Black Lives Matter at School: 13 Principles
/Versión en Español
During the first week of February and coinciding with the start of Black History Month, school teams, students and educators throughout Seattle were encouraged to participate in Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action by learning about and discussing the 13 principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The goal of Black Lives Matter at School is to spark an ongoing movement of critical reflection, honest conversation and impactful actions in school communities to engage with issues of racial justice.
Explaining The Guiding Principles of Black Lives Matter at School
Black Lives Matter at School is a national committee of educators organizing for racial justice in education. This movement began in Seattle in 2016 when thousands of educators, and hundreds of families and students came to school on October 19th wearing shirts that said, “Black Lives Matter: We Stand Together.” Since then, the movement has grown to include more cities that are participating in affirming the lives of Black educators, students and families.
This year, you may have seen student worksheets relating to lessons that Sacajawea educators taught about the thirteen guiding principles of Black Lives Matter:
Monday: Restorative Justice, Empathy, and Loving Engagement
Tuesday: Diversity and Globalism
Wednesday: Transgender Affirming, Queer Affirming, and Collective Value
Thursday: Intergenerational, Black Families, and Black Villages
Friday: Black Women and Unapologetically Black
These are big ideas that can be challenging to talk about. Bringing 20 years of experience in early childhood education, teacher Laleña Garcia advises using age-appropriate language to talk about the principles and, when possible, to make connections to your child’s lived experience in your home, or out in the world (source: BLM at School):
Restorative Justice is the commitment to building a loving and sustainable community. When you hurt someone, “you can't just say, ‘Sorry,’ and walk away.… We have to help people when something happens to them, even if it was by accident.”
Empathy is one’s ability to connect with others by building mutual trust and understanding. “Think about how other people feel, because different people have different feelings.… Think about how you would feel if the same thing that happened to your friend happened to you.”
Loving Engagement is the commitment to justice, liberation and peace in all our interactions. Being fair and peaceful takes practice so we have to do it a lot to get better at it.
Diversity is the acknowledgment and celebration of differences and commonalities across cultures. There are many different ways that people live in the world, including how they eat, dress, listen to music, and more. It’s important to “have lots of different kinds of people in our community and that everyone feels safe.”
Globalism is our ability to see the Black global family that exists across the world, and how we are affected or privileged within different regions. “Globalism means that we are thinking about all the different people all over the world, and thinking about the ways to keep things fair everywhere.”
Transgender Affirming is the commitment to make space for our trans siblings by encouraging leadership, recognizing trans-antagonistic violence, dismantling cisgender privilege, and uplifting Black trans folk. “People know in their hearts and minds whether they are a boy, a girl, both, or neither. We call this gender identity. Gender identity is who we know ourselves to be.”
Queer Affirming is working towards a world without the belief that everyone is heterosexual unless told otherwise. “Everybody has the right to choose who they love and the kind of family they want by listening to their own heart and mind.”
Collective Value is the understanding that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status or location. “Everybody is important, and has the right to be safe and happy.”
Intergenerational is the belief that all people, regardless of age, have the capacity to lead and learn from each other. “It’s important that we have spaces where people of different ages can come together and learn from each other.”
Black Families is the commitment to family-friendly spaces that let caregivers fully participate in the community with their children. “It’s important to make sure that all families feel welcome.”
Black Villages is the disruption of Western nuclear family dynamics through the support of “villages” that take care of each other. “People who take care of each other… might be related, or maybe they choose to be family together…. Sometimes, when it’s lots of families together, it can be called a village.”
Black Women is the building of women-affirming spaces free from sexism, misogyny, and male-centeredness. “There are some people who think that women are less important than men. We know that all people are important and have the right to be safe and talk about their own feelings.”
Unapologetically Black is the affirmation that Black Lives Matter and that our love, and desire for justice and freedom are prerequisites for wanting the same for others. These principles will not be compromised in an effort to eliminate the discomfort that comes with dealing with race. “There are lots of different kinds of people and one way that we’re different is the color of our skin.…” Even though we’re different we need to treat all people fairly, “and that’s why we, and lots of other people all over the country and the world are part of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
What can you do to learn more?
Talk to your child about the principles they learned and what resonated with them.
If you have two minutes, read ArtSEA: Black history lights up Seattle’s Central District.
Dig deeper with these resources and books:
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson. Find it at the Seattle Public Library.
Teaching for Black Lives, edited by Dyan Watson, Jesse Hagopian, Wayne Au. Find it at the Seattle Public Library.
Listen to The Land That Never Has Been Yet, a 12-part audio podcast where the hosts re-examine dominant narratives told in American history.