Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute (@EquityLiteracy) / X

Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute

3,724 posts

Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute

@EquityLiteracy

No-fluff equity and justice advocate. Writing coach. Doting Daddy. Author. Poet. New venture: Art of Reach coaching for writers artofreach.com

Joined April 2009

Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
May 31, 2020
As another wave of white folks decide *now* things have gone too far, *now* I need to get involved, I thought I'd share what @4noura and I learned when we studied how attitudes & behaviors of white activists can cause burnout in antiracist activists of color. (1/thread)
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Aug 23, 2020
No matter how many people tell me we need a new approach to racial justice based on kindness and love, I say, no, we need a new approach to kindness and love based on racial justice.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Feb 17, 2023
Often the trouble isn't a scarcity of "DEI" strategies and initiatives, but that most popular "DEI" strategies and initiatives pose no threat to racism or any other injustice. The trouble is the prevalence of high-optics, low-impact "DEI" stuff. Let's list some examples.
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Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Dec 1, 2019
Seeking a "middle ground" in racial politics is a sign of white entitlement. There's no middle ground. All the ground between racism and racial justice is racism. The middle ground is where we white people go to pretend anti-racist views while ensuring racism's survival.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Feb 22, 2020
Poverty is not: - a lack of effort. - a brain disease. - a mindset or culture. - a grit/resiliency shortage. - a need to learn responsibility. Unfortunately, in schools and nonprofits, this list captures with disturbing accuracy how poverty is often understood.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Jun 12, 2020
White friends: Kindness is not antiracism. In a whirlwind of systemic racism, kindness without antiracism is racism. This is me being kind: helping us recognize the insidiousness of our racism. This is the only kind of kind I have for us today.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Jun 5, 2020
White friends: Remember that racial justice is not (1) a hobby, (2) an event to attend before scurrying back to safety, (3) a performance, (4) a way to invite validation, (5) an opportunity to assuage white guilt, (6) about our comfort. There's no half-way or toe-dipping here.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Jun 2, 2020
White educators: "I love my students" is no substitute for racial justice, and if we don't educate about and act for racial justice--not just racial "diversity," but racial JUSTICE--we don't, in point of fact, love our students.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Jan 4, 2020
What makes an adult look at a child who is experiencing poverty (economic injustice), who is denied healthcare, equitable educational access, access to basic human rights in a society where we have the resources to eliminate poverty, and think, "What you need is grit"...?
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Aug 18, 2020
Supt: I'm hoping your team can help us meet our racial equity goals. Where do we start? Me: By mapping out all the ways racism operates in your district. Supt: Well, we're not ready for that conversation. Me: I know you don't realize it, but you've just started the mapping.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Jan 2, 2020
(1/ ) I'm often asked what I think is the biggest barrier to racial justice progress in schools. The most honest answer I can muster: white liberalism. I find the hardest place to get traction is a school w/ a lot of white liberal adults.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Sep 11, 2019
White man during workshop break, 30 sec. before start time: "When you talk about racism, I feel hated." Me: "Are you mistaking love of justice for hatred of you? There's a 'white narcissism' white ppl can have. I've struggled w/ it." Him: "That's hateful." Me: "It's love."
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Jun 1, 2020
White teachers: When we engage students in learning about racism, we must move, not at the pace of those most resistant to racial justice, but at the pace of the those most committed to and desperate for racial justice. Don't make this a conversation about celebrating diversity.
Paul Gorski | Equity Literacy Institute
@EquityLiteracy
Jul 2, 2020
Fellow white ppl are obsessed lately w/ telling me to see "how far we've come" on racism instead of "focusing on the negative." Y'all understand, our need for toxic positivity and to fixate on our own feelings as a way around antiracist vigilance is the same old white supremacy.