There’s clearly a difference between being a teacher who teaches Black scholars vs. an educator who teaches Black scholars to be excellent and are culturally aware of the mission they must accomplish for Black culture to thrive. This article is simply my therapeutic way of getting things off my mind so I can get back to being the solution.
Marquis Evans
Energy Convertors: Agentic and EmpowerED 2023
Join us for an eye-opening and transformative event, Agentic and EmpowerED Oakland 2023, specifically designed for parents and families in West Oakland. Our mission is to bring awareness to crucial data that may not be readily available or discussed regarding Oakland’s education system, focusing on the challenges faced by our Black and Brown scholars.
New Podcast: S.O.B.E. RANTS S4-E4
Host Quis Evans welcomes Oakland educator Coron Brinson for a conversation Coron Brinson on The Black Teacher Project, support for Black educators under non-Black leadership, high expectations for Black scholars, and more …
SOBE Rants Season 4 Episode 2 is Out Now
The following post is from your host of SOBE Rants, MarQuis Evans, and is intended as an introductory companion piece for the next SOBE Rants podcast . Follow Quis on this journey by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
Throughout historical events on the timeline, people of African descent have worked together with allies in multiple movements to elevate our quality of life in America. When it comes to quality of education, I question if integration contributed towards the solution, or if it was the beginning chapter of new obstacles on our pathway to achieving educational liberation. In times of war, having solid allies on your team can play a contributing factor in receiving the ‘W’ or taking that ‘L’. In our case, it’s looking a little shaky in our battle to educate our scholars blessed with melanin superpowers.
What happens when your allies are not receptive to feedback given? What happens when the voices of Black excellence are not in the rooms where decisions for Black scholars are being made? What are the long term results when Black scholars are passed to the next grade level without demonstrating mastery of reading, while being provided a false sense of privilege and entitlement, with low expectations to succeed?
We vent it out by indulging in a quick S.O.B.E. style rant to crack open the door and welcome in an uncomfortable but needed conversation, then transition into the solution for the State Of Black Education.
We are also excited to present to you SOBE Rants S4E2. SOBE Rants was created by Dr. Charles Cole III and now hosted by Quis Evans! The podcast serves as a safe space to have those accountability conversations, while bridging the gap of understanding and providing clear action steps in our fight to elevate the educational experience for our blessed and melanated scholars, while maneuvering in an education system populated by uncultured and seasoning deficient individuals.
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify with additional content here at Great School Voices for each episode. Excited to have this conversation with you.
SOBE RANTS: Are Allies in Education Getting in the Way of Black Excellence?
The following post is from your host of SOBE Rants, MarQuis Evans, and is intended as an introductory companion piece for the next SOBE Rants podcast . Follow Quis on this journey by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!
On top of there being a shortage of teachers overall, there’s critically a lack of cultured educators who possess the ability to effectively educate our scholars. Due to this, many of our schools that provide service for our scholars blessed with melanin superpowers are populated with educators/administrators who claim to be “allies” to provide quality education for our scholars, but are slick getting in the way of their elevation. Willingness to educate Black scholars, however, is not the only ingredient required to get the job done. For quite some time now, Black educators have been voicing that our “allies” are unintentionally getting in the way, and make decisions that ultimately result in the miseducation of our Black scholars. This leaves us Black educators furious, feeling unheard, and thinking out loud, “What in the pumpkin pie is going on here?” #TakesShotOfDrink