Explore how the social construct of race and racial oppression operates at multiple levels with a rotating focus on different social systems. Connect with Austin-area justice movement organizers and everyday people with relevant lived experience to lay out historical context, current affairs, and creative possibilities for a liberated future.
Good afternoon from blistering Austin, Texas on this little piece of Turtle Island, which I know that wherever you're listening, if you're online or listening here, you're, you may be experiencing the sweltering heat too. This is Stacey Fraser. You're listening to Racism on the Levels, a monthly show where my, guests and I explore the man made construct of race and how it operates at the internal, interpersonal, cultural, institutional and systemic levels with a focus on creative possibilities for a liberated future for us all. I hold space for conversation with Austin area leaders to lay out for our listeners the historical context, the current conditions and creative visioning on how we can get free from oppression. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the co op board of directors, staff, volunteers or underwriters.
Stacie Freasier:This show manifests through the airwaves on the sacred ancestral lands of the Tonkawa, Comanche, Lipan Apache, sauna and humanos, peoples who have faced inconceivable losses and attempted erasure due to violent settler colonialism. This show centers justice and that requires connecting with ancestors and grounding ourselves in historical truth and accuracy. You can find the original stewards of the land you're on by visiting native hyphen land dotca and join me in reclamation efforts. So without further ado, I want my guest, Amber Watts, to introduce herself to y'all, if you don't know her already. Welcome to the show, Amber.
Amber Watts:Thank you, Stacey. Hi, everyone. My name is Amber Watts. I am a, I am a queer black woman living in Austin, Texas. I am not a native.
Amber Watts:I've been I am actually a North Carolinian. I've probably been in Austin for about 8 or 9 years now, and loving it. I was only supposed to be short term, and now I'm stuck. Well,
Stacie Freasier:while I believe in freedom, I hope you stay stuck for a minute because I'm also stuck by intention and design to be here and to to to make waves here in Austin. We got a lot of, work to be done here. Mhmm. So I I really appreciate you and shout out to North Carolina. A lot of the movement building community and teachers that I have are are coming out of there and are still there.
Stacie Freasier:So, yeah. So you have a you come from AAA treasure trove of strong justice centered people.
Amber Watts:Yes.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. Yes. So, you already answered your your Austin origin story a little bit saying you've been here for for a minute, but are your tell me just a little bit about your your your ancestors, your parents. Where are they from? Share a little.
Amber Watts:Well, before I literally picked Austin and Matt and moved here, I, I was in Austin for 30 some odd I mean, sorry, North Carolina for 30 some odd years. I my parents are Tequila Watts and Adolf Watts. They, my father was a was in the army. He was a fireman. He even drove buses.
Amber Watts:He's an amazing guy. And my mom has always, worked different jobs, and she's a beautiful woman, like, very rooted in the community, very community oriented. She's the the person that, like, will check-in on you. And maybe you haven't even talked to her in forever, but she just, like you come to her mind, and she's like, how are you doing? And pulls you back into the fold, and she's that kind of a loving person.
Amber Watts:So those are my people. And, I come from a huge family. My mom is 1 of 5. My dad was 1 of 8. And so I have a ton of cousins and a ton well and, you know, I consider them brothers and sisters.
Amber Watts:We all grew up together. And then I have myself, 2 younger sisters, a niece and a nephew. And then, but then with my Austin origin story, a little bit about that, is I, I actually, like I said, was kind of tired of of living in North Carolina and picked like, I was like, I it's time to go. Picked Austin on a map, literally pointed to it, and then my girlfriend and I at the time researched jobs, researched housing, got rid of everything but what could fit in our car, and drove here, and then that's and I and we started from there. And so that's how I got here.
Stacie Freasier:So then once you arrived, how how much did what you envisioned match the reality of your experience here?
Amber Watts:Oh, so that's really interesting. So when I got here, I loved it. And then I soon realized that as progressive as it seemed, it was very backwards. And so that was really confusing for me. And then the other thing that was really jarring and shocking was I came from a city that's about 30% has about a 30% plus black population to a city that has less than 7%.
Amber Watts:And so that was like, it took my breath away. Like, I was just like, woah. Like, I'm not very represented in this city. Like, what's happening? What's going on?
Amber Watts:And so then I just started to get rooted in, like, what's happening? Why is that a thing here? So that was, like, my first experience here. It was kinda like kinda like a dip in ice cold water.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. Seriously. Yeah. And not the refreshing type.
Amber Watts:No. A little more shocking than refreshing.
Stacie Freasier:Oh, so to ground us in hyperlocal geography as many of our listeners are based here in the city, where did you first start neighborhood wise? Where are you now? Where do you spend your time?
Amber Watts:Yeah. So I started, like, Runburg area instead but I was working way south. So I was working Westgate but living Runburg. Had no clue, like, you know, when I first moved here that that was gonna be absolutely ridiculous driving down 35. Someone told me, like, the key to happiness in Austin is to stay off 35.
Amber Watts:When I first moved here and I was like, I can't. I can't. It's not possible. It's totally not possible for me to do that living in Runburg and working Westgate. And then I moved more, like, east, like, central.
Amber Watts:And I lived in the, like, Riverside area for a long time, which was really nice. And then now I live like Westgate area, so I kinda just made my way back to where I originally started working. And so, yeah, that's been my journey around Austin and hopefully we stay. I really like where we are. Hopefully we stay in that area.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. I'm also spread out, which I think as a as a community organizer, movement builder, you may appreciate and agree that, it's good to really know the ins and outs of all parts of the city because there are such stark divides in everything from as you know, and we're we're talking about education justice today, folks. So, you know, I I was shocked when we moved to the east side in 2021, Springdale Airport area, how few medical services were available. Mhmm. I left Texas for 20 years and came back and, and the disparity is shocking.
