Finding a Network of Educators for Equity

Editor’s Note: The Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board gathered over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in Montgomery, Ala. Board members offered insights and feedback on lessons, articles and other projects. A few board members shared their thoughts of that weekend. Read them here [2] and here [3].

When I found out I had been selected to serve on the first-ever Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board, I was overcome by simultaneous feelings of shock, honor, pride, excitement and joy. In a time in which the rhetoric surrounding teachers is becoming increasingly negative and dismissive, I commend Teaching Tolerance for looking to current classroom teachers and education practitioners for input regarding their resources. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to such a respected, invaluable organization. 

As a New York City teacher who has not traveled extensively in the South, I found the experience of visiting Montgomery to meet with the board mind-opening. Tracing the names of martyrs in the cool water of the Civil Rights Memorial, I knew this would be my most memorable MLK weekend yet. I learned more about the history of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the initiatives of Teaching Tolerance. I saw firsthand how Montgomery represents a spectrum of human experiences. Reading a travel brochure, I gazed upon a tour advertisement with the phrase “cradle of the Confederacy,” while a few pages further in was a description of the historical Civil Rights sites along Dexter Avenue. As educators, we find ourselves situated within opposing contexts of “-isms” and equity, oppression and freedom, passivity and action. Reflecting on and creating ample space in my classroom for social justice work continuously inspires me. At the same time, the weight of navigating these contradictions can be heavy. After a whirlwind of a weekend, I felt refreshed. I recommitted my efforts to continuously promote equity both within and beyond the walls of my classroom.

The meeting prompted me to step back and reassess my position and agency within a larger collective of educators committed to social justice. Connecting and working with the other advisory board members and TT staff reminded me that I have a larger community of incredible educators to look to for support and inspiration. I discovered that our advisory board is made up of exceptional individuals representing a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. We represent schools and states across the country, we work with different student populations, within unique school cultures, but we all share a tremendous, singular passion for making social justice a priority in our vision and work. 

On the Sunday morning before I left Montgomery, I attended a service at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Dr. King had served as pastor, with some fellow board members. We were warmly welcomed as visitors and told that, although we had arrived as strangers, we were now part of the church’s extended family. A beautiful link had been formed, and all it took was coming together, sharing the same space and time. I feel this way about our advisory board. I was moved by how quickly we bonded. It is a comforting source of strength to know that we are herein connected as we go forth with our work.

Our weekend together turned out to be more than I could hope for, and the purpose of it was confirmed when I, proudly wearing my Civil Rights Memorial Center "The March Continues" shirt, shared my experiences in Montgomery with my young students. It is an indescribable feeling to have a room of loving, insightful second-graders be proud of their teacher and be genuinely interested in learning more about diversity and fairness. It is that feeling which brought me to Teaching Tolerance in the first place.

D’Egidio is a second-grade teacher in New York City and member of the Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board.