The Revere Teachers Association is deeply saddened and angered by the recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade, as well as the countless other Black and brown lives taken as a result of the ever-apparent racism that saturates our society. As educators it is our duty to stand in solidarity with and in support of Revere’s Black community, teachers, students, and their families. Black people and people of color across the country continue to suffer severe trauma, pain, and anguish at the hands of the very systems that are alleged to protect them.
The RTA plans to do the necessary work to better understand the deep racial history and trauma caused by the design of systems in this country through the lenses of white privilege. We strive to achieve racial justice for Black members of our student body, staff, and community. This will include working alongside one another with ongoing sustained conversations and actions that need the support of every stakeholder.
We recognize we are all in different places in our anti-racist work, and this will be a life-long journey for all of us. As educators we regularly reflect on our educational practices, but today we are self-reflecting as human beings. This is not an easy or comfortable task, but one we must commit to in order to move forward as individuals, as educators, and together as a Union.
We applaud the strong voices of our students, the youth of Revere, who have made a bold statement about the inequities they suffer and who have made powerful requests of Revere community leaders for immediate and critical change. We are encouraged that the City of Revere has also committed to building an intentionally anti-racist community. We look forward to being partners in this work.
We recognize the urgent and ever-present need for action and implementation of active anti-racist practices in our own lives, in our schools, and across the community. Together we must commit to the life-long battle to dismantle systemic racism, address prejudices that exist in ourselves and in our communities, and tear down structures that allow for racism to persist in our society.
“And so, we say: Black Lives Matter… because All Lives have not Mattered. Racism takes black and brown lives. Explicit racism foments hate and aggression. But implicit bias grows unreasonable fear and suspicion, moving people to act unreasonably on their fear and suspicion. We must do better.”
-National Education Association
Black lives matter.
In Solidarity,
The RTA Executive Board on behalf of the Revere Teachers Association
