Black Lives Matter at School
The Black Lives Matter at School movement — which has been endorsed by the MTA Board of Directors — is aimed at engaging classrooms and communities to support racial and social justice.
Each year, educators across the country participate in a week of action, held in February, to promote racial equity and counter racism and xenophobia in our schools. Educators wear Black Lives Matter T-shirts to school and teach lessons such as structural racism, intersectional Black identities, Black history and anti-racist movements. Inspired by the Black Lives at School Day organized by educators in Seattle, a group of teachers in Philadelphia took the concept a step further, sponsoring a whole week of events around the guiding principles of Black Lives Matter.
Black Lives Matter at School is centered around these demands:
- End "zero tolerance" and implement restorative justice in all schools.
- Hire & retain more Black teachers in our schools.
- Mandate Black history & ethnic studies in preK-12 schools.