The SCEA Educators Harness Knowledge to Change the World

Interview Transcript

Jesse Hagopian: As I said, when I heard your story, I had to find out more, because I know so many educators are facing similar situations, and need solidarity and advice and to know they’re not alone. So, if you could just start by stating your name, your current role in education, and share a little bit about your background in anti-racist teaching.

Alana Ward: My name is Alana Ward. I am currently a UniServ director with The South Carolina Education Association. I’ve been in that role since . . . or a similar role since 2021. I started out as an NEA Organizing Fellow. I’m from Orangeburg, South Carolina, and the public schools in Orangeburg are majority African American. So, you know, when I meet educators, and even with my own biological children, I say things like, well, when was the first time you had a Black teacher? And sometimes it’s, like, late.

Hagopian: I know that’s right.

Ward: Yeah, in my teaching career, I was sometimes the kid’s first Black teacher, so . . . and this was high school. But for me, my first Black teacher I had in kindergarten. It grounded me in a way that, kind of gave me a perspective that’s . . . not common, and it gave me a background in seeing people of color in places where other people just didn’t have the opportunity to see that. It helped me to understand the breadth of possibility for people of color.

Hagopian: Yeah, thank you so much for sharing that. That’s very helpful, and it’s great to know that you are helping to organize the unions today, and bringing all of that background and perspective into our collective associations that are so badly needed in the struggles for education today. And I wanted to ask you about what you think the impacts of these anti-history laws that are being passed, what I call truth crime laws that criminalize honest education about Black history, about American history, about identity. What do you think the impact is on education?

Ward: It harkens back to the times when people of color were forbidden to read and write. Obviously, it’s not to that same extreme, but it is to hide a part of who we are that would give us strength. And so, it’s absolutely despicable. It is absolutely insidious. Because the intent, even though, you know, it’s masked as something that is benign and to spare the feelings of others. The real intent is to keep power from a group of people who, if they knew their true greatness, might be able to harness that knowledge and change the world for the better.

Hagopian: Yes.

Ward: And so my belief is that even when it was criminal to read and write, we found a way. And so this is no different. We have to even more doggedly push the agenda of teaching truth. We have to even more doggedly say this is what actually happened, and we have to tell the people who will be empowered most by knowing that.

Hagopian: Yes. Oh, exactly. I’m with you, and I’m with you in the struggle, and I think you’ve been impacted by this climate that’s been created by these laws. What was that like?

Ward: I taught a course called African American Literature, and it was not a course that I designed, it wasn’t a course that I came up with, but when I found out that it existed in the course catalog for my district, I was very excited about it. And it was a fight to just get the course on the books and get kids in.

Hagopian: I bet.

Ward: The first couple of years, they were like, “No, not enough people signed up.” And so then I started actually hand-picking my students and saying, “Do you want to do this class? Well, let’s go to the guidance counselor. Let’s sign you up right now.” And I kept a log of who had registered for the course.

Hagopian: I love it.

Ward: So, you know, this is after two years of saying, “No, it didn’t make, we didn’t have enough kids.” Yes, I did. So I kept the log and, you know, registered the kids and the class made. And we did this for maybe about three or four years. And we were going strong. And then the whole movement around critical race theory kind of started circulating.

Hagopian: Those attacks on critical race theory started.

Ward: Correct, correct. And so, those attacks started swirling, and, you know, we were being asked questions like, are we teaching critical race theory? Well, absolutely not. That’s a college course. We have nothing to do with that. What we’re teaching is literature, and it has an African American focus. You know, we’re reading books, and we’re doing it throughout history, so we’re, you know, starting chronologically from pre-slavery and going up until, modern times. And so, the same thing started happening. “Oh, your class is not looking like is not gonna make.” Well, you know, I’m doing the same thing. I’m taking those kids down there.

Hagopian: Because you’re an organizer, you know how to get it done.

Ward: Yeah, exactly. I’m making sure that my books are full. I’m signing up 32 kids for a class that really should only have about 25, 26 kids. And, so then I was told in April, well, your class didn’t make. Later, a guidance counselor said, Hey, did you ever think about the fact that we don’t finish the master schedule until June? How could they tell you that your class didn’t make in April?

Hagopian: Oh, wow.

Ward: And, you know, it took me a minute to really have that sink in, that this was not . . . . It wasn’t innocent. Very, very sneakily, very, very quietly, they were making these things disappear, and this was, you know, just a part of that pattern.

Hagopian: No, that’s really outrageous. And what strikes me is that these hypocrites that talk about cancel culture and then they’re the ones canceling classes about Black history and limiting perspectives in education. It’s really an outrage, and I’m sorry that that happened to you and to all the hundreds of students that would have benefited from that class. It’s really sad. But I was hoping you could tell us what led you to form a Teaching for Black Lives study group this year, and how do you think it will impact your work in a positive way?

Ward: This has been an opportunity for me to see the other side and to empower those who are in the classrooms to do things that I, as one person, could do, but as one person, you know, being an advocate, being a support, I can help to magnify the voices of many from my position. And so, when I saw the opportunity to do the Teaching for Black Lives study group, it was really an answer to, a prayer or a, you know, a desire of mine to do this again, to make sure that those lessons that I was able to teach as a singular educator in a singular classroom were able to be replicated in a place where it’s so sorely needed. And so, I literally jumped at the chance. I work with our HCR committee, our Human and Civil Rights Committee, in The SCEA, and they had said, “We really want to do more.” And so I put it out to the committee, and we had six people sign up. And so I was like, wow, that’s really great. And then, the HCR chair said, “Well, let’s put it out to the entire population.” And so we put it out to the entire population of our membership at the SCEA, and 38 people signed up!

Hagopian: Yes!

Ward: And I keep getting requests from other people saying, “Oh, I want to sign up!” “Oh, that sounds so great!” And so obviously, with the response that we were able to get, there is a need there. And so, you know, I’m just one person, and I saw that there was a need, but it was magnified, it was widely and deeply felt among other members of our SCEA membership. So I was just glad to be able to facilitate.

Hagopian: Well, I’m so glad you stepped forward to take on this responsibility and are continuing your role as an educator and an organizer, and it’s going to be felt by so many dozens more people because of that effort, so thank you for doing this. I look forward to working with your group throughout the year. I don’t know if there’s anything else you want to say before we wrap up.

Ward: No, I’m just super excited. I’ve already started reading the book a little bit. I’ve gone through a couple of the pre-activities and we actually have our first meeting tonight.

Hagopian: Alright, good luck!

Ward: So we’re so excited. We just sent out their books, and the participants are emailing back and forth, and we’re gonna put together a little GroupMe so we can stay in communication with one another, but it’s really exciting. Especially with South Carolina being at the top of the book banned list. I don’t know if you know, but South Carolina is the state with the highest number of books banned, and it’s because of the system that we have at play here, and so it’s good to even, just a little bit, be a part of the pushback among educators and citizens of South Carolina. So we just want to keep doing that, and keep magnifying our voices, and keep saying no to things that are unfair.

Hagopian: Wow, wow. That’s powerful, and I’ll just end by saying that it really strikes me that South Carolina was the first state, the first colony to pass an anti-literacy law back in 1740, and now it’s the state with the most banned books, and so it’s clear that there is a long history of oppression, that we are part of a long Black freedom struggle to challenge.

Ward: That’s right.

Hagopian: Look forward to linking arms with you in that struggle. Good luck with all your work.

Ward: That’s right.