Stacie Freasier:So and that's been that way for a long time, y'all. The master plan and then and we talk about that a lot on the show is, you know, the focus is is racism of the show. But, let's let's go a little bit into the ginormous topic of educational justice. And I was thinking about how to go deep versus wide on a few topics versus us trying to address the myriad of angles in which, the educational system in this country is systematically racist, but also how the content of what happens within the walls in the curriculum is under attack as everybody sees everywhere on the news. So, I also wanted to make sure that we talk a little bit today if you, are down with that about the school to prison pipeline.
Stacie Freasier:Mhmm. And, and honestly, you're the expert. So I wanna I want you to take this conversation where you think it needs to go today. Okay? So of that menu of topics, where do you wanna start?
Stacie Freasier:Well, how about you start with your orientation to your involvement in the education justice movement?
Amber Watts:Yes. I love that. Okay. So, here in Austin, my the way that I got started was I actually Austin Justice Coalition, when I came on, they wanted to have a program for youth on the weekends, and it was the original thought was it was to, to help with, like, food scarcity on the weekends. And then it was just like, why are we not also, like, teaching the youth in, like, political education and really radicalizing the youth.
Amber Watts:Right? And, and in the in the best way possible. And, and then so this Saturday program was born out of that, and I was meeting with about, I would say, 10 7 to 10 children every Saturday, black and brown children. We had probably about 4 to 5, black and brown mentors every Saturday. And the focus just really became community, like, just building community.
Amber Watts:Our tagline became just community, like a play on justice. And, and it was the best time. But what came out of some of those conversations, those beautiful conversations about our hair, about how we're relating to our friends, about teachers and our relationships with teachers and educators, where some of their struggles in schools? And so when we started talking about that, we realized that there was work to be done. I mean, we knew that, but, like, it was real.
Amber Watts:It was, like, right there, these beloved children in our faces every Saturday telling us we're struggling. We're faced with these problems every day, we're not believed in schools, things like that. And so, we started to do the work mostly when they started the the I don't remember if you remember the school closure, that came up. And I can't remember what year that was because I'm having drawing a little bit of a blank, but it was December maybe 2018. I'm I'm making that up a little bit.
Stacie Freasier:I was I was giving birth to Rumi in DC at that time. Okay. Okay. My son, Rumi. Okay.
Amber Watts:So I love that name. And so around that time, I might have the the year wrong, but it was around December that year, they were closing some schools. And a lot of the schools that they were closing were black and brown schools. And, you know, there were white schools, majority of white schools, that were around just as long as the black and brown schools. And some of the excuses were like wear and tear on the building.
Amber Watts:But systemically, we hadn't been taking care of the black and brown schools the way we were taking care of the white schools. And so, it was all just kind of really messed up. Not kind of, definitely messed up. Yeah. And so, so our work really kicked off with that.
Amber Watts:And from there, we just started, like, responding to the community and the community's needs around education and what they brought to us and what we saw and what we experienced. I was working part time. Like, I was volunteering with AJC at that point, and so I was also working in the school system full time doing restorative practices. In a Austin? In AISD.
Amber Watts:Yeah. And 2 schools in AISD. 2 elementary schools. And so there were things that I was witnessing as well that were coming you know, that we were able to bring to the work. But yeah.
Amber Watts:Sorry. I saw it started. I was about to tell you the whole the whole journey.
Stacie Freasier:We have time, and it's all, you know, important. Right? So how but, I'll take this opportunity to ask, how did you get looped into AJC upon arrival? How did that what's that origin story?
Amber Watts:Yeah. Well, I mean, the person the the my girlfriend at the time was actually a cofounder of Austin Justice Coalition. And at first, I wasn't very involved. I was just supporting her and, like, getting to the meetings. And then I just started, like, hanging around and, like, really was like, Oh, this is amazing.
Amber Watts:And there's just something about Austin Justice Coalition that just hooks you. And the people, the work, the passion, it's there. And, you know, you can't help but wanna stay apart and be apart and and do your, do your your part of it. And so I just haven't gone anywhere. So they can't get rid of me if they try.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. Yeah. It's a hot ticket in town. I'll tell you. Like, I'm I was this is a shower moment this morning.
Stacie Freasier:I was like, well, it it's only a matter of time between before this becomes the Austin Justice Coalition Radio Hour because most of my guests are involved in, if not informal, formal capacities there. So Right. Lot lot of lot of justice centering justice happening in the city with AJC specifically as the name suggests. So okay. So you your your girlfriend at the time cofounded AJC, and then you were hanging out, and then you started working at AISD.
Stacie Freasier:Tell me a little bit about that role because I didn't know that role existed, and it sounds rad. Like, every school needs this
Amber Watts:role. Well, it was a grant. Unfortunately, there is some sticky history around the grant as always. But it was a grant that was written based on the amazing work of a local organization, and but but wasn't given to them, which that's the sticky part. But some people were hired to do this amazing work of bringing restorative practices to schools.
Amber Watts:I think there were 7 people in 10 schools, if I've got these numbers correct. And, the elementary people, there were 3 of us. Each of us had 2 schools apiece. And some of the schools opted in and some of the schools were opted in based on some of their numbers. And so that was just it was a research grant, so just kinda see how this work how it works within the city, does it work, things like that.
