The Black Lives Matter at School movement is guided by the following principles. We seek to expand student understanding of these principles through the Week of Action and Year of Purpose.
Collective Value
We are guided by the fact that all Black lives, regardless of sex assigned at birth, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, economic status, ability, disability, education, location, age, immigration status, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, matter. None of us are free until we are all free.
Diversity
We recognize, accept, and celebrate the unique qualities that make us different and the shared perspectives, circumstances, and commonalities that connect us.
Restorative & Transformative Justice
As we forge our path, we intentionally build and sustain an environment where we can make mistakes, grow, and express the fullness of our humanity. We nurture and promote a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle. We are dedicated to restoring and transforming ourselves and the world around us to dismantle punitive systems and build more healing in its place.
Trans Affirming
We are self-reflexive and consistently do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege. We hold space for our siblings who are agender, intersex, transgender, and gender expansive to participate and lead. We uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be targeted and subjected to violence. We work outside of the binary to achieve full liberation.
Disability Justice
We are committed to acknowledging and addressing how we further societies’ othering of people with disabilities. We co-create spaces in which ableism is confronted and embed the ten principles of disability justice advocates into our work. We actively dream and collaborate to create.
Queer Affirming
We reclaim the word queer as an act of defiance and in solidarity with those who have paved the way for us to live openly. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of cis-heteropatriarchal assumptions. We foster a network in which all people can be genuine and express their authentic, embodied selves.
Unapologetically Black
We are unapologetically Black in our positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a necessary prerequisite for wanting the same for others. We proudly embrace our Blackness.
Loving Engagement
We remain rooted in compassion and empathy by seeking understanding and engaging with the intent to learn about and connect with others' contexts. Our interactions are guided by a commitment to embody justice, peace, and liberation.
Intergenerational
We cultivate a communal network free from ageism and adultism because of our belief in the leadership and learning potential of all people, regardless of age. We recognize and celebrate the intergenerational relationships that have always been and must continue to be when working for justice.
Black Villages
We support each other as extended families and villages that collectively care for one another, especially “our” children. We make our spaces family-friendly and enable caregivers to fully participate with their children. We disrupt the narrow Western prescribed nuclear family structure expectation. We recognize that family includes our chosen families. We believe that radical care belongs in the public sphere.
Black Women
We build a space that affirms Black women by centering their experiences. We recognize the many ways patriarchy shows up so consistently work to maintain a space free from sexism and misogyny, actively disrupting patriarchal culture.
Globalism
We recognize that we're part of the global Black family in a common struggle toward liberation. We stay attuned to the different ways we are impacted including our privilege as Black folks who exist in different parts of the world alongside our other contexts.
We are guided by the fact that all Black lives, regardless of sex assigned at birth, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, economic status, ability, disability, education, location, age, immigration status, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, matter. None of us are free until we are all free.
Diversity
We recognize, accept, and celebrate the unique qualities that make us different and the shared perspectives, circumstances, and commonalities that connect us.
Restorative & Transformative Justice
As we forge our path, we intentionally build and sustain an environment where we can make mistakes, grow, and express the fullness of our humanity. We nurture and promote a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle. We are dedicated to restoring and transforming ourselves and the world around us to dismantle punitive systems and build more healing in its place.
Trans Affirming
We are self-reflexive and consistently do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege. We hold space for our siblings who are agender, intersex, transgender, and gender expansive to participate and lead. We uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be targeted and subjected to violence. We work outside of the binary to achieve full liberation.
Disability Justice
We are committed to acknowledging and addressing how we further societies’ othering of people with disabilities. We co-create spaces in which ableism is confronted and embed the ten principles of disability justice advocates into our work. We actively dream and collaborate to create.
Queer Affirming
We reclaim the word queer as an act of defiance and in solidarity with those who have paved the way for us to live openly. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of cis-heteropatriarchal assumptions. We foster a network in which all people can be genuine and express their authentic, embodied selves.
Unapologetically Black
We are unapologetically Black in our positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a necessary prerequisite for wanting the same for others. We proudly embrace our Blackness.
Loving Engagement
We remain rooted in compassion and empathy by seeking understanding and engaging with the intent to learn about and connect with others' contexts. Our interactions are guided by a commitment to embody justice, peace, and liberation.
Intergenerational
We cultivate a communal network free from ageism and adultism because of our belief in the leadership and learning potential of all people, regardless of age. We recognize and celebrate the intergenerational relationships that have always been and must continue to be when working for justice.
Black Villages
We support each other as extended families and villages that collectively care for one another, especially “our” children. We make our spaces family-friendly and enable caregivers to fully participate with their children. We disrupt the narrow Western prescribed nuclear family structure expectation. We recognize that family includes our chosen families. We believe that radical care belongs in the public sphere.
Black Women
We build a space that affirms Black women by centering their experiences. We recognize the many ways patriarchy shows up so consistently work to maintain a space free from sexism and misogyny, actively disrupting patriarchal culture.
Globalism
We recognize that we're part of the global Black family in a common struggle toward liberation. We stay attuned to the different ways we are impacted including our privilege as Black folks who exist in different parts of the world alongside our other contexts.