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We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom

Bettina L. Love

4.59 · Rating details · 2,710 ratings · 355 reviews

Drawing on personal stories, research, and historical events, an esteemed educator offers a vision of educational justice inspired by the rebellious spirit and methods of abolitionists.

Drawing on her life's work of teaching and researching in urban schools, Bettina Love persuasively argues that educators must teach students about racial violence, oppression, and how to mak ...more

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Hardcover, 200 pages

Published February 19th 2019 by Beacon Press

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Apr 24, 2019 Emily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Some books you read fast because you can't take in information fast enough. This book is one you read slow because every morsel of information is big and powerful and makes you think.

All educators should read this. I wish I could take a class with her. ...more

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Feb 20, 2019 Elizabeth Langa rated it it was amazing

Every educator should read this book. Period.

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May 31, 2019 Jenell rated it it was amazing

This one goes in the “Required Texts” section of my Autumn 2019 syllabus.

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Dec 05, 2019 Zachari Curtis rated it it was ok

"See me after class."

While I'm in no position to actually call the author in, there were several times while I was reading where I wanted to highlight the paradoxes she seemed to be creating by collapsing rather than wrestling with the complexities of the interlocking theories she prescribes to abolitionists. The book initially is very engaging but, perhaps in an effort to cover ground and provide historical or cultural context to anchor her stories, it devolves into a rushed list of historical "See me after class."

While I'm in no position to actually call the author in, there were several times while I was reading where I wanted to highlight the paradoxes she seemed to be creating by collapsing rather than wrestling with the complexities of the interlocking theories she prescribes to abolitionists. The book initially is very engaging but, perhaps in an effort to cover ground and provide historical or cultural context to anchor her stories, it devolves into a rushed list of historical touch points that mimic the ways that black history and black cultural study is reduced, distorted and comodified by the textbook industry--the very structure she's trying to critique.

A particularly frustrating example is her mention of the Atlanta Child Murders. Love mentions the incident superficially then pivots immediately to discussing how black girls are criminalized in school and how they experience violence at disproportionate rates. While this may be true in comparisson to white girls, it lacks useful context. Not for nothing, most of the Atlanta Child Murder victims were young black boys. Many were immediately dismissed as feral runaways, bad kids, and dropouts which stalled the investigation into why they were missing until parents and community got involved. If Love had wanted to talk about gendered violence in the school system rather than just parrot surface-level intersectionality, this was a missed opportunity to talk about how the over-prevalence of white women in desegregated schools is directly correlated to school discipline regimes that funnel black boys primarily but black girls as well into prisons and foster care. White fears of black boys "agression" (grit) were hypersexualized and became the main driver for school segregation and the and underlying cause of the severity of punishment that remove black boys from school. I had hope when earlier in the book she made it clear that intersectionality is not about ignoring boys and men but it didn't pan out. Really glaring errors like this are abundant and I just wish she had had someone reading/editing it with an eye for clarifying the complexities.

While I really appreciated the apparent vulnerability of Love's storytelling style, I found her engagement with theory--espescially around race--not only incomplete but timid in a way that bends away from the justice seeking abolitionism she makes the center of her work. Her belated too brief mention of her role on the BOARD OF A CHARTER SCHOOL is another missed opportunity to use her story to tell the truth about the messy ways we participate in the system.

There were several instances where she seemed to
sacrifice clarity for an attempt at poetry. Her use of the word "dark" was grounded in a critical reading of Dubois's work trying to understand how black people coming out of slavery were to achieve full citizenship and dignity. Love has clearly done a deep dive into Dubois's lifelong struggle with this question. She, however, doesn't take into account the specificity of the black experience and uses "dark" to mean more of a color than a political condition in order to apply it to anyone not white. This problematic because it projects a togetherness of thought and action that simply isn't true and obscures the investment of non-black groups in weaponized anti-blackness. Love is somewhat forthcoming about the anti-black roots of some people of color group ideologies but never truly makes it clear how pervasive it is to parasitize off of black people for other groups to access whiteness and escape oppression. In the theory chapter, she even dedicates a significant portion of the Critical Race Theory section to other forms of "CRT" in a way that I think mimics the theoretical parasitism.

Don't get me wrong, I'm passionate about this critique because I got a lot out of reading it. I think it's a good book for kids studying media literacy, race and education or civics to learn from parts of it but its flaws almost require a shadow curriculum.

