White Like Me
The importance of discussing whiteness at an independent school.
February 2021
What does it mean to be white? And what is it like to discuss whiteness among other white adults in 2021, in a school in one of the wealthiest and whitest zip codes in New York City?
As leaders of Browning’s White Anti-Racist Educators (“WARE”) group, we see value in a space for white educators to consciously discuss and center their whiteness, for two important reasons: first, it helps educators to have a fuller understanding of their own racial identity and second, it provides practice for white educators to model how to discuss race—something they are then better equipped to do in front of their students. WARE chapters exist at many independent schools across the city, and there are citywide meetings held regularly.
While we were both new to Browning in the fall of 2019, we had previously met as collaborators in the Columbia University’s Teachers College’s Klingenstein Summer Institute—in a cohort on diversity, equity, and inclusion led by Browning’s Head of Middle School Danielle Passno. Building off that work, and partnering with Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lauren Stewart, we started WARE at Browning that fall and the group began meeting once every four to six weeks. In the wake of George Floyd's murder, the Black Lives Matter protests, and most recently the Capitol insurrection, Browning's white educators found it necessary to gather more often and now meet every two to three weeks.
Spaces designed specifically for white people are often met with a variety of reactions: curiosity, skepticism, suspicion, dismissal, indifference. As white educators, we have experienced each and all of these reactions. Pete’s experience of race was largely defined by absence. As a white person in predominantly white schools and neighborhoods, race seemed to not be an issue for him; it was for people who weren’t white. It took a long time, and a lot of listening, for his thoughts on race to evolve and develop.
“Spaces designed specifically for white people are often met with a variety of reactions: curiosity, skepticism, suspicion, dismissal, indifference.”
Anna understands WARE meetings as yet another space to host instrumental learning and teaching. She is a huge fan of reflective practice and often asks her students and her colleagues to think about how and why learning happened. She finds that too often, the work of dismantling racism falls upon the shoulders of those who are most marginalized. The WARE space seeks to offer colleagues of color relief from some of the burden of processing, asking questions, and acknowledging harmful acts due to racism. At WARE meetings, white teachers reflect and uphold norms to encourage white people to step into discomfort, accept the responsibility to lovingly challenge and hold one another accountable, and share from the “I” perspective with hopes to better listen, learn, and grow.
We hope to continue to create momentum in Browning’s WARE group so that it becomes a normal part of the community culture. As teachers, we value learning environments, for our students, for ourselves, and for our colleagues!
