부산대학교 도서관

The road to achieving racial justice in the nation is marked by times of unspeakable tragedy followed by resilience and recovery and unexpected setbacks overcome by reinvention. As the nation emerges from a devastating and deadly pandemic, it stands again on the precipice of recovery and reinvention. Many school districts have returned to normal, with the majority of students and teachers back in the classroom. Yet what is needed to propel the nation towards a more just society is a collective understanding that we cannot just go back to normal. The pandemic illuminated a narrative that the advocates for racial justice in education have been working tirelessly to both highlight and change: Normal was not good enough, especially for students of color. And despite much progress in providing opportunities and access in service of educational equity, disturbing racial inequities remain. As regulators and advocates, state boards of education have a crucial role to play in creating and maintaining a racially just system, from setting the requirements for teacher and school leader preparation programs so they foster a diverse workforce, to establishing statewide learning standards that require culturally relevant teaching and curriculum. In this article, John B. King Jr. and Denise Forte examine how progress is possible, however back to normal is not good enough.