Guest Opinion: This is About Racism, Not the Budget

In 2020 and 2021 significant numbers of white folks started to recognize, viscerally, that racism kills. Many predominantly white institutions began saying out loud that they were joining the struggle to confront and abolish racism within their own organizations. Across the nation, businesses pledged to abolish racist systems, policies, and practices, and many took action.These organizations included NASCAR, FedEx, Aunt Jemimah, and the NFL.In the Ithaca City School District, educators, administrators, and the school board had already begun working to dismantle racism and exclusion in our schools. So in 2020, our district connected with this national moment by making our antiracism work unapologetically explicit.Social media, reading groups, workshops, and zoom meetings bustled with ICSD folks stepping up to learn and act. As a result, genuine progress has been made. But now, complacency has crept back in for many white folks- they’ve lost the gut-wrenching urgency that had pushed them to step out of their comfort zones and into anti-racist action.Coded language (back to basics, dangerous schools, lack of support for teachers, misguided leadership, etc.) and the exploitation of those who are genuinely struggling with economic security has been used by a small but determined number of economically secure, white community...