#GoodTrouble

#GoodTrouble

     Last year I had the opportunity to hear Civil Rights Leader, John Lewis speak.  During this speech, he talked about the 'Good Trouble' he had found himself in over the years.  'Good Trouble,' for him meant standing up for what was unjust, unfair and not right.    

     Over my career as a school librarian I've worked in five schools where I've gotten into trouble for standing up for my students.   My trouble has included:

     - Engaging students and parents in advocating for the purchase of new books for the library 

       program.

     -  Working with a team of teachers to stand up to a administrator and encourage them to put 

        'children, not employees first,' in making decisions that would impact the learning community.   

     - Challenging district officials on the dismissal of certified librarians.

     - Advocating for certified school librarians on a national level using social media.  

     Oh yes, I got into trouble and continue to do so.  I don't regret any of my actions.  Children's lives are at stake and the fight continues.  The school  librarian can impact the emotional and social lives of the children that they serve by 

     - Guiding students to books that are of interest to them,

     - Help students apply 21st Century learning skills they have learned while navigating the internet,

     - Maintaining a library environment that is a safe haven.   

     Libraries are game changers and equalizers for school children/young adults, especially those  living in poverty.  I will continue to get into 'Good Trouble,' because our nation's children deserve it. 

"Nah." Rosa Parks,1955

          For many, Parks was the quiet seamstress and mother of the Civil Rights Movement when in fact, she was so much more.

As a child she listened to her grandfather, who admired the teachings of Marcus Garvey, tell stories of a unification and empowerment of black people.  Hearing these stories of struggle, self-pride and determination inspired her to become an activist for justice.  Her husband  Raymond was the founder of the Montgomery branch of the NAACP and she served as the chapter’s secretary.   

What many do not know, when Parks was 18, she narrowly escaped a rape attempt of a white man while working as a domestic. Years later, Parks would serve as an NAACP investigator for the sexual violence against black women by white men.  Parks worked on many cases with the NAACP, including the Scottsboro Boys defense of 9 black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931.

Parks was trained in non-violent resistant strategies by the NAACP.    After her 1955 historic bus ride, Parks was often the target of death threats and struggled to gain employment within the Birmingham area.  Parks and her husband relocated to Detroit, Michigan in 1957 where she continued to work as a seamstress.  She was hired by Congressman John Conyers to work as his administrative assistant in 1965 until her retirement in 1988.    Parks continued to lend her support in causes after retirement by participating in the anti-apartheid movement in the 1990s.

I proudly wear this t-shirt today to celebrate Rosa Parks, 
a black woman, a feminist, MY SHERO.   

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