Finally, I abandoned the notion that there would be any talk about what's after abolition....aka reparations, educational restructuring to right the wrongs were just surviving. Love comes so close in accounting for our losses--fired black teachers, soul murdered black students--but never discussed the implication of seeking redress. ...more

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May 25, 2019 Maya McKenzie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: social-work

Should be MANDATORY reading for all educators

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Feb 03, 2020 Lori rated it it was ok

Shelves: education

I wanted to like this book. We need more discussion about the systemic ways in which the various intersecting systems of American life contribute to poverty and oppression of POC, driven by racism rooted in White privilege. Unfortunately, this book does not fill that purpose well enough for me to pass it on to my friends who need to be introduced to Critical Race Theory in a non-technical setting.

I came here hoping this book would do for education what Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow gave I wanted to like this book. We need more discussion about the systemic ways in which the various intersecting systems of American life contribute to poverty and oppression of POC, driven by racism rooted in White privilege. Unfortunately, this book does not fill that purpose well enough for me to pass it on to my friends who need to be introduced to Critical Race Theory in a non-technical setting.

I came here hoping this book would do for education what Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow gave to me, a White person, in opening my eyes to systemic injustice within the criminal justice system. Aside from her personal discussions of what school felt like to her (valuable), the author seems to prioritize expressions of anger and rage (that's ok!) over methodical discussion of theory or even a road map that would lead people like me toward a better understanding of whatever it is she wants us to understand.

The book repeatedly mentions the need to dismantle the educational systems which do so much harm to Black kids (Yes! we agree!), but she offers nothing to help me do that, besides saying "it's not impossible" and "we must take an abolitionist's approach" (okay?).

The book swings wildly between attempting to reach an audience who knows nothing about racism (I assume her audience for those parts is un-woke White people or maybe her undergraduate pre-service teachers) and "preaching to the choir" about how bad White racism is using only the most general examples. I agreed with her conclusions most of the time, but the book adds very little real information to the conversation because she doesn't do much to build an actual argument. I appreciate books that work through emotion rather than argument (Coates's Between the World and Me comes to mind as an outstanding example), but Love fails to accomplish her purpose here, as far as I can tell.

The second half of the book, picking up around chapter 3, got closer to the author's goal. For example, I learned a lot from her account of growing up in Rochester NY, her description of attending Catholic elementary school where all of her teachers were white and no one gave her the language of political action she needed to survive "the hood" (as she termed it), the power of joyful struggle, and the huge group of people who banded together to be a community to help her survive and "make it." That was a powerful chapter.

I also appreciated the final chapter on theory, though it's only a very basic introduction to Critical Race Theory and critical pedagogy. Worthwhile read and probably my favorite chapter in the book.

I am sure Dr. Love provokes her students to challenge their biases and I hope many of UGA's undergraduate teacher candidates go through her courses on diversity and inclusion. She accurately identifies the crucial lack of understanding of race issues and American history represented among her idealistic and naive 18-24 year old future teachers. She's right that we're sending armies of (White, female) teachers into classrooms completely unprepared to identify and address the harms of centuries of racist oppression. What she fails to provide is any road map for what the rest of us are supposed to do about it.

PS. I found Chris Emdin's For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood....And the Rest of Us Too to be a much better handbook for culturally appropriate teaching practices, and a helpful explanation to White teachers to understand Black practices and culture. ...more

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Jul 16, 2020 Kurt rated it really liked it

I sponged up every word in MORE THAN SURVIVE; it spoke deeply and directly to the kind of teacher I try to be, to the kind of teaching I believe in. Love's antiracist analysis struck every right chord: her theorizing of the "educational survival complex;" critique of the no-excuses “gimmicks” of "grit" and "zest;" and ultimate framework for abolitionist teaching, built on mattering, freedom-dreaming, solidarity, and resistance.

The snag for me: it felt in some ways like only half a book—all theor ...more

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May 12, 2020 Dawn rated it it was amazing

THIS BOOK!! Bringing the spirit and work of abolitionists to education! Education in the pursuit of liberation! YOU. MUST. READ!

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Feb 19, 2019 Kimberley rated it really liked it

"Abolitionist Teaching" is what Bettina Love says we need more of in our schools and, as a mother, I couldn't agree more with her analysis: Racism is not exclusive to one political party or a particular type of White person. White, well-meaning, liberal teachers can be racist too.

