A Double Feature Confronts Racism in California Schools

When Tyson Amir wrote his 2016 book Black Boy Poems, he did so with the intention of assisting African American kids in their pursuit of education.

It’s the same reason he started leading classroom workshops in the South Bay, discussing current events and history alike. And on the heels of the pandemic, as students returned to the classroom, teachers and administrators in several school districts noticed an increase in racist behavior, specifically directed at African American students.

Now, Amir is the subject of a short film about his work, Black Impact: The Leaders We Build, which screens Friday, May 16 at the New Parkway in Oakland as a part of The Revolutionary Visions Film Festival.

Directed by AM1, the film centers on a 2023 anti-racist resolution at Bernal Intermediate School in San Jose. After it was implemented, it spread across San Jose’s Oak Grove School District and around the Bay Area.

Amir believes this work is a model response to an nationwide issue. Last year the Department of Justice reported that, from 2018–2022, Black students were the most likely to be victims of hate crimes in schools.

The year before, a UCLA survey of 150 California principals showed that two-thirds reported instances of racist statements being directed at Black students — more than any other racial demographic by far, despite making up just five percent of all California public school students.

Recently, the ACLU looked at the state’s education system to see what, if any, fundamental changes have occurred in the 70 years since the landmark Civil Rights case Brown v. Board of Education. “California is the third most segregated state for Black students,” read one finding. “Enrollment for Black students in CA decreased by 47% from 2003 to 2023,” read another.

“And that’s the stuff that’s being reported,” says Amir via phone. “We know a whole bunch of stuff doesn’t get reported.”

Amir has witnessed students calling their Black classmates monkeys, the N-word and chicken munchers; one invoked picking cotton in demanding another pick up a ball of wadded notebook paper. “And this is in the elementary and middle schools,” Amir explains.

In response, he worked with teachers and administrators to create and implement a contract for students. It outlined how to treat people of all races and ethnicities, and established a set of guidelines for educators handling racist remarks and actions.

Partway through the 19-minute film, Amir speaks a plain truth about his efforts. “Just because you put something on paper doesn’t mean it’s going to solve the problems that it’s addressing,” he says.

What follows is faculty and students admitting that the contract is a starting point. One that’s brought about some change, but that also requires further work and education.

Nonetheless, in subsequent years the contract’s framework has spread around the Bay Area.

“Hayward Unified School District passed a no N-word policy based on the Oak Grove School District anti-hate speech policy,” says Amir, who adds that Castro Valley Unified School District and New Haven Unified School District in Union City have passed similar resolutions.

The next step is supporting students outside of school, Amir says. That’s where his nonprofit, Living Manuals, comes in.

After noticing students’ progress receding during the summer months, he began organizing trips for students to visit a Wellness Retreat Center just outside the United States in Baja California, complete with meals, history lessons and self-defense classes. It’s an extension, Amir says, of what his colleague in education, Professor Jason Seals, calls “a community of care.” (Professor Seals will also screen a film at The New Parkway on May 16 titled Through Their Eyes: Stories of Anti-Blackness.)

While working with the young people can bring incremental change, Amir believes real solutions will have to come from adults. “Teachers are mandated reporters,” Amir says, citing the California Education Code. Racism that students encounter is technically abuse, and Amir says in certain instances, teachers have witnessed it and said nothing.

“You’re trained to step in when you’re seeing a child being harmed,” Amir attests. “Don’t allow these children to be harmed,” Amir continues, “that’s your job as an educator, as an adult.”

All of this work is in effort to give students three key tools that create a healthy educational experience.

One where “you can think, you can learn,” Amir says, “and you can build better relationships.”

‘Black Impact: The Leaders We Build’ screens Friday, May 16 at the New Parkway in Oakland. Details here.