitter: twitter.com/blmatschool2020

 

Use #BLMatSchool

Share, Share, SHARE!

Spreading the word far and wide is how we build a movement and get our demands met, for our students who deserve change!