Amber Watts:And so we helped support the schools in implementing restorative practices on their campuses. And it was tough work. Some people, it was like it was like selling we I say this all the time. It was like selling religion. It was just like, you know, it was just like this thing where I'm like, Hey, there's this really great thing called restorative practices.
Amber Watts:I promise you it's great. And then, you know, and teachers are overworked and underpaid. Mhmm. So on top of the beautiful, amazing work they're doing, we're like, can you do 1 more thing, please? Which is
Stacie Freasier:a lot.
Amber Watts:It's a lot to ask. And I was just like, but it's so amazing.
Stacie Freasier:So what were some of the activities or practices that you Yeah.
Amber Watts:So it's like a it's a tiered approach, and the biggest thing is building community. Like, you have to have a base. You can't restore something that you haven't built. Right? And so the you build community.
Amber Watts:So step 1 is, like, just really, like, getting to know each other, learning how to navigate conflict together, focusing on non punitive ways of navigating behavior and conflict, especially developmentally appropriate behavior, because that's majority, if not all, of what happens in schools. And instead of, like, things like, suspension and, they don't call it, in school suspension in certain cases, but they literally will have students in offices in, you know, sitting in the hallway.
Stacie Freasier:Being detained in spaces.
Amber Watts:Exactly. Their
Stacie Freasier:bodies are being detained.
Amber Watts:Thank you. Without but without, like, without, putting it down and making sure that it's being marked and it's like people know that it's happening, but also without naming what it is. Like you're saying being detained. Right?
Stacie Freasier:Mhmm.
Amber Watts:And usually for just being a kid. And so Right. Right. Like, it's like literally, I remember 1 wonderful child I met. They got mad because a little boy crumpled up their homework and threw it away, and they reacted.
Amber Watts:And she was the 1 in trouble. She was a little black girl. She was in trouble. I have no idea what the little boy looked like or, but it's just, you know, like, of course, she got upset. He crumpled up her homework and
Stacie Freasier:threw it away, you know.
Amber Watts:Right. Age appropriate. With that.
Stacie Freasier:Right. How do we handle that? So you you brought up the the the race based disparity in treatment. Right? And so were these schools, in this, research grant, were they, intentionally selected to be all white, integrated, concentrated in black, brown communities.
Stacie Freasier:Like, what was the design from your vantage point around that? Was there intention there?
Amber Watts:You know, I can't speak to that. I would say knowing the people that were part of making the grant happen, I would say yes, it was probably very intentional, like amazing people doing that work. And the schools that I were in, the 2 that I witnessed, 1 was, the majority black and brown low socioeconomic school. And the other was used to be, was a historically black and brown low socioeconomic school that was being gentrified. And so it was very white, very, mid to high socioeconomic, population.
Amber Watts:And so it was really interesting too, the the differences, the stark differences that I would be able to experience day to day in being in those 2 different schools.
Stacie Freasier:Is there a story that comes to mind that you feel like sharing to put some
Amber Watts:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My first 1 of my first days at the at the school that was, majority black and brown and low socioeconomic, The students walked through the hallways and they did this thing where, and most people, you don't think about it, right? They catch a bubble.
Amber Watts:I don't know if you've heard that, but they, like, catch a bubble, put it in their mouth, they close their mouth, they're quiet. Then they put their hands behind their back and they do duck tails. Well, if you, know what that looks like, it looks like they're being handcuffed, being taught to walk around the so I see these little brown children walking around the school with their hands behind their back, looking like they're handcuffed, and I was already like, woah. What's happening? But it was such a cute little explanation for it.
Amber Watts:Right? Like, this not really you know, I'm being sarcastic, obviously.
Stacie Freasier:But, like, this this little explanation
Amber Watts:is why we have them doing this. And then not even months later, I witnessed this white male teacher dragging this young black male, kindergarten age maybe, 1st grade possibly, he wasn't really a big kid, Down literally dragging him down the hallway, and he stopped in his tracks when he when he saw me and I had a couple guests with me. And thank goodness the counselor was me, and the counselor called the child to her to safety. But, like, what made him think that it was okay to drag a child through the hallways? And the other school I was in, I would never see anything like that ever.
Amber Watts:Like, they would not put their hands on those kids at all, but they were all mostly white children. And so it was just really frustrating to know that that little boy, just because of his color of his skin, that it was okay to drag him.
Stacie Freasier:And you mentioned and that this is to unpack for the listeners some of the work on how racism is so tricky. Right? You mentioned that this was a person of color. Right. The teacher was a person of color dragging
Amber Watts:the child? It was a white male. Okay. Teacher. Yeah.
Stacie Freasier:Dragging Okay. Yeah. The the the learning moment there that I was gonna explain if it were is that, hey. You know, racism and racial oppression can be internalized. Right?
Stacie Freasier:And so, that is a what I hear is a common rationale or explanation. Like, oh, it's not racist because Mhmm. Right? But but there is such a thing as as and that's the internal level of racism operating. And it operates in black bodies, brown bodies, white bodies, and we all have it.
Stacie Freasier:Right? Because we're we're all swimming in this together.
Amber Watts:Exactly. And the
Stacie Freasier:swimming is what you like, when you're talking about
Amber Watts:that, I get that a lot where people are like, well, you know, it's a black and brown person, but reality is, like, someone I know says we're all dip, fried and rolled in it. Like, we are, like, raised with the racism. Like, it it is in us. And it's not tasty. Exactly.
