Teaching With Orff Stands In Solidarity

We stand with the American Orff Schulwerk Association in their statement denouncing violence against the Black community. We stand with our students and colleagues of color along with their families and communities. We denounce acts of injustice and violence against Black people and all people of color. We condemn the systemic racial inequalities that diminish their voices and endanger their lives.

Black Lives Matter, and “matter” is the minimum.
Black lives are worthy.
Black lives are beloved.
Black lives are needed.

USC football player Jay Urich

There is work to be done. We invite you to join us in listening to and learning from minoritized voices in order to better equip ourselves to make a positive contribution in this process.

WATCH

• Teach Us All (Netflix)
• When They See Us (Netflix)
• Selma (available to rent)
• The Hate U Give (Hulu/Cinemax)

READ

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD
• Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education by Vicki R. Lind and Constance L. McKoy
• Music Education for Social Change; Constructing an Activist Music Education by Juliet Hess
• We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina Love

Click here for a list of Black-Owned independent bookstores to consider when ordering online.

LISTEN

• School Colors
• Teaching While White
• The Score: An Urban Music Education Podcast
• Code Switch
• 1619

RESOURCES

• Decolonizing the Music Room
• Woke Kindergarten
• Education for Liberation Network
• The American Kodaly Institute’s List of Problematic Songs
• The American Orff Schulwerk Association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DONATE

• Decolonizing the Music Room
• Woke Kindergarten
• Education for Liberation Network
• Click here for a list of organizations across the country that assist with bail funds for those arrested on the front lines of protests.

For a deeper dive, see this extensive list of resources on systemic racism.

At Teaching With Orff we are committed to showing up for music educators and supporting one another in our work. We are committed to uplift and support our colleagues, students, families, and communities. We are committed to listen, to learn, and to love.