When we hear those three letters CRT in our education space, we know that we’re either referring to culturally relevant teaching or critical race theory. After last week, it’s safe to say that CRT can now stand for “Candice Reed is Trippin’!” 

The Candice Reed situation serves as another reminder of why teachers must apply a critical race lens to their practice. I have been a secondary level math teacher for over 10 years and I have never seen trigonometry taught in the manner that Reed taught it to her students.  

It’s obvious for many of us to see how egregious and harmful Reed’s actions are in this video, but can we also point out the fact that there were actual students laughing in the video?

I think it’s obvious for many of us to see how egregious and harmful Reed’s actions are in this video, but can we also point out the fact that there were actual students laughing in the video? Personally, I think that should also be a focal point here. I don’t teach or work at the school, but the laughing clearly indicates that those students are totally unaware of and naive about how offensive Reed’s actions are to folx within the Indigenous community. If these students find this funny now, they’re going to find it funny when they reach adulthood. That’s if the proper restorative interventions aren’t taken to address the racial harm that has been imposed on the Indigenous students in the classroom.

The late great Pan-African leader and former president of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara once said that “while revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.” Now, if we edit the quote by replacing the word revolutionaries with racists and then inserting racist between the words kill and ideas, that claim would still hold true, especially in today’s racial and political climate: “While racists as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill racist ideas.” 

It’s Bigger Than Candice Reed

So why am I even saying this? Since so many folx these days are so interested in participating in and talking about cancel culture, I would like to propose an alternative approach to this trend, if I may. Instead of solely concentrating our efforts on canceling Candice Reed, let’s expand that energy to cancel the racist systems, policies, and protocols that allow the Candice Reeds of the world to perpetually engage in such racially harmful behavior. 

That is and should always be our mission. The optics of the situation are what they are, but you and I both know that our education system, as currently constructed, will allow Candice Reed’s privilege as a white woman to secure another teaching position within another school district even if she gets fired from her current position. 

If her school, back in 2012, found her racist actions acceptable enough to be included in its annual yearbook, how can we expect her to have the critical lens to recognize the error of her ways?

Here are the facts … Candice Reed is a multiple-time offender of Indigenous culture and, for years, she has been engaging in this racist behavior, going back as far as 2012, without any repercussions from her school or district. If her school, back in 2012, found her racist actions acceptable enough to be included in its annual yearbook, how can we expect her to have the critical lens to recognize the error of her ways? What would prompt her to stop dehumanizing Indigenous people when her school identifies her teaching methods as effective instructional pedagogy? 

We can direct our anger at Reed and condemn her actions all we want, but we can’t overlook the culpability of John W. North High School and the Riverside Unified School District in this ordeal. Their inaction gave Reed the license to dehumanize Indigenous culture over this extended period of time. 

Unfortunately, we live in a society where, too often, empty apologies from racist offenders are spewed without genuine remorse and for the sole intention of absolution. Given the recurring nature of these racially harmful school incidents against Indigenous culture throughout the nation, a formal apology just isn’t enough anymore. Correction … a formal apology has never been enough. 

An Opportunity for Action

Maybe it’s the optimist in me, but I do believe that people have the capacity to change their behavior and evolve into compassionate empaths. Although I sincerely hope that Candice Reed views this horrifying situation as an opportunity for growth, personal reflection, and education, I’m not betting any money on that happening. As a result, we must call on the Riverside Unified School District to do right by the twelve federally-recognized sovereign Native tribes within Riverside County and hold the district accountable by reaching out to the following leaders:

If we truly want to put an end to settler colonialism within our society, we need to make our voices heard and not let this opportunity to condemn these racist acts pass us by. 

Kwame Sarfo-Mensah is the founder of Identity Talk Consulting, LLC., an independent educational consulting firm that provides professional development and consulting services globally to educators who desire to enhance their instructional practices and reach their utmost potential in the classroom. He is the author of two books, “Shaping the Teacher Identity: 8 Lessons That Will Help Define the Teacher in You” and his latest, “From Inaction to ‘In Action’: Creating a New Normal for Urban Educators”.

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