WHY JOIN AN ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
AS A WHITE EDUCATOR?

White accountability groups are an important part of anti-racist work in education for a number of reasons:

1. Many white educational professionals are looking for ways to further their learning about how to be an anti-racist educator and have heard that they should not burden Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Colour (BIPOC) with their learning. Yet, they often don’t have a network of people with whom they can have deeper and meaningful conversations about the intersections between whiteness and racism in Canada.  
    

2. A white accountability group offers a forum for white people to ask hard questions of each other without being embarrassed that they are being racist. It also challenges white participants to take on the task of holding each other to account -- to do the work of anti-racism themselves. This work can be accomplished productively within a white accountability group without the risk of further burdening or traumatizing BIPOC people through the experience of having to educate or listen to white people learn about racism and come to a greater understanding of the ways in which white people have benefited from and/or perpetuated systemic racism.
    

3. Educational institutions often focus on supporting students, BIPOC students in particular, as they experience racism (albeit not always and not always effectively). In addition to these gaps, not enough (extended) opportunities are provided for the dominant groups in education (white teachers and administrators, for example) to reflect upon and expand their learning about systemic racism and how it is perpetuated individually and institutionally. This can help those in positions of power understand their unique capacity as a member of a dominant group to interrupt and dismantle racism. Accountability group work allows for this type of in depth anti-racist reflection.
    

4. In this time of social awakening about the role of individual and systemic racism in our lives, students have questions and want to talk to their teachers and peers about these issues. In order to navigate those conversations in a positive, non-injurious way, white educational professionals (including faculty, administrators, and other staff members) must gain comfort having those necessary discussions. Too often, our BIPOC colleagues are tasked with this work when white educators and administrators are unwilling or unprepared to address questions of racial injustice and oppression with students. Participating in a white accountability group is one way to ensure that white employees in the education system can practice having these conversations so that they are prepared to do their part in ending systemic oppression.