Amber Watts:Exactly. And we have to do the work to get it out of us regardless of who we are.
Stacie Freasier:That's cool. Alright. We're gonna pause for a quick break and we'll be right back. Welcome back, y'all. This is Stacey Fraser.
Stacie Freasier:You're listening to Racism on the Levels. I am hanging out with Amber Watts, and we are talking education justice today. So, Amber, right before the break, you were, describing the the the pie I assume it was a pilot program or a research grant to, put into place restorative practices in AISD. Is that right? Yes.
Stacie Freasier:And so, how did that wind down, and is there any form of it still happening?
Amber Watts:It's a good question. So it was a grant. It was for 5 years, I believe. The 5 years ended about a year ago or so. Time frame's a little fuzzy.
Amber Watts:But we do have in our schools in AISD. Currently, I believe there might be 1 or 2 people in I forgot the department in AIC that are still doing restorative practices in schools, which is really beautiful. And, hopefully, at least 1 of those 10 schools has continued some of that work, with restorative practices. And, actually, my kiddos go to 1 of the schools, and some some teachers have continued that work. So it's it's nice to know that it it's live it lives on.
Stacie Freasier:So, can you give us just, like, 1 or 2 practices that you would Yeah. Couldn't.
Amber Watts:So circling is definitely 1 of the practices. We would do a lot of morning circles, which are or check-in circles which are pretty short, beautiful circles where you're just kinda finding out how you're feeling. So maybe having, like, a feelings wheel or some emojis, having the kiddos tell us how they feel and if they feel really good enough to, tell us why you feel the way you feel. And then you kind of know going forward through the day where everybody is. If I'm really sad, if I'm really hungry, if I'm really happy, then we know how to navigate each other and maybe can offer shared resources.
Amber Watts:Like, would you like, you know, my apple? Would you like to play? Things like that. Just to kinda feel better as a group and to move through the day in a better way. And it also opens up the opportunity for, like, conversation later where it's like, hey.
Amber Watts:I didn't wanna talk about this earlier, but I'd love to check-in and tell you that I'm feeling really sad because my puppy is sick. Whatever's happening, you know? Like, whatever's happening for them that's really big, just really talking about it, or really big things. Because sometimes they're going through things bigger than I've ever in my life, and being and feeling good enough to tell you about it. Mhmm.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. Any final things on that for now, or do you do you think it should be Yeah. Integrated in a different way in the future? Like, can we revive it? Is there any any any way to put breath back into
Amber Watts:that? I definitely think it should be something that is in all schools, all classrooms. It definitely should be culturally proficient, which is something that came from doctor Angela Ward in the school system, that culturally proficient restorative practices is a term that she, came up with, and it is needed and necessary. I think that, like, even if it's the small practice of just check-in, we call them check-in, check out, check out circles. 3 a week.
Amber Watts:Beginning of the week, we're checking in. Middle of the week, we're checking up. How are you doing? End of the week, we're checking out, and then we do it again. Right?
Amber Watts:Like, just 3 easy practices that you could spend 10 to 15 minutes, 10 to 20 minutes max in your classroom doing very quickly, very easily, even without having some sort of formal training on it. I definitely think though that, like, it's needed and necessary because the punitive measures are just not helpful. Statistically, we know they don't work, and we continue to use them as if they do. So trying something new would be amazing.
Stacie Freasier:Yes. Right. Let's talk about HP 3 for a little bit. Yeah. So share share with listeners who have no awareness of it, what it is Yeah.
Stacie Freasier:What you're focused on, what do you want to happen?
Amber Watts:So earlier, you mentioned the school to prison pipeline, and this is like a big way of getting there. So, h p 3 is a bill that was, passed back in May, and it puts 1 armed officer in every school in Texas. Right now, for AISD, specifically, we have, not in all schools, but we're supposed to have, 2 officers in every high school, 1 in every middle school. We will now have 1 in every elementary as well. So it's every school.
Amber Watts:No 1 is is exempt from this. And it has to be completed by September. We are pushing that all school districts we don't want it at all, just to be, like, very clear. We know the statistics. We know that it doesn't work.
Amber Watts:We know that, like, school shootings are actually 2 and a half times more likely to happen if an SRO is in schools. We know there's a 1% chance oh, sorry. School resource officer. We also know there's a 1% chance. There's been a 1% success rate of school resource officers stopping school shootings.
Amber Watts:So we know that doesn't work. That doesn't create safety, but that's what we're doing. We're asking, since that's what we are legally having to do in schools, that no school district exceed the minimum, which is 1 armed officer per school. That's our, like, basic minimum ask right now. Just don't go past that that part.
Amber Watts:And then from there, we're asking if you have additional funds from that, then you invest in evidence based ways of creating safety in schools like mental health supports. So that's been our, like, most basic reform ask at this point.
Stacie Freasier:Now, is it is my assumption correct that this applies to public schools only?
Amber Watts:You know what? I'm unsure about that. I've heard different things, and I am not the expert on that. So I'm gonna say I'm unsure, but I will find out.
Stacie Freasier:Because well, that's my hunch. We'll find out. Right. But, this goes to the pub the privatization of schools. And how does that disproportionately affect black and brown children?
Amber Watts:Right. Well, I mean, we know that, of course, that there isn't financial equity and, within our, I was gonna say state, but within our nation. And, and so being able to afford a private school is not always something that black and brown, parents and guardians can do. And so we know there's a lower number of black and rural students in private So we know that you can have safety without police in schools. It happens all the time.
