Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherita Love. Sherita and her team shared their story with us below:
The Education Equity Center of St. Louis began as a program of Venture Cafe St. Louis (originally named EdHub STL) under the founding directorship of Sherita Love in August 2018. The program was inspired by the call to action in the Forward through Ferguson report which urges the “St. Louis region to look for ways to support innovation in education, giving special consideration to innovations that address systemic challenges and racial inequity through the development of an Innovative Education Hub.”
As we launched and solidified our work to support education equity in the region, we stood up priorities that centered on intensive community listening and capacity building, organized education equity-focused conferences, and guided two fellowship cohorts with education entrepreneurs and school leaders focused on deepening equity within the school and nonschool education systems.
2020 provoked those of us at the helm of the work of EdHub STL to rethink assumptions and create room for transformation. The dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice shined new light on the profound inequities of our city and education system. The charge to create space for powerful collaboration, learning, and innovation had never been so critical.
Given this and the realities, both presented and uncovered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the resolve to support education equity in partnership with educators in our region influenced the critical need to grow the impact and a sustainable model for the organization. We were called to imagine new ways to build on our momentum and further accelerate our impact in the coming years.
After much thought, consideration, and a community-informed design process, we transitioned EdHub STL (as led by its founding director) to a stand-alone nonprofit and renamed the organization The Education Equity Center of St. Louis in November 2020.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road to both establishing and building an explicitly anti-racist organization definitely has not been a smooth one.
Given the current national debate around CRT in classrooms and the hesitancy of some funders to support systems-level education work that may not yield immediate tangible outcomes, the work is for us to ensure we are building critical relationships and supports alongside those most impacted by education inequity, while working with those partners who are ready to see the systems change that is long overdue in St. Louis education.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Racial inequity in education outcomes is well-established. Differences in white and black/brown student test scores, discipline outcomes, advanced course enrollment, graduation rates, and college enrollment rates, among other indicators, reveal continued bias and systemic racism in U.S. education opportunities and practices. Teachers’ own biases are a contributing factor to persistent inequity and have been shown to impact teachers’ expectations, management, and instructional quality for black and brown students.
The Education Equity Center of St. Louis envisions a transformed education system that is free of racism and harmful practices, policies and systems negatively impacting black and brown students. To that end, we build the anti-racist leadership capacity of educators through intersectional and collaborative events, workshop series, DEI leader cohorts, and intensive fellowships. Our work amplifies the collective voice of educators and encourages connected partnerships between students, families and organizations across the region.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The murder of Michael Brown and the uprisings that followed allowed for fertile ground for equity work to blossom in St. Louis. Although it may not always feel like it, we are having conversations and doing work here that is not happening in other places across this country. I am proud of that for our city.
Even though this is true in St. Louis, old habits die hard. Systems of inequity are built to last and STL is no exception to this. Our siloed way of being keeps us separate, physically, and mentally. The ways that we get in the way of our own progress are very disappointing. I want more for our city when it comes to radical collaboration and collective action towards a more equitable city. We can do better.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@edequitycenter.org
- Website: www.edequitycenter.org
- Instagram: @edequitycenter
- Facebook: @edequitycenter
- Twitter: @edequitycenter
Image Credits
Tyler Small
