Organizing the Educators for Black Lives March in Atlanta

So just over a month ago, June 26th to be exact, we were a part of a phenomenal team who organized the Educators For Black Lives March in Atlanta. Since then, so many folks have reached out to inquire how to do the same in their city, and today I am attempting to tell that story. 

It all happened organically really. Two weeks before the March, I got a call from a colleague I’ve worked with in the past, Jen Owen, Founder of Co-Created. She told me while on Facebook she saw someone named Brittany O’neal who was looking to organize a march, but needed support to pull it off. Jenn being the bridge builder that she is got to work connecting us to Britany, and bringing in some other local supporters like Kevin Sinha of Civic GA. In the end with a team of 10, we pulled off what seemed impossible af first, a full fledged Educators March with over 300 participants, and garnered local and national news attention. 

We marched from Rosa L. Burney Park to the capitol making intentional stops at Atlanta Public Schools District Office while sharing stories of injustice in the school systems here in Georgia. When we got to the capitol, I had the privilege of speaking, and shared our demands and how we’d be taking action. Our demands read as follows:

We, the educators of Georgia, are collectively organizing to achieve educational equity for Black Students.

1. End “zero tolerance” discipline, and implement restorative justice 

2. Actively Hire more Black teachers 

3. Mandate Black History and Ethnic Studies in K-12 curriculum with a social justice lens 

4. Fund more school counselors 

5. Invest in Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum & Training

6. Redesign the school funding formula and while including stakeholder input (participatory budget) 

7. Design well-rounded assessments instead of high-stakes testing 

8. Fund wrap-around service to support community needs (ie. food banks)

Here were our demands, and we didn’t just stop at  a list. We knew it’d take amplifying the demands to those who sit in the towers at fancy tables, and make the decisions for thousands. So we emailed them, all of them. All the board members in the metro areas, all the legislators who push policy that harms black and brown kids, and those who work at the state superintendent's office. By using an opt-in mass texting platform we had over 300 people take action, this is the power of organized effort. 

The people made their intent and voices heard that day, and know we have no intention of letting up. This past week we laid John Lewis, one of the civil rights icons of our generation, to rest. In his final hours he wrote a letter to us all, and the following message is one we take seriously and  will carry with us as we continue to make GOOD TROUBLE.

 “Though I am gone, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe”.  (Read Full Letter Here)

AJC article link: Click HERE 

 Fox 5 News: Click HERE

Organized by: Brittany O'Neal, Jen Owen (Co-Created), Claudine Miles (Restore More), Kevin Sinha (Civic GA), Rashaunda Thompkins, Vanessa Sanchez, Jasmine Johnson, LaPortia Banks, Kimberlie Milton, & Adela.