Amber Watts:But the black and brown schools, they have police in them, to create safety. So, but, you know, back to the prioritization. It's, you know, there's just a lower number because of, like, all of the historical issues with, the blocking of finances when it comes to black and brown people. And so
Stacie Freasier:Right. On a societal economic justice level. Yes.
Amber Watts:Exactly. And so, you know, it would be interesting. I would be interested to learn if it is private schools. I doubt it. But I can't speak to it a 100%, so I don't wanna say it definitely.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. Okay. So how if if people are interested in that, what's the timeline on that? What is, you said September? September.
Amber Watts:I can't remember the exact date, but by September, they have to have completed this. AIC is currently trying to add, I believe, somewhere at, like like, 80, officers, which exceeds the number with the current number of, excuse me, police that they have, it exceeds the number of schools. And so that's another reason why we're pushing for it to just be the minimum amount. Because on top of that, the money that they're putting out into this is it has to be insane. Like, I, we didn't we, at 1 point, looked up how much mental health support worker in every school, if we were to use some of that towards that, and and have evidence based true safety created.
Stacie Freasier:So I just looked up on LegiScan, the bill text, and it is in to ensure public school safety.
Amber Watts:Mhmm.
Stacie Freasier:So this furthers the gap, and this also furthers the disparity. Right? The unfair and unequal treatment. Right? Exactly.
Stacie Freasier:We know that the policing of black and brown bodies starts really early, and this is evidence. Yeah. So, I had actually and it's gonna air in a couple of weeks. I prerecorded a show focusing on Tomorrow's Promise Foundation.
Amber Watts:Mhmm.
Stacie Freasier:And I know that you and and Bruce work in collaboration with each other. What are some of your the ways that collaborates, and what are y'all tackling?
Amber Watts:Yeah. I mean, Bill is actually he works with, Robert.
Stacie Freasier:Sorry. No.
Amber Watts:That's okay. I'm sorry, Bill. He is a advocate with Austin Justice Coalition and also an amazing, founder of Tomorrow's Promise Foundation. And he works a lot with youth, and we together have done things like, we did the Black History Bowl, which was a event that we put on pretty much to build community with young youth during February. And they got to display their vast knowledge of black history.
Amber Watts:And it was so cool. And they got to win, some scholarships and a trip. And then recently, actually last weekend, we got to come back together and then we had like a pizza and bowling party, just kinda play on the bowl and, just had a lot of fun together and congratulated them for completing a wonderful summer and going into a wonderful school year, and just really kind of, just keep up those relationships and continue to connect, our black and brown families within the community. So, so I love, collaborating with Bill and things like that. And, of course, we did, like, a lot of legislative work together and but my favorite things are the things that we do in the community with the youth.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. Always. Right? Yeah. So for those who have not educated themselves yet on what we mean by school to prison pipeline, can you, in your words, describe what that is?
Stacie Freasier:Yeah.
Amber Watts:I mean, it's every action that is done within schools that leads our children, especially our traditionally marginalized children, such as our black, brown, LGBTQ, and students with disabilities to contact with the, criminal justice system. And so that can look like referrals, that looks like suspensions, that looks like expulsions, that looks like, even just conversations with the police. Things like that. We know that if they come in contact with police, they're more likely to end up, coming in contact later with the criminal justice system. And so it's everything that we do to lead them there, and we do a lot in our school system.
Amber Watts:Yeah.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. I was watching, I think it was maybe Democracy Now last night, an old episode of it, but I don't think this happened too long ago. It was some, I think we were pre k students. There they were zip their wrists were zip tied in the school. Right.
Stacie Freasier:This is real. Yeah. And what are some of the advocacy actions, the organizing around addressing this? What are some some some ways that people are get are acting on this and how people can get involved in that?
Amber Watts:A lot of ways in which people are acting on this is, like, giving their testimony to or their public comment at, like, school board meetings. What are your experiences with police in schools? What is actually happening? Because not a lot of the school systems have the data out, of, like, the different different ways in which our children are coming in contact, with police in schools. So talking about this, being very open about it, other things that people can do or are doing, are, I'm trying to think.
Amber Watts:There are all kinds of advocacy organizations throughout Austin that are working on it that will support you in schools when you have issues that will come and, like, help teach you. Because a lot of parents don't even know that it's happening. And then once they're in it, they don't know what to do. Exactly. So there are a lot of organizations you can connect with that will that will either connect you with the right people to talk to or will, like, show up at schools like tomorrow's foundation and help advocate for you and your child in these situations.
Amber Watts:Another 1 is, breaking the pipeline. That's also a good organization to contact if you have issues.
Stacie Freasier:Is that a is breaking the pipeline local or is it
Amber Watts:It's a local Austin organization, and I think founded by doctor Courtney Robinson. Cool.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. So let's turn now for a minute. I don't wanna spend too much time, on this because it it's important, but all of it's important and all of it's important. The curriculum design changes, we hear Florida a lot. What's going on?
Stacie Freasier:Like, what are you focused on? What are you thinking about here locally in Texas and in Austin specifically?
Amber Watts:Yeah. I mean, we definitely hear Florida a lot. I feel like Florida though is kind of like our, it's like our warning sign.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. The bellwether, the canary. Exactly.