From that point, Love lays out where it all went, and continues to go, wrong. However, she also offers a solution as to how we can make a difference--as educators, parents, activists, politicians, etc.--in the lives of ...more

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Sep 28, 2019 Becky R. rated it really liked it

As a white teacher in a very white school, I've desperately been seeking ways to challenge my own bias, my own culturally taught racism, my own bigotry. This is a systemic problem, and it had to start with me looking at myself. I have an MA in ethnic literature and spent an entire higher educational career challenging norms and reading about experiences outside my own. But now as a professional, how do I pass on this personal journey to my own students? How do I challenge them, without pushing w As a white teacher in a very white school, I've desperately been seeking ways to challenge my own bias, my own culturally taught racism, my own bigotry. This is a systemic problem, and it had to start with me looking at myself. I have an MA in ethnic literature and spent an entire higher educational career challenging norms and reading about experiences outside my own. But now as a professional, how do I pass on this personal journey to my own students? How do I challenge them, without pushing what I know to be true? In short, how do I awaken awareness in students that have too much privilege to even know they have it?

Honestly, this book made me feel like there was nothing I could do at first. The experiences and stories were told from communities with so much more diversity than we experience. For the small number of students of color that I have had over the years, I have worked to create a safe space in my room, and to give them voice and representation. I suppose my real issue is with my white students, who don't see their own racism, or privilege, or buy in to systems of power. This book pushed me pretty hard to really look at how I talk about ones civic duties. I came to realize that while I try to expose my students to the difficult issues of race we still face in this country, that I have to show them that speaking out about it doesn't make you a bad or radical person. To work to root out racism--the systematic repression of people of color for economic and political power--that I have to talk about what people are doing to fight these power structures, but without telling anyone what to think or believe. In short, I need to pose strong questions and then let kids talk.

This book has pushed me beyond my classroom walls into deep conversations with my coworkers. What we have determined is that we need to start a social justice club at our school, where we can teach and discuss HOW to put ideas and frustrations into action. Our mainly white students are crying out to take action and to talk about their fears for their futures. What this book taught me is that we really have to provide that space and allow these kids to step into their power to make their future better and brighter, for all. ...more

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Jun 09, 2020 Chyann rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pedagogy, justice-lit

If you serve, teach, raise, make policy for, are related to, live next to, go to school with, or know Black and Brown children in any capacity, you need to read this book. Required reading for all.

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Jun 05, 2020 Mileena Cannella rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Every educator, whether you teach BIPOC students or not, needs to read this book. I'd actually recommend owning it so you can reread it every time you need to check your privilege or lend it to someone who seriously needs to.

One of the criticisms of a book with "Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom" in its title is that Love doesn't necessarily offer real teaching/pedagogical practices for educators. I'd argue otherwise. You'll quickly discover in this book that abolition Every educator, whether you teach BIPOC students or not, needs to read this book. I'd actually recommend owning it so you can reread it every time you need to check your privilege or lend it to someone who seriously needs to.

One of the criticisms of a book with "Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom" in its title is that Love doesn't necessarily offer real teaching/pedagogical practices for educators. I'd argue otherwise. You'll quickly discover in this book that abolitionist teaching is not a noun. It's a verb-- a verb she never claims to provide a prescription solution for but rather a painstakingly long list of ways the systemic racism in our country has failed its BIPOC students.

Love writes, "Abolitionist teaching is not a teaching approach: It is a way of life, a way of seeing the world, and a way of taking action against injustices. It seeks to resist, agitate, and tear down the educational survival complex through teachers who work in solidarity with their schools' community to achieve incremental changes in their classrooms and schools for students in the present day, while simultaneously freedom dreaming and vigorously creating a vision for what schools will be when the educational survival complex is destroyed." "Abolitionist teaching is as much about tearing down old structures and ways of thinking as it is about forming new ideas, new forms of social interactions, new ways to be inclusive, new ways to discuss equality and distribute wealth and resources, new ways to resist, new prisons, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and mass incarceration, new ways to reach children trying to recover from the educational survival complex, new ways to show dark children they are loved in this world, and new ways to establish an education system that works for everyone, especially those who are put at the edges of the classroom and society."

The relevant and valuable information presented in this book is woven in with Love's personal narrative. She does well to generalize when it’s right, and well to add in the "not all but most" when necessary, which I appreciate. I also simply enjoyed reading about not only her experiences as a child from Rochester and the village/homeplace that helped raised her but also the number of people she's met, the different places she's taught, and the vulnerability she voluntarily offered about neglecting her own survival mode complex.

