We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. - Maya Angelou. Dr. Bettina L. Love is an award-winning author, educational theorist, associate professor of educational theory and practice at the University of Georgia, a lover of Hip Hop, and an advocate for justice and equality in the education of Black / Brown children. The author can also be found across social media platforms and can be viewed on NPR, TEDx Talks, and YouTube. “This book is about, mattering, surviving, resisting, thriving, healing, imagining, freedom, love, and joy: all elements of abolitionist work and teaching. Abolitionist teaching is the practice of working in solidarity with communities of color while drawing on the imagination, creativity, refusal, (re)membering, visionary thinking, healing, rebellious spirit, boldness, determination, and subversiveness of abolitionists to eradicate injustice inside and outside of schools" (p.2). I marvel at how the author conquered the feat of addressing major issues encompassing the continuous racial disparities within the educational system, the need for abolitionist teaching and so much more in just a few pages. This work was well researched and gave several references, historical facts, and statistics related to every segment. The author peels away at multiple layers, exposing pertinent information necessary to aid in the struggle for intersectionality within the educational system. Dr. Love asks very blunt questions, forcing anyone to dissect their mindset and focus on the core issues of what it means to be Black in this country. How do Black and Brown folx matter to this country? The author skillfully incorporated all the contributing factors that negatively impact Black and Brown folx in all aspects of life. We who are dark are complex. We are a callaloo of cultural diversity. Bettina respectfully paid homage to Black Abolitionists and Black Women Writers who paved the way to make her work possible. Now she dutifully carries the baton, implementing teaching strategies and reform models that would offer more than educational survival tactics to Dark children. Bettina Love fervently commits herself to the call to action on the need for abolitionist teaching and equality in the educational system. Her vision is that, through awareness of intersectionality, educators can better acknowledge and prepare to educate children of diverse cultures and ethnicities. My ultimate takeaway is to painfully be aware of how every aspect of everyday life can all be traced back to race, racism, whiteness, classism, sexuality, gender, and how we got here as a people. After reading this book, my questions to all of you are - Have you thought of how to better prepare your children to face the injustices within the educational system as early as elementary school? Have you found your North Star?

Dr. Love has written the rare book that both indicts a system in unflinching, blistering terms while also offering a joyous hope of possibility for the future. Drawing upon historical and contemporary theory and literature but always writing in clear language accessible to the non-academic audience, Love argues for the importance of recognizing and valuing the resilience and persistence in Blackness. She eloquently reveals the importance of educators creating spaces that celebrate their students' identities and takes down simplistic applications of conceptions of "grit" and other short-cuts to complex educational challenges. I particularly appreciated the celebratory nature of chapter 5 {"Abolitionist Teaching, Freedom Dreaming, and Black Joy") and will be using chapter 6 ("Theory Over Gimmicks") in my work helping emerging researchers grapple with the importance of theory. Her work concludes on a jubilant note, asserting that "The goal must be pursuing freedom at all costs as a collective group of abolition-minded people who welcome a struggle" (p. 161). This text is a must-read for aspiring and current educators, educational leaders, teacher educators, school board members, parents, and anyone who believes that the only way out is up.

This book is a must-read for every educator. It is completely transformative; and most importantly it's a call to action. Not in the gimmicky way that so many initiatives get pushed forward in districts, but in a real, down to earth way that begs and pleads educators to be human. Take a good hard look at yourself, your practices, your beliefs, your understandings, your own implicit bias. Look at your students as the beautiful, strong humans they are and the beautiful, strong, empowered humans they could be when given the tools to reach their potential. It's not about any kind of fix, or initiative, or data survey or test score. It's about humans helping humans.The only way to do that is to ask those same questions of your students. Not in a hypothetical sense where you make up the answers based on the visible, but really talk to your students. Dive deep into who they are and who they want to become. Then consider the power you have to raise them up!

Yes! We Want to Do More Than Survive! Dr Love’s new work is glorious, insightful, thought provoking, beautiful, painful, and hope-full. In this book, she masterfully grounds us in a historical understanding and challenges the ugliness of institutional and structural racism. Moreover, she unapologetically lays out a call to action that speaks truth and makes a clear case for intersectional justice that is achieved when we work towards the liberation of those perpetually most oppressed. Dr. Love passionately reminds us of the beauty and brilliance of dark children, and the resilience of dark people. This masterpiece is a love story about humanity. It is an exemplar for what it looks like to speak up and against injustices that suffocate dreams and opportunities, a blue print for how to take a collectivist approach that engages educators, communities, and all who care in the kind of antiracist work that leads to liberation and the transformation of what education and schools are and should be about. This book is a brilliant teaching and learning resource not just for educators, but for policy makers, researchers, philanthropists, community leaders, private sector leaders, politicians, adults, young people, and all concerned citizens who truly seek to deepen their understanding of the realities of children’s experiences and outcomes in our existing educational institutions. It is a companion tool for those in the struggle and a guide for those who are ready to join the movement for abolitionist education as freedom and justice. For, when we learn to take care of and do right by dark children, we take care of and do right by all children.

Great book. Was assigned to read for a class, really makes you think deeply and reflect on biases

I read this for a book club that helps us look at and reflect on the programming in our nonprofit and, hopefully, challenge it. This wasn’t one of my top reads, but I am glad I read it. There are quite a few nuggets in it that I want to think about and apply to our programming…and that I think are important. This book challenges programs/organizations like KIPP and Teach for America…the assumptions behind their philosophies and the practices they focus on. /she is very harsh in her criticism, but I can’t say she’s wrong. Her criticism causes me to think through my own philosophies and what ways I’m putting my biases into our programs. I’m glad I read this book. I’ve got several notes down on things that, as a White woman running programs for “dark-skinned” (as called by her) children, that I need to really reflect on and work on as I move forward.

The content of the book is really interesting and informative.

If your skin is not brownish this will give you some perspective - especially if you are blindly against DEI. Race is only one part of DEI, though. It also covers things like disabilities, catering for allergies in schools, helping women (even white ones, etc). Learn from and find value in this book