Amber Watts:It's like, oh, this is happening, and you can almost bet that we're gonna see it then in our school system. I would say, honestly, what we're doing a lot of and what we're really focused on at this point is bringing together the community, the teachers, the educators, the students to talk about, like, what they need, what they're experiencing. You know, what do they need in terms of representation that they're not getting? What are they needing in terms of safety that they're not getting? Like, what does it look like for them?
Amber Watts:And so that's the work that we're really engaged in now is is really focusing on those most affected, and then moving from there versus us being, like, well, this is what we see and this is what we think needs to happen. Right? Because, like, I do have 2 young kids in school, but they are 2 young white boys because I'm a part of a multiracial family. And so their struggles are not the struggles of our of our young black and brown students. And so I can't speak to what those struggles are, you know, unless I'm listening to them, or to our young black and brown students, and then following their lead.
Amber Watts:And so that's the kind of and listening to the educators. Like, what are they seeing? What can't they teach? What books can they not use because of book bans? Things like that.
Amber Watts:And then how do they get around some of that? Like, I mean, that's the really important too is, like, some work we've done is actually looked at some of this legislation together, read through it to see, okay, so what can we do? Until we're able to go back to to to the legislation and fight this again. Like, what can we do in the meantime to make sure our students are getting as much as we can give them? So work like that is really necessary and happening, but really necessary.
Stacie Freasier:So, my darling husband, who's also social justice lawyer, Nabil, and I have you know, this is these are the conversations we have in our downtime where we're I asked him for the show. I was like, what should we, you know, what what should we talk about? And he said, well, because I think he's really focused on is, you know, following critical race area. And I hear CRT, CRT, CRT. I think and correct me because this is an educational moment for me.
Stacie Freasier:Mhmm. When I think of CRT in that debate, it's at the higher levels, but it's not at the k or pre k. And and and in my opinion, that's when it's really, you know, crystallizing. Right? That 0 to 5 situation.
Stacie Freasier:So does c r is there a CRT equivalent in the younger ages? I mean A debate in the younger ages. Is there a CRT equivalent of that? You know?
Amber Watts:So, technically, no. CRT does not exist in elementary schools. It has always been like or it was a college law school concept. But, but what that has translated to is that teachers and children opt into any culturally proficient, education within elementary schools now. And so that has been something that has been, really frustrating because it's like it doesn't exist in elementary schools.
Amber Watts:That's not real. And now we're not even having the conversations about, like, cultural representation within schools, like, really basic things. Children should be able to see themselves in their education, know that they can be a doctor, know that they can be a scientist, know that they can be, a radio host. I mean, you know, like, they should know these things. But because because of this debate, a lot of their representation is getting taken out of schools because it's been misrepresented as CRT.
Stacie Freasier:Mhmm. Yeah. Alright. We will go to a quick break, and we'll be right back.
Amber Watts:Decide. I decide it for myself. I decide it for myself. I decide it for myself to live, to learn, to teach, to be. Hey.
Amber Watts:I decide I decide. I decide. I decided for myself to live, to learn, to teach, to be. Hey. I see the good.
Amber Watts:I hear the good. I speak the good. I am the good. I said I see the good. I hear the good.
Amber Watts:I speak the good. I am
Amber Watts:the good.
Amber Watts:I said I I said I
Stacie Freasier:I said I
Amber Watts:I decided for myself. I decided for myself. I decided for myself to live, to learn, to teach, to be. Hey. I decided for myself.
Stacie Freasier:Thank you all for tuning in. You're listening to racism on the levels. This is Stacy Frazier. I am sitting in conversation with Amber Watts today. We are focused on educational justice.
Stacie Freasier:You just heard I decided by my friend, Shoyinka Rahim. And that song is a mantra. Studio because it there's something about that simple, profound, yet profound message of, seeing the good, hearing the good, being the good, teaching, being simultaneously. Right? And so you are a teach you are an educator.
Stacie Freasier:You're a teacher, Amber. And you occupy 1 of the most important roles in this society. And so I I dream about education's public education's role in this society and what it could be, not what it was historically designed to do and be, not to indoctrinate, but to instill a love of learning and critical thinking and dreaming. And I'm wondering, do you share that vision, and what are some of your visions about what education can be in this country and in this city?
Amber Watts:Right. Yeah. Man. So it's it's such a beautiful thing to think about education in a way where it actually could, like, change the world. Right?
Amber Watts:Like, our students could be happy and healthy and, like, loving to learn. And like you said, loving to, like, think critically, like, be being critical lovers of the information that they take in. Right? And being able to give them all of the information and, like, let's think about it and, like, what does it mean to your life and what does it mean to, like, the person beside you's life and things like that. And really exploring, like, not just our own perspective and experiences, but others, and talk about that and then come to our own conclusions of who we wanna be and how we wanna be within the world and especially together in a in a classroom community.
Amber Watts:Like, how beautiful is that? Like, I just, like, see, you know, how beautiful it could be to, like, really grow together and learn together in a group, instead of, like and instead of, like, all of the edge the information being hidden, all of the information being open to us, and really getting a chance to entering live with it, engage with it, live, and and, like, and spread it, the love and the knowledge. So, yeah, I just see it being, like, so much better than
Stacie Freasier:it is. Yeah.
Amber Watts:Hopefully. Well,
Stacie Freasier:hey, we we're going up. Right? Let's go up. So let's go up from this low baseline we're at. This low bay this low moment.
Stacie Freasier:So do you wanna fantasize for a little bit with me here? Yeah.
Amber Watts:Let's do it.
Stacie Freasier:Alright. You're head of a school. You get to open your own school. Like, flow me through what that looks like. Like, what happens?
