Nearing the start of the fall semester, many school districts and post-secondary institutions have announced plans to reopen their doors to in-person learning. Yet, many students are returning to the classroom with trauma, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and continued instances of racial injustice.
Using firsthand accounts and perspectives, a new study examines how the events of this past year have impacted Black education at a national level.
The report, “Black Education in the Wake of COVID-19 & Systemic Racism: Toward a Theory of Change and Action,” is the product of the Black Education Research Collective (BERC) at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Researchers interviewed 82 Black parents, educators and high school student between January and May 2021.
“We are engaging in a national reckoning in this country,” said Dr. Sonya Douglass Horsford, an associate professor of education leadership at Columbia’s Teachers College and a co-author of the report. “I think it is a perfect time to really use this moment to rethink everything that we do as it relates to education and make sure that it meets the needs of students today.”
Increased cases of racial violence and the coronavirus pandemic have created a “devastating and disproportionate impact” on Black communities, the research indicated.
With the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans, 91% of survey participants felt negatively affected by the presence of police and white violence.
About 93% of the respondents worried about the Jan. 6 riots, where dozens of former President Donald J. Trump supporters raided the U.S. Capitol bearing racist paraphernalia and spreading misinformation about election fraud in the 2020 presidential race. Around one-third of the respondents noted they were “extremely worried” about the safety of both themselves and their loved ones, according to the report.
