From White Folks Who Teach in the Hood

Book excerpt: A timely companion to the New York Times bestseller For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y’all Too Progressive white educators on the challenges and reimaginings of anti-racist education, cultural responsiveness, and sustained liberatory learning practices Designed for educators by educators, From White Folks Who Teach in the Hood is the white teachers’ guide to effective multicultural, anti-racist pedagogy. Over 20 educators are featured in this book, representing different types of schools, different geographies, different durations of experience in the classroom, and different depths of experience in interrogating their whiteness. Throughout the text, nationally renowned educators and coeditors Dr. Christopher Emdin and sam seidel offer feedback and perspective on how to incorporate the practices and wrestle with the ideas outlined by the contributors. Replete with practical reflections and actionable exercises, this book explores among other things: —identity formation, healing, and growth in the early years of a teacher’s career —the restrictive, harmful nature of standardization and the power of localization as a tool for transformation —hip-hop as a vehicle for promoting culture and authenticity within the classroom —whiteness as a racial identity and intentional anti-racist teacher trainings to identify and unlearn white supremacy From White Folks Who Teach in the Hood is the essential classroom companion for every white teacher committed to fostering productive learning spaces that respect the races, cultures, and identities of their students. It offers all readers a window into the essential work that must be done to transform our nation's schools from sites of harm to sites of healing.