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

Chapter 2 opens with an anecdote about Love’s first teaching job at an impoverished South Florida school. Like many public schools in low-income districts, the school lacked the resources to help students thrive. This contrasts sharply with schools in high-income districts around the nation, which are well-resourced, retain high quality teachers, and support extracurricular activities and field trips. Families in Love’s school district were both racially and economically isolated. No teacher, no matter how well-meaning, can overcome the barriers of systemic racism, writes Love. However, grassroots organizing, alongside antiracist pedagogy, can prepare students and their families to fight to eradicate structural racism. To this end, educators must dedicate themselves to challenging racist structures by teaching intersectional social justice, rather than focusing on standardized tests.

White Rage

White rage refers to the anger Black advancement triggers in White people. According to Love, white rage erupts when people of color dare to matter. It leads to lynchings and police violence. It also leads to the enactment of laws to protect white people and harm people of color, such as Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation in the South until 1965. Biases in the judicial system often shield white people from the consequences of acting on their rage.