There is an interesting section on charter schools, and as a first-year teacher about to embark on her teaching journey at one of the leading charter school networks in the country (and of which I was a student of), I am eager to have a conversation with fellow charter school educators on Love's depiction, especially the section on "grit."

In short, read this book. Own it. Learn from it. Become an abolitionist teacher NOW. ...more

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Nov 25, 2019 Monise rated it it was amazing

Shelves: education-by-black-authors, 2019-reading-challenge-tag

I finally finished. My copy has lots of underlined sentences and paragraphs. Reading this book has helped me understand one of the more pressing explanations behind the 'slump' I feel right now: I'm not working or have enough contact with Black teachers who are ready or willing to be abolitionist teachers.

It's too risky. Their (perceived) place in the hierarchy is at stake. They aren't ready to not be included or praised.

I need to be surrounded and motivated by abolitionist teachers. This book l ...more

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Sep 16, 2019 Lynn rated it it was amazing

Excellent essay in the injustices put upon African Americans in the past and currently. Very direct and to the point. Bettina L. Love comes from Rochester NY where I’m from so I identified with what she said about Rochester. Once a thriving city in many ways, it has become a city with a huge concentration of poverty. Heartbreakingly so. Important book.

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Nov 08, 2020 Carolyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teaching, nonfiction, black-lives-matter

After saying this morning that I wanted to get back to this book this week (I started it in August, set it down halfway through since I wasn’t finished by the Bookclub date, and then basically lost it on my coffee table 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️), I wound up finishing it tonight, while listening to George Winston and having 90s college flashbacks.
.
This book is fantastic. Certainly a must-read for teachers. At least I have a clear vision of what / who I want to be for my students even if I’m still ge ...more

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Jul 05, 2020 Faith Rush added it

So much to process and apply from this book. I imagine I will reread it in the future, as I’m sure I will get more and more out of it every time I read it.

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Jul 23, 2020 Gabriella rated it it was amazing

As everyone has stated in their reviews, every educator should read this book. I especially like the idea of being a co-conspirator versus being an ally. Almost every page had an idea that I had to stop and reflect on. This book challenges and encourages. I will continue to reference for many years to come. Also, H2P!

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Jun 17, 2020 Maitland Gray rated it liked it

I felt dissatisfied when I finished this book until I came to the realization that this book is best for educators. When I started it, I was hoping to learn what the author thinks needs to happen in order to transform education. But that's a different kind of book. This book's emphasis is on recognizing the influence of racism (mostly focusing on education). It's more of a primer book to awaken the ideas that motivate you to pursue these topics further. I'd definitely like to continue learning m ...more

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Nov 08, 2020 Alicia rated it liked it

Shelves: politics-justice, adult, social-pysch, professional, nonfiction, voices

Love is from Rochester, New York and uses a lot of the statistics and educational angles in the context of the Rochester system which is in my home state and as an educator, with a friend in Rochester, and working in Albany that is frequently discussed with other "big city" urban schools such as Rochester this had special significance.

If you read professional texts, most of the information she presents as foundation for continuing ed for teachers and/or education for new teachers is not too but Love is from Rochester, New York and uses a lot of the statistics and educational angles in the context of the Rochester system which is in my home state and as an educator, with a friend in Rochester, and working in Albany that is frequently discussed with other "big city" urban schools such as Rochester this had special significance.

If you read professional texts, most of the information she presents as foundation for continuing ed for teachers and/or education for new teachers is not too but a continued conversation about changing the narrative and language we use as educators particularly if we are not representative of the students we teach. She also explains that abolitionist teaching is not a prescribed curriculum but the incorporation of elements of culture and history in particular to represent everyone in their learning.

There are nuggets of wisdom throughout that give pause and reflection (and a picture to take to re-read and take action against), but sometimes the overuse of anecdotes was tedious (and I usually like that more) when I wanted more of the pedagogy. Otherwise a super solid professional read for educators.

"Few teacher education programs require their students to take classes in African studies... Teachers of all background walk into classrooms never studying the history or culture of the children they are going to teach. So, how can teachers be culturally relevant when they have not studied culture? Culture does not simply fall from the sky. Traditions and ways of being are intentionally created and crafted because culture reflects the educational, social, economic, political, and spiritual conditions of people. Culture is not as biological as we think. It is a group's knowledge production process that occurs as they understand and respond to their reality and create ways of being to survive or thrive in their everyday lives."

