Black youth must press for changes in the culture of Durham schools
The education system is using our Blackness as a reason to prevent us from fully achieving the “American Dream.”
As a Durham Public Schools (DPS) student, when I enter the school, I’m greeted with reminders of my perceived inferiority to white students. School resource officers, or SROs, monitor the halls for students deemed “suspect” by their biased standards. My past interactions with SROs taught me to steer clear of them and avoid acting “suspicious,” or in other words, don’t be “too Black.” Because when SROs engage with Black students, these police officers can funnel them through the school-to-prison pipeline. In the 2018-2019 school year, my Black peers were 44% of student enrollment but 86% of school-based complaints to the criminal justice system. Not a single white student received a school-based complaint that same year despite research confirming that Black and white students misbehave at similar rates.
In the classroom, academic tracking creates racially segregated courses where Black students are confined to standard classes while white students are encouraged to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses. With few students of color in higher-level classes, white students remain in a world of privilege and ignorance.
When I walk into an AP classroom, I witness a sea of white students that seems to subconsciously question if I’m in the right room. And at first, I did too. AP courses are advertised for “advanced and capable” students, a description that seemed to contradict my guidance counselor’s evaluation of my abilities. Black students have to fight tooth and nail against disapproving teachers, principals, and guidance counselors to register for AP classes. Still, I press on. Every day in an AP class is a fight for inclusivity, academic excellence, and resilience to buffer racist institutions unbeknownst to the white students sitting right in front of me.
Now, as I continue my academic journey virtually, tools of educational oppression have updated their software to infiltrate the online classroom as well. While we are no longer subjected to the constant watch of police officers, we now face the harsh realities of diversity’s absence in upper-level courses, poor student-teacher relationships among Black students, and the unequal distribution of information. Whether it’s the awkwardness of being the one Black or brown face on a Zoom call or being subjected to unfair deadlines that violate rules and regulations you were never informed of, it is clear that virtual learning is not immune to the powerful reach of systemic racism.
But one must not lose hope for a better learning experience, whether it happens for them or future students. Like Martin Luther King Jr., we must still dream for justice and equity. I dream of entering my school and seeing Black and Brown teachers, passionate about teaching classes that reflect true diversity, like African Studies and Indigenous Peoples/Pre-Colonial Periods. I dream of walking down the hallway without the watchful eyes of SROs. I dream of leading a Black Student Union with participation from all Black students, one that is embraced by the entire school rather than feared or questioned. I dream of mental health spaces that provide support and resources for the struggles that come with being a high school student. I dream of a school focused on my education rather than my persecution.
Black youth are the ones that must advocate for our liberation from educational barriers and stereotypes. We know precisely what is necessary to ensure the prosperity of our people.
Durham Public Schools must end the school-to-prison pipeline by removing SROs, exclusionary discipline, and academic tracking. Instead, DPS must fully implement restorative justice programs, culturally relevant curriculum, and mental health and safe spaces in every school. Black and brown students deserve a school environment where we have the self-determination to choose our educational destiny. It is clear, now more than ever before, that we must fight for liberation in education to ensure the safety and equality of all Black students. #LiberatetoEducate.