Do #BlackLivesMatter in schools? Why the answer is ‘no.’

The article I choose to discuss on is based on the movement Black Lives Matter. As we have seen from the past couple months, this has been a keen topic. Especially since the death of Geroge Floyd. The article choses to talk about how Black lives matter is important in a school setting. Less emphasis on the movement itself; and more about the blacklives attending the schools. Some of the key points behind the movement are, defunding the police and abolishing prisons. This in turn helps fund the community more in areas such as: better school programs, better community outreach, better safety plans for the community and the list goes one. The problem is however, does it matter in schools? Even though the title says the answer is “no,” the article puts up a fight in why the answer is yes. The article describes a school-prison nexus, which says that schools work within a web of institutions, policies, and practices that funnel black youth into prisons. Also, because of increased spending on police, surveillance and zero-tolerance policies it has made American schools look and feel like prisons themselves. They have made countless efforts to remove police in schools as directed by their youth and community-directed programs. One project called, Oakland’s Black Organizing Project, has shown how police in schools do not increase students’ feelings of safety. Schooling of American children does not enact #BlackLivesMatter in pedagogy, policy or practices. So, as a school counselor I can see how this relates to me. As a school counselor it is my job to advocate for every child. In turn, now that I know this information, I can better advocate for African American children who are experiencing this. Also I will be able to provide better resources as a counselor to the each community I come in contact with. Reading this article through me for a loop. When I originally read the title. I thought it would be more about how teachers would address Black Lives Matter movement in schools. Then once I kept reading I realized how important this topic was as well. Do Black Lives Matter, absolutely yes. Do they matter in a broken school system, definitely not.

BLM