".. Bernice Johnson Reagon calls 'the sweetness of the struggle.' An antiracist approach elicits the understanding that the work of living and learning is about the solidarity created through shared struggle. Antiracist teaching is not just about acknowledging that racism exists but about consciously committing to the struggle of fighting for racial justice, and it is fundamental to abolitionist teaching... All teacher, regardless of race or ethnicity, need to know that racism is not separate from economic class and that resistance, in its various forms, is always an option. We also need to recognize the specific nuances of different types of dark oppression, recognizing that not all injustices are the same." ...more

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Jul 17, 2020 Stacy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teaching-resources, education-or-teaching, poc-writer-or-own-voices, race-or-racism

Every educator (but particularly white educators) should read this book. It's revolutionary and easily one of the best books for educators that I have in a long time. I kept pausing to highlight and re-reread passages. Dr. Bettina Love voices and synthesizes so many issues in teaching that I haven't been able to articulate myself. It felt like an exhale when I finally saw the words on the page. As a non-Black POC/educator, I found this to be an incredible resource and one that I want every educa ...more

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Oct 05, 2020 Frances Starn rated it liked it

There’s a lot of important work in this book and there are sections that really spoken to me. However, While it focuses on providing the national context for the need for abolitionist teaching, it fails to truly provide a framework of what abolitionist teaching looks like. For me, it too often falls on listing and references proving the need for abolitionist teaching without providing any meat on how abolitionist teaching can be operationalized.

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Sep 05, 2020 Amanda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The historical stories of so many impactful individuals were inspiring, and so were the specific sections on freedom dreaming and using art to express dreams about what life can be with no limits for our kids! Abolitionist teaching revolves around joy and embracing the whole child for all of their identity - linguistic, familial, aspirational, social, navigational, and resistance.

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Dec 31, 2020 Steph Landry rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction

This was a fantastic and important read. One of the best professional texts I've read in years. Dr. Love's work has had a profound impact on my orientation as a teacher and has helped me build my understanding of abolitionist teaching. Also, while the book is geared towards educators, I think it is accessible for folks in other fields and is a great text for anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of the broader abolitionist movement. ...more

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Jan 17, 2021 Cat rated it it was amazing

This book is one I will return to. Challenging and encouraging and a hard read. Love cuts to the heart of the issues with being a white educator teaching dark children, and in doing so, lays bare the racism at the root of so many classroom practices. I need to ruminate and reread.

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Jan 31, 2021 Lindsay Vlasak rated it really liked it

This book is not just for educators, it’s for everyone. Read it to learn, to grow and for inspiration in the fight against racism and the fight for abolitionist teaching.

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Apr 29, 2019 Bob rated it really liked it

Shelves: education

Summary: A plea and argument for abolitionist teaching that advocates for educational justice in our schools, that understands and is in solidarity with the struggle people of color face in our often racialized schools, and affirms the goodness and joy of one's ethnic, sexual, and gendered identity.

This book is an impassioned argument for "abolitionist teaching." The writer, educational theorist Bettina L. Love, offers this definition:

"Abolitionist teaching is the practice of working in solidari Summary: A plea and argument for abolitionist teaching that advocates for educational justice in our schools, that understands and is in solidarity with the struggle people of color face in our often racialized schools, and affirms the goodness and joy of one's ethnic, sexual, and gendered identity.

This book is an impassioned argument for "abolitionist teaching." The writer, educational theorist Bettina L. Love, offers this definition:

"Abolitionist teaching is the practice of working in solidarity with communities of color while drawing on the imagination, creativity, refusal, (re)membering, visionary thinking, healing, rebellious spirit, boldness, determination, and subversiveness of abolitionists to eradicate injustice inside and outside of schools" (p. 2).

In this work, she describes an "educational survival complex," in which schools serving people of color struggle under regimes of performance testing (and the testing companies who profit from all this), school report cards where "failing" jeopardizes funding, and often where students see few teachers of their own ethnicity. She describes how important the seemingly simple thing of mattering can be with examples of teachers, coaches, mentors, and advocates who said she mattered, helping her to obtain an athletic scholarship that launched her academic career.

She has harsh words to say about an educational culture that has only a cursory grasp of the power of white privilege, and does not understand the need for advocacy for children of color, or as she describes them, "we who are dark." She is highly critical of character education programs like Grit, arguing that the circumstances under which many students live already require grit in abundance. Instead, they may need celebrating. She also decries the substitution of character courses for those on civics--then engagement with the political structures needed to advocate for justice. She believes students need co-conspirators who educate with a culturally relevant pedagogy. She seems most concerned for teachers who call themselves "white" and who labor under the burden of whiteness and then afflict this on students of color.

