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Equity. Justice. Racial Justice. Social Justice.

Four words. Elusive concepts. They evoke hope – and illusions – that America will right its wrongs and make good on its promise.

How can we use the pandemic as a pivotal point for imagining and creating better for Black and Brown children? Will we?

Before the pandemic, the four words mentioned at the beginning of this piece were ripping their way through predominantly white spaces where the axis of power is guarded tightly. In some cases, they are simply buzzwords. In other cases, they are the subject of well-intentioned conversations to inspire people to act and create better for the historically and currently oppressed.

As an advocate, practitioner, and scholar, I fully understand the road to equity takes time. I also appreciate the view that we need to engage in continuous learning. However, it seems that we are struggling to move from learning to investing. When I reflect on all the work I have been a part of, we spend more time exploring than acting. And while we are learning, Black and Brown children continue to be left behind.

Learning is not the solution; we must also imagine and do better. Those feeling the daily weight of centuries of unequal systems should not have to wait any longer for real solutions.

How long do Black and Brown children have to wait?

The pursuit of equity for Black and Brown communities is still sorely lacking in America – in Connecticut – and in New Haven. Of course, our desire for equity was a thirst long before March 2020, when the world shut down. For several generations, Black and Brown communities have been pursuing equity, social justice, racial justice, and economic justice. We have seen critical flashpoints all across history in which we have demanded, only to receive promises that have yet to be delivered on.

While there are many of these promises I could cover here, the most salient for me is education.

We are told that education is the great equalizer. Education is often seen as the pathway out of poverty, the door to equal opportunities, and the inoculation for racism. My mother always told us she wanted us to be better than her. Our household had two primary guideposts: religion and education. My mother, who didn’t receive a formal education beyond fifth grade, understood the value of education and its connection to economic stability. All eight of us were told we were going to college. Why? Because my mother believed in the correlation between lack of economic mobility and educational attainment. We all did go to college, and we all amassed student loan debt to do so.

As I got older and gained a better understanding of the world, I understood the history behind my mother’s mothering. My mom is 93 years old today, and she has lived through several cultural flashpoints that produced national promises not-yet-kept. She lived it, and we also did – and we still are.

My mother was 25 years old in 1954 when Brown vs. Board of Education desegregated American schools. Brown vs. Board and subsequent legal rulings intended to provide equal learning opportunities for all children. In attempts to make this a reality, we have created multiple learning pathways through charter schools, magnet schools, and open choice. These expanded opportunities offer parents hope – and illusions – of better for Black and Brown children.

The options are supposed to provide access to better educational opportunities to prepare children for lifelong success. And they may do so for some children, but the majority of Black and Brown children are still left behind.

In March 2020, when schools closed, the nation learned what Black and Brown families always knew: our children do not have the same things that other children have. Every student could not fully participate in remote learning at the same level. Whether it was a lack of technology or access to viable internet to support learning remotely, Black and Brown children did not receive the same educational experience as other children with greater access to resources.

Brown vs. Board of Education addressed the desegregation of schools, but not the desegregation of access to resources – and we still have not addressed it today. Our nation had the opportunity to foresee, acknowledge, and address the symptoms of an unequal system, and we did not.

In 1954, nor any time after that, we did not imagine better. We missed a critical opportunity, and we may miss it again.

If we have learned nothing else from this pandemic, we have seen how political will responds when the impact is closer to the power brokers’ doorstep. We have seen how the pressure of societal immobility on a vast scale empowered us to creatively problem solve. Within months, we identified resources through public-private partnerships, mutual aid societies and the like. We have seen legislation packages providing economic resources to help individuals, municipalities and school systems sustain.

What is our commitment to Black and Brown children whose state of living has always been a pandemic?

I have meditated on this question for months. I am a Black womxn who was educated in New Haven and recently completed all the academic requirements for a doctoral degree. Just like my mother wondered, I wonder if my children’s journey and all the journeys of other Black and Brown children will be different from mine.

My story and the stories of others like me have been used to illustrate the progress of America. And these stories are true. My journey has been far different than my 93-year-old mother’s journey. Yet I look at the many Black and Brown children across my generation and the generations before me who do not – who cannot yet – share these stories, and I ask myself, “how long do Black and Brown children have to wait.”

Will we use this moment to imagine bigger and better for them? We are at a critical moment in history with the resources to do so.

Will we.

Learn more about Randi, Founder and Principal of RM Consulting Services

To reach Randi directly: randirenee@rmconsultingct.com

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