Racial Justice Cannot Be Opt-In

Despite a wave of support for anti-racist pedagogy and practices in the spring of 2020, authentic adoption remained limited, signaling an uphill battle during the present era of racial backlash. This brief, which relies on interviews with 55 New York teachers, found that most teachers showed interest in adopting anti-racist approaches but struggled due to limited support from district and local leadership. These findings suggest that large pedagogical shifts, such as anti-racist curriculum and instruction, are unlikely to be achieved without more broad-based and proactive support from administrators at all levels, especially given the ever-increasing politicization of anti-racist teaching.