Love also engages the additional layers of intersectionality as a black woman who is lesbian. She helps readers recognize the added layers of struggle to thrive involved in these additional layers and seeks to advocate for others in this situation.

I mention this book is an impassioned argument. Apart from citing some studies of the impact of having teachers of one's own ethnicity in one's schools, this book feels long on theory and short on practice. I do not have reservations about her arguments. It makes sense that students will do better when they know they matter and when their education speaks to their identity rather than tries to conform them to a dominant culture.

Rather, I would like to have seen a few case studies beside the author's own experiences where theory has been translated into practice, showing marked flourishing of students. Perhaps it is hard to implement such programs in the state and federally mandated testing regime approach to schools that I have heard teachers decry even in suburban schools with good report cards. It would be great to know of places where Love's approach is working.

Also, I recall a presentation by an educator on the faculty of a school dedicated to training teachers in justice pedagogy, but whose teachers were found to lack content competency in the subjects they taught, with the impact that school districts would no longer hire their teachers. It seems to me that a culturally relevant pedagogy that results in students flourishing, fosters excellence not only in artistic and social studies programs, but in reading, language, math and science programs. I hope subsequent works by this author addresses these matters.

Perhaps this is asking a great deal of one book. Perhaps first we need to hear the educational equivalent of "black lives matter" and sit with that truth. Love contends that "dark" students matter and what is needed are those who so enter into these students lives that they know existentially that they do matter. Too many are going through our schools without knowing that fundamental truth so crucial to grounding one's life. Anyone who has had a teacher who showed them they matter knows what this can mean. Hopefully every child will not be left to struggle to survive rather than be buoyed by such support and advocacy.

____________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ...more

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Aug 03, 2020 Terry Jess rated it it was amazing

This book is everything. If you are an aspiring antiracist educator, you will find equal parts validation and challenge. This is the book we need, and abolitionist teaching is where we must head. Thank you Dr. Love!

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Mar 28, 2019 Zoe's Human rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lt, giveaway-librarything

In We Want to Do More Than Survive, Bettina Love, a lifelong educator, paints a clear picture of the systemic nature of racism in our educational system. She examines the role of for-profit organizations in undermining true learning and the role of whiteness, including that of well-intended white folks, in killing the spirits of children. She persuasively argues that there is another way forward, a way that not only makes room for black students to breathe and thrive but also creates paths and p ...more

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Jul 03, 2020 Tanya rated it it was ok

I’ve been reading a series of really wonderful books recently on anti-racism and culturally relevant pedagogy. This, unfortunately, isn’t wonderful. It is chock full of unsubstantiated claims like “character education is anti-black.” I’m not honestly a fan of character education either, but she doesn’t give any reasoning for her claim. In this book, pretty much everything is racially motivated. We in the US have an enduring problem with systemic racism, but absolute unsupported paranoia isn’t th ...more

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Nov 06, 2019 Julia rated it it was ok

Shelves: non-fiction, america-n-central

I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you!

I feel like I missed something in this book. The writing was serviceable, but not memorable. The autobiographical bits were interesting to learn a bit about the author, but I wanted more on education. There was more memoir and more general race theory than I expected, and less concrete focus on the education system. I recognize that it is challenging to disentangle from a lot of other aspects, but the discussion was too surface level. It ne ...more

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Books by Bettina L. Love

Hip Hop's Li'l Sistas Speak: Negotiating Hip Hop Identities and Politics in the New South

APB: Artists against Police Brutality: A Comic Book Anthology

Black Feminism in Education; Black Women Speak Back, Up, and Out

Black Feminism in Education: Black Women Speak Back, Up, and Out: 69 (Black Studies and Critical Thinking)

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“Too often we think the work of fighting oppression is just intellectual. The real work is personal, emotional, spiritual, and communal. It is explicit, with a deep and” — 1 likes

“Theory does not solve issues—only action and solidarity can do that—but theory gives you language to fight, knowledge to stand on, and a humbling reality of what intersectional social justice is up against.” — 1 likes

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Preview — We Want to Do More Than Survive by Bettina L. Love

We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom

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Preview — We Want to Do More Than Survive by Bettina L. Love

We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom

Get A Copy

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Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

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About Bettina L. Love

Books by Bettina L. Love

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