The Antiracist English Language Arts Classroom
“This text is so thoughtfully written. With the various perspectives and voices offered, the layered stories, and the Keisha Rembert gives teachers practical and thought provoking ways to ensure we are reaching our most vulnerable students. This text is so engaging and so what is needed in education at this time for ELA teachers seeking to just do BETTER!”
“I didn’t realize how I was swept up in the American Dream. What this amazing book creates for us is a different framing and language to move ourselves and our students beyond this dominant narrative and to the place where we begin to question many of the things and ways we have been taught. I’m not an ELA teacher and this book moved me in ways I never thought possible. Outstanding work!”
““The Antiracist English Language Arts Classroom” by Keisha Rembert is a transformative and enlightening read that beautifully marries the worlds of education and social justice. I was thoroughly impressed by the depth of insight and practical guidance offered in this book.
From the very beginning, it’s clear that Mrs. Rembert is not just an educator but a passionate advocate for equity and social change. Her writing is both eloquent and compelling, making complex topics accessible to a wide range of readers. The book is exceptionally well-organized, making navigating through various concepts, strategies, and real-life classroom examples easy.
One of the most commendable aspects of this book is its emphasis on actionable steps. It doesn’t merely discuss the theory behind antiracist teaching; it provides a wealth of practical tools and strategies that teachers can immediately implement in their classrooms. This is invaluable, as it empowers educators to become agents of change, fostering inclusive and equitable learning environments.
AMAZING BOOK!”
By Keisha Rembert
“When the architects of an emerging nation gathered to write truths like, all men are created equal and divinely granted the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, their ideals did not match their actions.
The theft of Indigenous land and natural resources, coupled with the enslavement of Africans, made those words and ideals of no effect to anyone other than White men.
The invisible asterisks in the founding documents (e.g., the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution), and systems of the United States (e.g., education, housing, healthcare, judicial), and in other places around the world affirmed that our laws, principles, and values are for White men only and have birthed, nurtured and continue to grow racial inequity through White supremacy.
These vestiges of settler colonialism became the blueprint for racism in the United States and continue to be the driving force of its systems.
Because the asterisks are invisible and the operating system functions mostly out of view, racially minoritized people, notwithstanding inadequate health care, victimization, failing curricula, disparate funding or any of the other outlined statistics, are often blamed for the failures of a system never meant to benefit or even include them.
Yet, they are expected to beat a system designed to beat them.
This is the heart of racism.
It is not some abstract concept but a very real phenomenon with tangible consequences.
Racism is our collective reality, inextricably woven into our policies and ideals, directly informing our institutions and systems.
Race affects everything for everyone.”
Resisting Divide-and-Conquer Strategies in Education
Pathways and Possibilities
Editor: Dennis Rudnick
Chapter 9: “Critical Race Theory in Education: The Hero’s Journey” by Keisha Rembert & Dr. Gloria McDaniel-Hall
“The initial power of Resisting Divide-and-Conquer Strategies in Education: Pathways and Possibilities is in contributors’ analyses of the political moment, of the hold anti-justice crusaders and their divisive ideologies have today. They paint devastating, instructive pictures of how educational justice efforts are strategically undermined—in some cases, how people committed to those movements are lulled into the undermining. The enduring power of this book is in its turn toward resistance and liberation, in the ways contributors urge and equip to struggle on without compromise. This is the book I needed, arriving precisely when I needed it.”
“Resisting Divide-and-Conquer Strategies in Education: Pathways and Possibilities is a fiery, unapologetic, and sometimes terrifying text. Rudnick’s carefully constructed volume hits readers hard with the searing realities of education and schooling in these strange and divisive times; yet as a good teacher he is also mindful of the need to encourage, inspire, and assist readers in affirming that they have the courage and capacity to work in the service of peace, justice, and even joy, both individually and in solidarity to fight the good fight.”
“Resisting Divide-and-Conquer Strategies in Education: Pathways and Possibilities provides a much-needed intervention in the discourse moving P-20 education towards contemporary reproductions of white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchy. Drawing on a number of critical frameworks and methodological approaches, the authors tell rich stories that situate the context of divide and conquer ideologies and practices manifest in schools while also providing important counter-stories of resistance, refusal, and visions for something anew. This book is a must read for anyone interested in dreaming about more equitable and just educational worlds by understanding the contours of its current form and function.
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“This is a timely and important book essential to understanding our growing authoritarian and fascist political environment and how to resist it. Dennis Rudnick’s edited volume offers an array of scholars who provide thoughtful, real-world examples of how divide-and-conquer strategies further balkanize America. Resisting Divide-and-Conquer Strategies in Education: Pathways and Possibilities provides a critical framework for helping us understand the multifaceted ways in which division and exclusion are legally institutionalized in American society while offering counternarratives for enhancing a more inclusive, intersectional, and socially just democracy. This is a must-read for anyone interested in education, the social sciences, cultural diversity, and policy.”