Chapter 6: Stepping out of the Ivory Tower: An Antiracist University-Community Partnership

We—a Black professor of elementary and early education (Kevin) and a white¹ professor of secondary education (Melissa)—became involved in an antiracist university-community partnership in March of 2019. A Black parent residing in our university’s predominantly white town reached out to the university concerned about the use of the n-word and other racially charged incidents at her children’s public intermediate school (grades 4–6). According to this parent, the school lacked both antiracist curriculum and professional development.

The concerned Black parent wanted to know if the university had resources to offer training for students, faculty, and staff. The parent was connected to the director of our university’s institute of social justice, who reached out to us, two professors in the education department with extensive experience in antiracist education. Kevin, one of the authors of this chapter, is an African American academic with over 25 years of experience in urban early childhood education. Melissa is a white academic with over 20 years of experience in urban secondary education.