Stacie Freasier:Just give me a day in that dream beautiful school.
Amber Watts:Oh my gosh. So I think that, like, first of all, everyone in the school, the t the those that are employed are paid very well. Right? And their hours are normal hours. You don't work overtime, unpaid overtime.
Amber Watts:You actually can go to the bathroom when you need to. Okay? Like, these are basic things. You can eat when you need these basic things. Your basic needs are met.
Amber Watts:Everyone's basic needs are met. It's a space in which it's a much more community feel. If this if a student comes in and they haven't had sleep, they have a chance to rest before they are they engage they're engaged in work. We have a chance to build community constantly. We're always checking in with each other, making sure we have what we need, sharing resources.
Amber Watts:We're there's definitely all kinds of learning happening. We're we're we're learning in the building. We're learning outside of the building. We're learning on the Internet. We're learning off the Internet.
Amber Watts:We're drawing. We're doing art. We're doing all kinds of engaging in education in all the ways that exist to figure out who we are and how we learn. And then after we kind of figure out how we learn, we then start to engage with the material that we're supposed to learn in the ways that are best for us. And so the learning is specific to who we are and what we need.
Amber Watts:Yeah. Like, those are some of the biggest things that I know that don't happen that would be beautiful if they happen.
Stacie Freasier:What is the building? What is the space? What does that look like? What is that filled with?
Amber Watts:Yeah. I feel like it's filled with, like I see greenery, a lot of life, a lot of, like, laughter and fun, beautiful colors, all kinds of, like, ways to sit, not just these stuffy little desks, but also if you like stuffy little stuffy little desk. Right? Like couches and, like, you know, floor pillow. I mean, just all kinds of ways for you to sit and be and really take care of your own needs while also engaging in the learning and engaging with each other.
Stacie Freasier:And what about teachers or guides as they called them in my son's school? Like, what are they teachers? Are they guides? Are
Amber Watts:they educators? Are they I love the idea of guides because, like, I don't really like the idea of, like, that children are these vessels that we pour into. I feel like the learning happens both ways in in, like, the right environments. I mean, I learned so much, a lot from the youth and, like, and I think that, like, it's more of an exchange. So, like, I don't know what that is.
Amber Watts:Maybe it's a guide, but we're learning from each other. We're helping each other, all of that. And it's not just like an age thing. We're doing it at all ages. Mhmm.
Amber Watts:So yeah.
Stacie Freasier:What are we learning?
Amber Watts:Like, I think, first of all, there are no, like, standardized tests that doesn't exist. We're not teaching Danny tests. We're not worried about that. I don't know what this magical curriculum is, but this magical curriculum definitely isn't just about it includes all of the science, the math, the art, things like that. But it also includes different ways of engaging with people, learning about our emotions.
Amber Watts:It includes learning how to navigate our emotions. Our emotions. It includes learning how to navigate other people's emotions, learning about what's happening in the world, learning about how do I digest that kind of information, what do I do with that. Yeah. Like, learning how to just have regular conversations with people.
Amber Watts:I feel like those are things we don't learn. Learning how to, like, you know, use money in the world. I feel like we don't learn any of that kind of stuff in school.
Stacie Freasier:So Learning how to talk about race.
Amber Watts:Yes.
Stacie Freasier:Learning how to talk
Amber Watts:about gender.
Stacie Freasier:Learning how to talk about all of it. Talk to somebody about racism.
Amber Watts:Exactly. Learning about different family structures.
Stacie Freasier:All the isms. All of them.
Amber Watts:Learning about the phobias. Learning about how to navigate that. If it's coming up, what does it look like when it comes up in you? What does the internalized racism even feel like, look like, sound like? How do you navigate that?
Amber Watts:All of the things that we encounter in this world, we're talking about it. We're facing it. We're dealing with it.
Stacie Freasier:Have you something that keeps peaking my instants on the Instagrams is the unschooling movement. And there's a real, like, hippie radical revolutionary side of me that's like, this is so cool. I love this because I do I do think that the indoctrination is high. I was k 12 educated in South Texas Public School. Mhmm.
Stacie Freasier:I remember, how that the environment was very controlled. It was very controlling, and it required you at to I think legally, there was some loophole about religious objection to say the pledge of allegiance, say the, the the I don't even I think it's called the state pledge. I just remember, you know, some ode to the state of the Republic of Texas, I think, were the words. And I feel so so strongly about disrupting that Mhmm. Disrupting that.
Stacie Freasier:And do you have any, knowledge, experience, exposure, awareness of of the unschooling movement?
Amber Watts:You know, I don't really. I've learned a lot about, like, mic recently, I've learned a lot about, like, the micro schools and the things like that. It kind of, I mean, it didn't start in the pandemic, but it, but it kind of was born from the pandemic and, like, a lot of people just being, like, after experiencing what they experienced, being, like, I can't. I don't want this anymore in terms of, like, public schools. And I don't know if that's kind of what you're talking about.
Stacie Freasier:Yeah. Just alternative models, this rethinking. You know, along with that rethinking, to center this conversation on race and racism is those alternatives are a luxury
Amber Watts:Yes.
Stacie Freasier:For people who have privilege. And white body privilege and white body supremacy is real in the society. So many of those alternatives are completely out of the question or inaccessible Right. To communities of color Mhmm. Because they're time intensive.
Stacie Freasier:They require a parent or an adult figure, you know, replacing the what a school is doing, a traditional public school. So what is your vision for, like, public, private, un options, school options? Like
Amber Watts:Right.
