Lace on Race

What a February! Buckle Up!

To kick February off right, Lace on Race is at the GameSchoolCon in Irvine, which is led under the steady hand of Sasha, one of our community members! I love GameSchoolCon, not least for its commitment to what I call an effortless ethos of inclusion, but also for reminding us all that living in a way that aligns with our values does not have to be castor oil forced down, nor does it have to be stilted or badly grafted on. If we are to be who we say we want to be, look no further than GameSchoolCon.

It’s also the first day of what the mainstream world calls Black History Month, but what we at Lace on Race call Saturday, because, hopefully, we are remembering, internalizing, and most importantly, building upon the legacy and sacrifice of those who have gone before us. As usual, we will be doing things a bit differently, highlighting people who have moved the ball forward in mighty ways, often unnoticed.

The way to do both of the things outlined above, is to focus on education. Education for what was before, and modeling and training for what we want to see in the future. Hence, the first topic for our new magazine-ish format: Education.

We will be talking about the mission of GameSchoolCon, as well as talking about issues that, after two years in, we are ready for–IQ testing; school choice, funding priorities–and to begin to talk about ways our work in the area of education does or does not dovetail with our stated goals and values. Charlene Hollenbrink-Monk, a dedicated educator will ground us with what a radical and effective pedagogy can look like.

These offerings will be exactly as good as your considered and thoughtful engagement. I can’t wait to hear your voices, and see your faces!

Lace Watkins

3 responses to “What a February! Buckle Up!”

  1. Lace Watkins Avatar
    Lace Watkins

    Pivot more intentionally to race.

  2. Lacey Avatar
    Lacey

    It is very exciting to see this group coming together in times that appear to be a bit frightening to attempt to put forth a unified (and yet diverse and intersectional) voice.
    I have seen firsthand the power of how individual voices coming together in unity can make drastic changes.
    One surprising example happened when I first moved to South Carolina the parent group (unwittingly, I’m sure) nominated me to be on the PTSA Board at my son’s school- the only position open was the Legislative Chairperson (a non-position for moms who got together to drink wine and raise funds for the school at their annual auction, or so they thought).
    I went to the Legislative meeting at the state capital and found other progressive moms who informed me that school vouchers were coming up for a vote and likely to pass.
    There was a State PTSO emergency meeting and it was decided that we would “storm the state house”, asking to speak directly to legislators, stopping them in hallways, and leaving handwritten notes & letters signed by everyone!
    The impact worked, but unfortunately it was only short-lived (as we expected) and as other states adopted school vouchers, South Carolina came under more pressure.
    Now there is a new bill up for vote that would allow private school vouchers. Proponents would have you think that “underserved kids” can simply take a voucher and use it to pay for private school tuition. Setting aside the fact that this siphons money from the schools that are already without books, adequate heading, gyms/playgrounds, this is actually HURTFUL to the children who at first glance would appear to benefit.
    Black, brown, and disabled children (particularly those who are living in poverty) are going to be left in those schools- schools which might actually lose some of their top tiered students, depending upon the structure of the particular voucher system.
    So ‘Who,’ you might ask, ‘is going to benefit from the private school vouchers?’
    Wealthy parents who have chosen to live in gentrified neighborhoods or whose children have a diagnosed disability and who *already* send their children to expensive private schools can not get the vouchers as a “rebate” that is deducted from money that should be being used for our struggling public schools, not to benefit those who have already chosen to opt out of helping to stay and work to help fix the problems within the system.
    The bill contains a measure that prevents parents from suing the school district (it’s basically saying, in “layspeak”, if you “chose” to attend this school and didn’t get an education, it’s your own fault because you could have gone to school anywhere).
    The buzzwords like “choice” give them a positive spin, when in actuality those who are marginalized (particularly those who are intersectional) are ending up with even fewer choices.
    Thank you so much for this group and for being the change!

  3. Varda L Avatar
    Varda L

    I really appreciate this content. I’m starting to support an organization in my area and this will help me stay in alignment with them.

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