A Work in Progress: Reflections from an Anti-Racist Educator

Summer Camp Series #2

By: Dr. Jamie Lathan (he/him), Summer Camp Facilitator

I am a work in progress. That is the case with every area in my life, and, most especially, in the area of my work as an anti-racist educator. I had an unhealthy racial self-identity as an elementary school student growing up in rural South Carolina. I had no doubt about my sense of worth that was rooted in my Christian faith tradition and my large extended Black family. I could not throw a rock without hitting one of my first cousins :). And, in spite of that wonderful rootedness in faith and family, I subconsciously did not believe that my Black skin was good enough. Things that were associated with whiteness, in my elementary school eyes, were better and more important. I really needed a space like the we are camp! My Blackness would have been affirmed. I would have had the language to call out my own racial self-hate. I would have been able to advocate for the celebration of Blackness at school and in my community. I would have also fought for those celebrations to be normalized and not just aberrations that took place during Black History Month.

Now, as a 40+ year old anti-racist educator, I find that I am still working to affirm my Blackness in majority-White spaces. I have language to combat my negative self-talk and imposter syndrome that results from years of believing a lie about my racial identity. The curriculum in we are camps has strengthened my healthy racial identity. It emboldens me to have comfort in my own skin in any space that I enter.

I remember a few moments during the we are camp that were extremely impactful for me and the students. During a role playing activity, the students had to respond in a positive and assertive manner to another student’s teasingly mispronouncing their name. It was clear that this scenario “hit home” for many of the students and I could see their confidence growing in defending their name and culture. In another activity, the students learned about the positives and negatives of systems and were able to articulate how some systems can cause harm to Black and Brown students. I am a high school teacher and sometimes my high school students and I are challenged with communicating and understanding how systemic and institutional processes operate. So, I was absolutely amazed by the first and second grade we are participants who understood systemic injustices and were able to apply their understanding to their lives. Their learning was directly attributable to the excellent we are curriculum and resources!

One last moment stands out. A young Black man in second grade was wrongly accused of hitting a young White woman in the second grade at the camp. The young man had some behavioral challenges during the week, so it would have been easy for camp leadership to reprimand him. Instead the camp leaders investigated the incident further and discovered that the young woman had falsely accused the young man. Implementing restorative practices, the camp leaders discussed the incident with the young man and woman, particularly focusing on ways that the young woman could examine her biases. These conversations happened with the young people and their families. I am so grateful for what I learned by seeing equity and restorative justice in practice. 

As I continue to grow as an anti-racist educator, I am thankful for what I have learned through we are and how I can empower my students and myself in healthy racial identity and racial justice.