Reasons Some Choose Silence and Reasons for Breaking It

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In part one, we’ll examine four common reasons for silence: (1) racial stress, (2) the belief that diverse environments are sufficient to teach students about race, (3) not knowing what to say about race, and (4) the desire for a post-racial world. We’ll look at each of these reasons in detail; explore what research and anecdotal evidence tell us about why these reasons are inadequate for staying silent about race; and discover why speaking up is a more effective strategy for achieving equity, inclusion, and belonging for all students. Along the way, I share relevant keywords, topics, and classroom activities I found helpful on my journey to speaking up about race with elementary students.