November 5th, 2014 – Doubletree Hotel (Austin, TX)

On Wednesday November 5, 2014 my biological father (Pastor Donald Bright, LPC) and I will be presenting at the 2nd Annual Vision Summit: Looking Toward the Future of Reentry.  Our presentation will focus on our personal journey from incarceration to forgiveness to research and practice.

Session Title:  A Family Affair: Finding Solutions to Family and Community Reentry

For additional information visit the link below:

VisionSummit

October 9-11, 2014 – DoubleTree Hotel (Pittsburgh, PA)

From October 9-11, 2014 I will be presenting a paper at the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology (AACS) conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

The paper is entitled “Catching In:  Reintegration Narratives of Formerly Incarcerated African American Males”.  It will discuss the varying factors of reintegration such as arrested development, prison education vs. community education and daily life transitions.

Michael Brown’s Death…A Mother’s Fear

When will White people see our children like they see their own children? Black mothers have asked this question since Africans were brought to America and enslaved.  What makes my Black son different from your White son? He is an intelligent 8th grader in advanced placement courses, a talented percussionist in his middle school band and a four-sport athlete. Yet, is his life less precious? His young life hangs in the balance because you see him as criminal, violent and less than human. I think he is a gift from God that deserves to be protected and nurtured.  I am afraid for my son’s life. I am fearful that I will not have the opportunity to see him graduate from high school or college, start his career, buy his first house, find love, or have children of his own.  Fear can be a powerful force…Black families witness the fear in White people’s eyes when they look at our children. However, my fear empowers me. Empowers me to talk about the very thing Americans want to ignore. Racism.

Racism in this country is very complex. It is not racist acts, but institutionalized racism that destroys this nation. Institutionalized racism is a system of advantage that benefits White people (Marx, 2006; Tatum, 1999). It is so embedded in the fabric of this country that it is like the air we ALL breathe. All Americans suffer because as a nation we cannot or will not address the issues of institutionalized racism that carries out the destruction of  masses of young Black men. Educational inequity, the mass incarceration of Black and Brown people and mass killings of young Black men all stem from institutionalized racism. We don’t want to believe that racism exists, but for the sake of our sons’ survival we must begin to grapple with and undo racism.  Everyone has a part to play in undoing racism: 1.) We cannot pretend there are simple answers to this complex problem. 2.) Everyone has to be a part of the solution otherwise you are a part of the problem. 3.) One person cannot do everything but everyone can do something. In my undergraduate class, which consists of predominately White, female pre-service teachers I have often said…each one teach one.  It simply means we all have power. We have the power to influence, to change, to improve, to dismantle institutionalized racism…if we use our powers for good.

How will you use your power?

My prayers go out to the family of Michael Brown the latest death of an unarmed Black teenager.

 

Champions of Change

My friend, mentor and co-author Dr. Luis Urrieta (cover photo) was honored yesterday at the White House with a “Champion of Change” Award! He was one of 10 honorees chosen nationally for his work as a community leader. Dr. Luis Urrieta truly embodies the spirit of Cesar Chavez’s legacy. He is a wonderful example of someone who uses their powers for good!

3.28.2014

WHITE HOUSE TO HONOR CESAR E. CHAVEZ “CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE”

Recognition honors ten community leaders who embody the spirit of Cesar E. Chavez’ legacy
Luis Urrieta, Jr., Coordinator of the Cultura en Acción (Culture in Action) After School Program
Austin, TX

Luis Urrieta, Jr., Ph.D. is the Associate Professor and Program Director for the Cultural Studies in Education Program at The University of Texas, Austin and Coordinator of the Cultura en Acción Culture in Action After School Program. He has dedicated his life and career to raising awareness about Latina/o community issues, especially immigrant, and indigenous communities. As the son of Mexican immigrants from rural Michoacán, his motivation for advocacy and work with communities stems from his family experiences dealing with the perceptions and often hostility toward immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants. His professional and academic work in Education has been dedicated to raising awareness and valuing Latina/o immigrant family and community knowledge as well as the importance of nourishing and supporting strong ethnic and linguistic identities in Latina/o children and youth, while promoting and creating the conditions for high academic achievement. Urrieta’s advocacy has been primarily focused on mentoring, teaching, and cultivating leadership around critical issues in Latina/o education with youth as a former bilingual middle school teacher, with teachers as a teacher educator, and with undergraduate and graduate students through community workshops and internships, exchange programs abroad in Mexico and Guatemala, and through his local church. For the last two years, Urrieta, along with student volunteers, has also coordinated Cultura en Acción-Culture in Action a collaborative after school program for elementary school students that focuses on academic, self, and community empowerment along with integrating 21st Century skills and technology, while cultivating leadership skills.

April 3, 2014 – Carver Museum (Austin, TX)

On April 3 I’ll be speaking at the Seedling Foundation Regional Training  at the Carver Museum. The topic of conversation is ‘We are NOT Colorblind…We are Culturally Responsive’.
Event Details:
  • April 3, 2014
  • We are NOT Colorblind…We are Culturally Responsive
  • Seedling Foundation Regional Training
  • Carver  Museum-Austin, TX

The Secret is Out!

The School to Prison Pipeline is about Discrimination.

On March 13th an article on Huffingtonpost.com titled “Yes, schools do discriminate against students of color”. This article suggests that this is NEW information, after Indiana University’s research project The Discipline Disparities to Practice Collaborative released a report on March 6th. Why are we so afraid to talk about racism and discrimination? Are we afraid of the problem or the solutions? Our school systems have discriminated against students since integration. Are schools systems unwilling to deal with problem? Have we yet to provide meaningful anti-racist and anti-discrimination training and interventions for pre-service and current teachers and administrators?
For decades, my research and others have provided evidence for discrimination in schools. In 1975 the Children’s Defense Fund released the first large-scale study to report on racial disparities in school discipline. Utilizing national survey data the findings from the study indicated that African American students were three times more likely to receive suspension in comparison to their European American peers. The research is consistent for K-12, as school racialize students the moment they walk through the door. A risk indicator in public schools is minority status, therefore students are considered “at risk” based on their race without considering any other factors such as socioeconomic or academic capacity.  A surge of racial disparity research found that African Americans were referred more often than their peers to school authorities for disciplinary actions. Despite undisputed evidence dating back to 1975 that posits racial disproportionality in school discipline, African American students continue to endure harsher punishments. The current research includes Latino students but is no less disturbing. Latino students are disciplined at a rate less than their African American peers, but at statistically significantly higher rate than their European-American peers. According to the latest report, Latino students were 2.23 times more likely to receive school suspensions than their European American peers.
I grapple with why racial disparity perpetuates generation after generation. It is a complex problem that demands complex systematic solutions. Not just on a policy level, but on the ground. Often policies are ideal and represent the best of what America wants to be, but policy doesn’t help teachers manage their classrooms. Policies won’t help schools administrators change their climate and culture of school discipline.  We must help school systems and justice systems change how they discipline children not just in policy but in practice.
Racial disparities are not the only disparities in school discipline. Students with disabilities and LBGT students are also impacted, but let’s save it for another conversation…each population deserves the dialogue.

Welcome…

I am extremely excited to finally host an open  forum where concerned people can voice their opinions on sensitive topics that affect our community daily.  I hope you will join in the discussion on all of the issues surrounding youth, education, and the criminal justice system.  Stay tuned…