Shay, I don’t mess with the NJEA because they don’t stick up for Black and brown people!”
“But Sekou, you should come with me to a members of color meeting that NJEA is putting together.”
This was the beginning. For years, I had felt that the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) took my dues and didn’t have any plans, programs, or initiatives that included People of Color.
So when my colleague Shayna Scott invited me to an NJEA Members of Color (MOC) county meeting in March 2020, I expected the organization’s representatives to talk, issue platitudes, and then go back to the institutional exclusion of the majority of People of Color.
When I walked in the room, I saw more Black educators from different districts than I had ever seen together. During a small-group conversation, I mentioned my disenchantment with being a dues-paying member of an organization that I felt didn’t see Black people. After hearing my words, Shayna said “Sekou, when the microphone comes back around, you should say that.”
So I raised my hand and shared how Black members and other People of Color were mostly invisible in the union. I expressed that our experiences were “left out,” that we were an afterthought and were rarely invited to have conversations about different initiatives. To add insult to injury, the union only showcased us when there was a need to diversify a fill-in-the-blank project. As the African American expression goes, we were not invited to the cookout.
The members of color in the room broke out into applause—I had said publicly what many of us had been saying privately for years.
That affirmation moved me from standing on the sidelines to being a part of NJEA’s MOC. The affinity group soon became a safe space for me and other educators of color in my state.
Bolstered by this feeling of inclusion, I started writing articles for the union’s magazine, the NJEA Review. Among my contributions, I wrote a cover story called, “Why We Need More Black Men in the Classroom,” which also ran in NEA Today. And I felt empowered to create a workshop entitled “Racial Literacy Circles: Hip-Hop Edition,” which I’ve presented in several different states. I have organized around racial and social justice issues in education and union spaces. This organizing work led me, a previously apathetic union member, to be awarded the 2024 New Jersey Education Association Urban Educator Activist Award by my peers.
Today, I am a “dope” third grade teacher who is NEA’s 2024 writer in residence. But you would not have known my “dopeness,” if it hadn’t been for that MOC meeting.
The Origin Story
In 2019, similar struggles with invisibility led NJEA staff member Eric Jones to create MOC. The network’s goals are to elevate the advocacy, engagement, and ownership that all members have in their union and grow a stronger association reflecting our rich diversity of membership.
But what do words like “ownership,” “all members,” and “diversity” really mean? Jones, who is a former local president, explains that before MOC was created, the same few Black and brown members would show up to union meetings.
So Jones took decisive steps to form a member-driven “affinity group” that champions inclusivity. The group’s designation is important because committees can be limiting and controlled by gatekeepers, Jones says.
Then he drummed up support among White allies and visited members of color in their counties. Jones invited them to an event and listened to their frustrations and concerns as well as their dreams and plans. Together, MOC charted a new course, including ways that every member of color could be involved in their union.
Affinity groups like MOC stand on the shoulders of history, says Gabriel Tanglao, manager of the NEA Human and Civil Rights Department. “From the foundations of NEA, in 1857, on through each iteration … to the first elected People of Color leaders, affinity groups of today are either intentionally or unknowingly carrying on a justice-seeking tradition that mirrors preceding generations,” he says.
This is What Empowerment Looks Like
For Brittany Lamb, a high school guidance counselor and an NJEA MOC member, leader, and advocate, the affinity group has fostered more representation and connection within her union.
“This [group] actively reaches out to us, encouraging participation in events that were traditionally majority-white spaces,” she says. “It fosters a sense of belonging and strengthens connections among members of color across the state, making me feel more connected to my union.”
She adds: “MOC has empowered me in ways I never anticipated; it ignited my voice. I now feel confident running for leadership positions, participating in decision-making processes, and attending conferences I previously didn’t know existed. My involvement extends beyond the state level—I am in leadership positions at the county and local levels as well.”
Educators of Color Raise their Union Voices
In other states across the country, members of color share many of the same concerns, but progress doesn’t always happen overnight.
The Delaware State Education Association’s (DSEA) Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee (EMAC) was decades in the making. Its beginnings date back as far as 1958, following the merger of two associations that represented Black and White educators respectively. Still, it took until the 1990s for members of color to have a committee.
“EMAC [renamed in 2006] was developed so that educators of color could have a voice in the union,” says the committee’s former chairperson Gloria Ho.
The space has proven powerful for members of color to discuss challenges they face, she says. The group also tackles systemic problems that impact teaching and learning, such as the school-to-prison pipeline, racial traumatization, achievement gaps, health disparities, equitable policies and practices, and leadership training for educators of color.
An Arab American Educator and Organizer in the Heartland
In Indiana, change came more recently, when high school science teacher Wafi Safi grew tired of hitting roadblocks.
“When I asked to become more active [in the union], the person who was recruiting people at the time said straight to my face: ‘You don’t have enough experience and you are not ready,’” says Safi, who is Arab American and Muslim. “This person never bothered to ask me what my experiences were regarding public speaking and organizing. Little did the person know that I come from a marginalized community that requires people to have those skills.”
Safi’s tenacity led her to organize the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) Educators of Color Network in 2023.
The network has been growing in popularity, with two well-attended conferences, 330 Facebook followers, and a more diverse board than ISTA has had since the 1980s, Safi says. The network has also increased the number of educators of color in local, state, and national leadership roles and in attendance at state and national representative assemblies.
”We have been experiencing a lot of firsts,” Safi says. “The world gets opened up more to those members who normally don’t get a lot of attention.”
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How to Start a Members of Color Network in Your State
When associations develop, support, and prioritize educators of color networks, they can help members of color go from invisible to invigorated, apathetic to active, and powerless to powerful.
To establish an affinity group within your local or state association, begin with these steps:
• Speak with educators of color about starting an affinity group or committee. Do not be dissuaded by individuals who do not want educators of color to have fellowship, fun, and a space where their presence is not feared.
• Create a virtual community on Facebook or Instagram where everyone can meet regularly.
• Host in-person conferences to develop more meaningful connections with members.
• Provide training so that members of color can run for leadership positions.
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Sundjata Sekou (pronounced Sund-Jata Say-Coo) is a hip-hop loving, Black, male “dope” third grade teacher in Irvington, N.J., and NEA’s 2024 writer in residence. With support from his union sisters and brothers in the NJEA Members of Color affinity group, he received the 2024 New Jersey Education Association Urban Educator Activist Award. You can follow him on Instagram @blackmaleteacher and email him at [email protected].
