#NormalNeverWorked: The Fight for Black Liberation in the context of Education and COVID 19

Abstract

The impact of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) highlights familiar inequities across U.S. institutions that are integral to social well-being. While longing for a return to “normal” is expected in a time of unprecedented loss of human life and the relinquishing of routines and comforts, equity-minded individuals understand that “normal” has been and continues to be oppressive at its core. Interested in the ways that COVID-19 has disrupted the normalcy of oppression and inequity, and the possibilities for Black liberation in this new context, we sat with educators and asked them to consider the urgency and possibility of now in the context of ongoing racial uprisings, persistent anti-Blackness, and the global impact of COVID-19. This article focuses on the themes that emerged, commenting on the opportunities and challenges of Black liberatory practices, whiteness, self care, metacognition about practices, and culturally responsive-sustaining education. While the disproportionate impacts of everyday educational violence on Black students, educators, families, and communities continue to be overlooked, these educators offer hope and a way forward, one rooted in the humanizing love that CR-SE and Black liberatory practices offer.