Archive for September, 2016

Is “2” the Best You Could Do, REALLY?

Posted: September 28, 2016 by Donna Bivens in Uncategorized
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no-on-2The public school education system in Boston has been under controversy for decades. For years until the late 1960’s the Boston Public school system operated under a separate but equal policy* which segregated the White population of children  from the Black population of children. The alleged premise of separate but equal claimed that the only difference between the two systems was the color of the children’s skin. All other tangible, important concerns were the  allegedly equal. The school buildings were maintained the same; the quality of the teachers was the same; the pay for the teachers was the same; the educational resources of supplies, equipment, and teaching materials were the same; the libraries were the same ; access to  and support of extracurricular activities(sports , music, the arts were the same. Or so the public and especially the Black community were duped into believing.
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the Boston Branch of the NAACP pulled together data that told a different story about the reality of separate but equal in the Boston public school system. They found blatant evidence of a lack of not just financial resources, but the lack of concern for the quality of the curriculum being used in the schools in the Black community. Initially the fight was to make sure that the Schools in the Black community received its fair share of tax dollars for the education of their children.

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Truth, Learning and Change: An Update on the Boston Busing/Desegregation Project

Posted: September 26, 2016 by Donna Bivens in Uncategorized
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updateIt’s been two years since BBDP released its anniversary report Unfinished Business: Seven Questions, Seven Lessons (UB7&7). Since that time we have been using the seven lessons of that report to bridge the complex “truth” of our history(ies) and the “change” that is needed to address the patterns that continue to get in the way of real equity, access and excellence in public education and beyond. People here and nationwide have responded powerfully to UB7&7 and the utility of the questions to promote a continuous learning and inquiry stance for social justice.

Since the release of that report there have been some setbacks for our small staff, However, a small but powerful and creative leadership team has  continued to learn and to share in and from so many venues. We’ve had or participated in on going story circles and “Talkabouts”,  selective interviews, education justice organizing, workshops, training and consultations. Others who were or are part of BBDP are involved in initiatives throughout the city that are also addressing many of the issues we all named in UB7&7. The more we have done the more we have learned and that learning has brought us to reimagine our work. (more…)