Dallas ISD’s ‘Black Lives Matter’ Resolution Spawns ‘Voices’
In the wake of the protests that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, Dallas ISD trustees voted to unanimously approve a resolution that, they hoped, would confirm the district’s commitment to Black students.
The resolution vows that trustees will collaborate with the community to identify high-need issues and then report back to Superintendent Michael Hinojosa in a month with the goal of creating action plans to achieve measurable improvements for Black students within Dallas ISD over the next year.
“In Dallas ISD, we believe every voice matters,” the district said in a statement. “Our district is one of diverse backgrounds, ideas, and stories, and our perspectives help define us.
When George Floyd uttered, ‘I can’t breathe,’ it was a reminder to let the voice of humanity ring loud and lead to positive change.”
Part of the step toward that change was the creation of a website that is dedicated to humanizing the movement by creating space for students and the community to voice their experiences.
“We have to move beyond incremental steps,” said Justin Henry, board president. “When something is at a crisis as it is now and has been since I was a child and before then, we have to look toward more systemic and deep change. We have to develop a higher level of urgency.”
“While we cannot unwrite the wrongs of the past, there is hope. We can use our voices to ensure injustices, of any kind, no longer continue,” the district’s statement added. “This site is our effort to share the stories and ideas that paint our world.”
The design features six main areas for users to experience and explore the following topics:
- Are you OK?;
- Become an ally;
- Get connected;
- Relevant reads;
- Racial equity;
- Safe and welcoming
To see more, visit, www.dallasisd.org/Voices.
