All of our kids, ready for life
Rise Up for Students is a blog advocating for racial equity and radical empathy in our schools, in Seattle and beyond
Black History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Di'Andre Campbell who are shaping the future.
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Leslie Lawson-Sims who are shaping the future.
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Marvin Pierre who are shaping the future.
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Omari Salisbury who are shaping the future.
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Dr. Kristina Bellamy who are shaping the future.
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Derrick Wheeler-Smith who are shaping the future.
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Dr. Thelma Jackson who are shaping the future.
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in celebration of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Eddie Francis who are shaping the future.
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond.
Read MoreFor me and my family, we are not turning back to old ways that weren’t working. Even if it’s familiar and simple and alluring.
I want my children’s life and education to be more than a repeat of their parents’ old school wounds. Now is the time to be bold, to make decisions based in faith and a revolutionary view of education.
I’ll keep trying to write about education, but my focus has, with four kids at home, necessarily shifted from demanding radical change from a faceless system, to enacting radical change in my own life. This is a mission.
Read MoreWith local elections upon us, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the uprising of 2020 — or more specifically, about the daytime marches during the uprising of 2020.
People came out of the woodwork, both nationally and in the Seattle area, and many of these marchers were out there for the first time — feeling compelled for the first time to make a visible stand against racism and police violence.
But now, when it comes time to vote based on these new values, the packed streets look in retrospect like a mirage.
Were the marches really that meaningless? Was the anger really so momentary?
Read MoreIt’s been hard to find the right words during this pandemic. And as a dad with four kids — two toddlers, a would-be first-grader, and a newly moody teenager — it’s been hard to even find moments alone to think about what those words might be, let alone to write them down.
But look at me now! Alone in front of a computer. Still, each time I start to write, I start to feel overwhelmed. There’s too much to try to figure out all at once.
Read MoreWho could have imagined the origins of the anti-CRT movement were right here in Washington state?!
Read MoreWalker left the University of Michigan after one season and started playing ball for a minor league team in Toledo. After winning a league championship in 1883, the Toledo team joined the American Association, which was one of the “major leagues” of the time.
So, on May 1, 1884 — Opening Day of the American Association season — Walker started at catcher and became the first Black player to play in the big leagues.
Read MoreJackie showed us what is possible when we use our greatest gifts to their fullest extent in true service. He lived a life that is to be admired, yes, but there is also a challenge inherent in the legacy of a person who achieved true greatness. Will we rest on his laurels, or will we stand on his shoulders? Will he be a figurehead for hollow celebration, or will we see and remember his humanity and so more clearly recognize our own capacity for greatness?
Read MoreThe increase in physical violence against Asian Americans is not a mysterious aberration. It’s the result of hateful rhetoric from our last President, among others. It’s part of a history of anti-Asian racism and violence that is too often overlooked or minimized. And it’s also being made possible by insensitive, dehumanizing language that has been normalized.
Take this sign, hanging casually in a Swedish Hospital health facility, perpetuating dangerous stereotypes during a time of such specific violence.
Read MoreThe Biden administration has decided to go forward with state testing in schools this year.
Nothing besides pressure from a billion-dollar testing industry can be motivating this decision.
We cannot afford to move into next year as if this year hadn’t happened. We cannot afford to snap back to what was, to miss out on the many ways we all learned and grew over the past year.
Read MoreI had a revelation while writing the Black History Today series this year. Maybe more than any year before, this year’s installment brought forth hope — even through a year that has brought so much sadness.
Read MoreThere is a great deal of work to be done to ensure that the broader public education system is working for all students, and it will take time for changes in policy and practice to be implemented. But for families in communities who have students who have been underserved or failed by the traditional system — we cannot wait.
Read MoreIf the health and well-being of our community is a priority, the district must train staff on anti-bias, restorative discipline practices. And above all, the mental health of our community must be prioritized over any attempts to standardly assess, bridge learning “gaps” and return to status quo.
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Black History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and recognizes the people among us who are boldly shaping the future. The long-running series has continued to grow and now lives as an exhibit at the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle.