KARANJA CREWS

Organization: Teaching with Purpose (TWP) was established in 2001 in response to the lack of relevant multicultural education and proficiencybased teaching and learning practices within Oregon’s educational system, despite State equity laws put in place to integrate it into curriculum.

Karanja Crews, TWP Executive Director, was just 23 years old when he conceived the idea for the organization. He was an undergraduate at Portland State University and part of the NAACP’s education committee. It was the late 1990s, and Portland was in the thick of gang violence issues.

“It was definitely divine. I felt like God put it on my heart, the name and everything. I saw the vision,” recalls Crews. “At the time I was part of a crisis team protesting against the school board regarding the achievement gap within students of color. We were inspired by

Black education activists Ron Herndon and Senator Avel Gordly.”

A series of meetings ensued and Crews recalls a voice from the crowd crying out, “We need to know about our history.” Senator Gordly took this to heart, succeeding in passing multicultural education bills and policies.

“They pretty much still sit on the shelf,” Crews reminisces. “Alot of districts don’t really implement them.TWP works to activate these bills, putting a little more teeth and accountability to them.”

Team Building: In 2001, Crews facilitated the first TWP Conference and convened a network of educators, parents, and community advocates to take a deep dive into their individual and their districts current equity policies, and explore innovative culturally responsive pedagogy practices. He organized a list of guest speakers representing the upper echelons of innovative pedagogical methods including Bob Moses, professor, author and civil rights leader who directed a historic student voter registration in Mississippi, and created the “Algebra Project.” Also representing was Harriet Ball, educator and creator of the teaching method “Rap, Rhythm & Rhyme.”

“She taught math in a rhythm way because, in a sense, we’re rhythm people. We’re souls, right? She was able to put that into a teaching method/ pedagogy and get great results with our kids. The method was picked up by her student teachers who founded the KIPP Academy Charter schools in the early 2000s. It’s still around today,” shared Karanja Crews.

Leadership: From 2002 to 2010 Crews became an elementary school teacher, and taught at the Jefferson High School’s Young Men’s Academy. “I put the TWP conference on hold because I had to start to teach with purpose, be in the classroom, in the trenches,” shared Crews. Over the course of the decade he grew frustrated that inequitable education practices with Black students continued to persist.

“One of my favorite books is, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door.” I felt like I was that. I was in the system now, learning the inner workings. I noticed that everything trickles down to what happens in the classroom. I wanted to make my classroom the best. But I began to understand that just me, being in the classroom, wasn’t going to make a great enough impact. I was pouring into these young people, giving them information they might not be receiving anywhere else, but it was being undone because of the way the system is structured. That’s when I got the epiphany to bring the TWP conference back,” Crews shared.

Philanthropy: Building Better Education for Black Students

14 consecutive years later, the TWP conference is going strong. This year’s conference will be held on October 14, 2023 and the line up is impressive. It includes; political activist, scholar, author, and icon Angela Davis; Dr Sandy Wolmack, Area Superintendent in Columbus City, Ohio known for turning minority achievement in entire districts around; and “Principal Kafele” from New Jersey, one of most sought-after school leadership and classroom equity presenters in America,

State of Black Education in Oregon: According to Crews, statistics for Black students still showing that the disparities in discipline data and achievement proficiency data hasn’t changed. “If you look at the education stats and the prison system stats, you can see a direct correlation,” stated Crews. However,he does see a silver lining in terms of the intentionality changing. “We have a Center of Black Student Excellence and all kinds of initiatives that are focusing more on the Black student, but we have a long way to go in terms of connecting that to the classrooms, accountability, and results. That’s why I continue to bring the TWP conference.”

Listen to the interview in its entirety on Flossin Media TV YouTube Build Black Better- Karanja Crews. Teaching With Purpose.

World Stage Theatre

Executive Director