Responding to Buffalo: Ending White Silence in the Face of Racial Violence

May 15

Ten people were killed and two more injured in a white terrorist attack/hate crime in Buffalo yesterday. This is the deadliest mass shooting in 2022 and the terrorist is an 18-year-old white male. Eighteen! The N-word was written on his assault rifle. He was not “mentally ill” or a “lone wolf.” Innumerable white adults either implicitly or explicitly encouraged and supported his thinking and decisions — even his actions.

When Kyle Rittenhouse, the 18-year-old who shot and killed two people during the unrest last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was lauded as a hero by many, and the majority of white adults said nothing, that sent students a message. When states legislate that the discussion of race and racism in schools is unlawful, and the majority of white adults say nothing, that sends a message. When books are banned and certain histories are omitted from public school curricula, and the majority of white adults say nothing, that sends a message.

White silence is deadly.

The relentless racial violence has made many people weary — and that is exactly what white supremacy is relying on. It is trying to wear us down so that we feel helpless, overwhelmed, and give up. We cannot. We need to show up for our colleagues and students of color and be vocal. Silence is complicity and is gaslighting our students — all of whom are waiting to hear from us, who need to hear from us.

Eddie Glaude, Jr., Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, posted a tweet today: “We face a choice as to what kind of country this will be. If you sit quietly, you have made your choice. If you worry that we are going too far, you have made your choice. Either we fight for a just America or you side with the evils of our time. No middle ground!”

Here are some resources to fortify us for these difficult conversations that we as white teachers and parents must have in order to bring us to higher ground. A special note of gratitude to our colleagues Christine Saxman and Shelly Tochluk who have kept an unflinching eye on white supremacist organizations and brought so much of it to light for us.

Podcasts:

Hate Groups Recruiting White Students

Parenting While White Part 1: Talking to White Kids About Race

Blogs & Articles:

Caring for Students in the Wake of Traumatic News Events

Talking with Students About Shocking or Disturbing News

Resisting the Pushback Against the Work for Racial Equity and Justice

Inoculating Our Students Against White Nationalism

“The Great Replacement”: An Explainer from the ADL

Others:

Responding to White Supremacists Organizations

Confronting White Nationalism in Schools Toolkit