Seattle Schools Community Forum

I met with Wyeth Jessee last week (it was arranged thru Communications so there was a Communications person in the room who was not part of the conversation.)  He was the former head of Special Education and now, thru a realignment,  has a new role.

In light of discussions we have had at this blog, I offer some ideas about creating better understanding. KUOW has had a great series called Black in Seattle .  On Wednesday, Nov. 13, they are having an event, Black in Seattle: Continuing the Conversation at Washington Hall at 153 14th Avenue at 6 pm.   Free and open to the public.  The group, School's Out Washington is offering two caucuses - one for white people and one for people of color on Tuesday, November 19th from 10 am to noon.  Lunch is provided.  The two articles they recommend are: White Caucus -  “Nothing to add: A Challenge to White Silence in Racial Discussions” People of Color - “Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life ” Space is limited.  Please RSVP to Doree Desberg via e-mail or at 206.336.6916. Funding by the City of Seattle Office of Civil Rights, Race and Social Justice Initiative, and Structural Racism Technical Assistance Fund.  Space donated by Boys...

This comment appeared in the Trayvon Martin thread: " Could someone calmly describe the institutional racism is Seattle Public Schools? Whose actions are racist - and what exactly are they doing? Is it a policy issue? What policy is it? I'd be happy to read something if you could direct me to it. " I'll try to respond to this because I think it's really important. There is a range of opinion here and there will be others with views very different from mine. Those views have equal merit. Since the request was specifically to do this "calmly", I know that I will disappoint a lot of people with the gentleness of my answer. I ask their forgiveness in advance. I also apologize for the incomplete nature of my answer. I believe that members of the dominant culture come to understand institutional racism as a voyage of discovery, so I'm not going to connect all of the dots for you. You need to connect them for yourself.