TO THE EDITOR:
Although I am not a current UNC student or alumnus, I must commend Donovan Livingston on his recent speech at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education commencement ceremony. It was undoubtedly inspirational, as he managed to tackle the very real and pertinent racial plights within our educational system, while also challenging educators to unlock the potential within their own students. I was most intrigued by his blunt denotations of injustice. The blatant injustice that serves as the impetus to inequality within our schools does not seem to be labeled as an injustice to all. Donovan highlights the fact that we fail to acknowledge the very real inequalities, injustices, and systemic burdens that minority students are forced to carry along with their book bags. This failure to acknowledge means that “You are a star” is printed across classroom walls, while educators have already made up in their mind that the brown faces in their classrooms will amount to nothing. The changing of locks means telling inner city minority students “The only way to make it out of your situation is through education” and then failing to provide enough textbooks for the students to learn. Education is no equalizer and minority students have never been on equal playing fields.
Justin Elliott
Charlotte
