D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice

Background

D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice was created in 2017 ¹ by left-of-center Teaching for Change to create a network of educators that support “social justice teaching.” The network shares information, recommendations, and resources on teaching curriculum content, professional development, and activism. ² It was inspired by organizations such as New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) and Teachers for Social Justice. ¹

D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice is a partner of the Communities for Just Schools Fund, ³ a grantmaking organization focused on funding education-related groups that support left-wing policies such as police-free schools, restorative justice, abortion access, gender equality, and critical race theory in the classrooms. ⁴

D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice was mentioned in Education Week in June 2020 during the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in police custody as a resource for “talking about race, racism, and Black Lives Matter.” ⁵

Programs and Events

D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice has several working groups based on areas of focus such as the Anti-Bias Early Childhood Working Group which is focused on anti-bias education for children up to 8 years old, the Elementary Working Group which assists in incorporating “social justice and anti-racist pedagogy” into the 3^rd to 5^th grade curricula, and the People’s History Curriculum Group that assists in incorporating critical race theory into middle and high school curriculum. ⁶

Social Justice Books supports the D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice network by promoting reviewed left-wing books for children that educators can use ⁷ on topics such as activism and organizing, Black history, the Black Panthers and Black power movement, early childhood anti-bias, the environment and climate justice, gender diversity, indigenous peoples, Malcolm X, and racial identity. ⁸

Working groups are formed to support specific events such as Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the Black Lives Matter At School Week of Action in Schools. ⁶

In February 2023, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice organized the annual D.C. Area Black Lives Matter At School Week of Action which promotes a set of demands based on the Black Lives Matter guiding principles to support students of color, gender diversity, hiring more black teachers, mandating critical race theory in the K-12 curriculum, implementing restorative justice, and eliminating police in schools. ⁹ The Washington Teachers Union (WTU) and other D.C. area social justice educators are involved in the planning with a goal of “challenging the insidious legacy of institutionalized racism and oppression that has plagued the U.S. since its founding.” ⁶

In May 2023, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice partnered with left-of-center Communities for Just Schools Fund and Black Lives Matter At School to organize a briefing on school culture, looking to increase the autonomy of teachers in how they work with students and what they teach. ¹⁰

In June 2023, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice and the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum hosted D.C. Area Teach Truth Day of Action. The broader National Teach Truth Days of Action is coordinated by Zinn Education Project, Rethinking Schools, Teaching for Change, Black Lives Matter At School, and African American Policy Forum. It protested opposition to critical race theory and legislation and perceived attacks on LGBT, specifically transgender, interests. ¹¹

Additional 2023 events include Institute for Racial Equity in Literacy Summer 2023 Institutes, a Social Justice Curriculum Fair, and an Indigenous Peoples’ Day Teach-In. ¹²

D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice organizes collaborative programs with organizations, including Howard University and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and  National Museum of African American History and Culture. ¹³

On January 4, 2024, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice released an email promoting a “Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair” taking place on January 20 for Black Lives Matter at School towards promoting “the national demands based in the Black Lives Matter guiding principles that focus on improving the school experience for Black students.” ¹⁴ Several workshops promoted at the event included ““Black Women’s History in Five Minutes or Less: Celebrating Hidden Stories You May Not Know” while discussing topics on “queer affirming” and “trans affirming,” “From Inspiration to Action: Making a Plan for Monday” to discuss ““restorative justice,” and workshops promoting “anti-racist professional development” and “reproductive justice.” Following the Hamas terror attacks against the State of Israel, Black Lives Matter at School released a statement accusing Israel of ““settler colonialism, land dispossession, occupation, blockade, apartheid, and attempted genocide of millions of Palestinians.” ¹⁴

Funders

D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice is a program of Teaching for Change which is funded by several left-of-center organizations, including W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, Communities for Just Schools Fund, CREDO Mobile (Working Assets), Seattle Foundation, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation. ¹⁵

Leadership

Vanessa Williams is the program manager of the organization as of 2o23. Previously she was a fellow at Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement and a social studies and civics teacher. She is also co-founder and co-owner of a virtual bookstore specializing in the African Diaspora. ¹⁶

Kimberly Ellis is a Communities for Just Schools Fund Education Anew fellow working with Teaching for Change and D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice as of 2023. ^{17 18}