Stacie Freasier:Forming my question as I go here. But, like Yeah. Yeah. Like, what do you think about school options, honestly?
Amber Watts:Yeah. I mean, honestly, I know that, like, school options are hot hot hot topic, and I have a little bit of a different view of them. But I feel like, you know, options are needed and necessary. Right? Like, schooling in a certain way is not right for everyone.
Amber Watts:And like you said, parents who have to work 1 or 2 jobs, or students that just don't learn that way, or, you know, it's all these different reasons why options are necessary in schooling. And I know there are some icky, sticky histories in different types of schooling, but they exist in public schools as well. And so, like, I think that we sometimes, like, put public schools over other schools, but they but they have an icky history too. Racist icky histories, and they all exist in all of them. And so it's like, so I just believe that, like, I believe that options are beautiful.
Amber Watts:I believe there should be options for all of us. For black and brown, low ex socioeconomic people, for sure. I think that you should be able to send your kid to a private school if that's what works for them. You should be able to send your kid to a micro school or create that if that's what works for you, and not be slammed for it. And and if public school doesn't work, which it doesn't work for most of us, then, like, you should have something else that you can do with your child.
Amber Watts:Because you literally, we're going into these spaces and being harmed and then calling it the best option. And it's just unfortunate. Like, it's just, like, it's detrimental to our health on so many levels. So
Stacie Freasier:Thinking about Austin today, thinking about Austin in the next 5 or 10 years and the demographic trends and the economic trends that are happening to us, what do you think is the best case scenario for school in Austin for the school system here?
Amber Watts:That's a hard 1. Full systemic change. You know, I small changes, I think, would be having culturally responsive restorative practice in school, having cultural representation in school, not banning books. I think that that, moving from punitive punishment to discipline, which is a very different thing if you look at the actual definition of discipline, I think that these are some small, small, small changes. Removing police armed forces from schools, putting in more mental health supports, and, like, proactive mental health supports.
Amber Watts:We're not just, like, waiting for the kids to come to us or the parents to come to us, we're going to them. And free. I've heard some from some students, they have to pay for mental health support in their schools from high school students, which I'm not sure what school that is or what's happening, but that's that's that's just shouldn't happen. Mhmm. So,
Stacie Freasier:My dream, my vision for the future, Austin, is that a kid going to a school in Westlake is gonna have the exact same supports as a kid in East Austin. Yeah. Same supports and that ties to the economic part. Right? Because their taxation, right, based on population.
Stacie Freasier:The parent how talk about the parent teacher associations and how big of an influence that has on school environment. Like, do you
Amber Watts:have Huge.
Stacie Freasier:Huge. Huge. I mean, I
Amber Watts:know recently they, when I was in school, they kinda took away the ability to raise the money, some something where they couldn't raise the money in the same ways. But, like, some schools raising exorbitant amounts of funds for their schools that already were in high socioeconomic situations and our low socioeconomic schools weren't aren't even able to raise the same amount of money. And so they have resources that they aren't sharing that, that the other schools really need. I mean, like, other schools are like, we need books. And they're, like, having these, like, beautiful buildings and, like, these, like, like, ridiculous, festive, beautiful things that all schools deserve.
Amber Watts:You know? Yeah. So I think that, like, equal sharing of that money I think that PTAs, if you if you can raise it, it then needs to be distributed equally among all schools. Or, like, something like that would be amazing.
Stacie Freasier:We're winding down on our time here. What, how can folks get involved? Well, actually, here's 2 last questions. Okay. Why should every person listening right now care about this even if they are childless senior childless person?
Stacie Freasier:Like, why should it why does this issue affect everybody? That's my first question.
Amber Watts:I think first because the children are our future. They're gonna be the ones, running this country. They're gonna be the ones doing all the things that we're doing now. So I think that's important. I think we can get back in fact that we want our children to flourish regardless of who they are.
Amber Watts:We don't want children harmed or dying or not able to learn. And so I think that if we can get behind that, then, then that's why everyone should care.
Stacie Freasier:Mhmm. And then finally, how can folks get involved locally? How do they find you? How do they get involved locally?
Amber Watts:Yeah.
Stacie Freasier:What's the next step? Right?
Amber Watts:Yeah. I think next steps are, for you to if you so choose to check out, the Austinjustice.org website, You could also, look for, the break the pipeline website. You could check out, if you're an educator, educators in solidarity. You could check out I'm trying to name all of the groups I can think of. There's so many.
Amber Watts:Like, look up education justice in Austin, and you can start with 1 of those 3 organizations that I mentioned in order to get involved.
Stacie Freasier:Do you have any events coming up or anything?
Amber Watts:Right now, no. Right now, we School?
Stacie Freasier:Back to school?
Amber Watts:Yeah. Back to school is happening. Be on the lookout for any sort of meetings that we may have about, organizing around, the HB 3 bill. But at the moment, we are just supporting our youth getting back into the schools.
Stacie Freasier:Alrighty, Amber. You are a blessing to sit with. Thank you. I really appreciate you and the work you're doing. And, I want everybody listening to, join me in thanking Amber Watts.
Stacie Freasier:This was racism on the levels. We talked about educational justice, today. The music you heard in the show was from Shoyinka Rahim's Bebo Love album. I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me. My email is stacie@k0op.org.
Stacie Freasier:Remember, in all things and all ways, love is the highest level.
Amber Watts:I got a love song, I gotta hit song. In this world, you only need 1