Intersectionality and Abolitionist Teaching: Centering Queer Voices

Abolitionist teaching must include an intersectional approach; one that is inclusive to LGBTQIA+ folks. Join ATN for a critical discussion on co-conspiracy regarding queer issues and to explore the often erased existence of queer folks in the historical struggle towards racial justice inside and outside of the classroom.

*We encourage you to reserve a ticket at the price point that is relevant to your financial circumstance*

Brendane Tynes is a Black queer feminist scholar and storyteller from Columbia, South Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Education from Duke University. While at Duke, she participated in several political organizations and created curricula for social justice education. After graduating college, she taught high school science at a public high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, while working as a Student Engagement Organizer at Know Your IX, a nonprofit dedicated to ending sexual violence. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology at Columbia University, where she studies the effective responses of Black women and girls to multiple forms of violence within the Movement for Black Lives. Brendane is passionate about creating affirming, supportive spaces for Black women and girls, and that drives her commitment to anti-capitalist, anti-racist, Black feminist anti-oppression work. She has facilitated anti-oppression workshops at Teach For America’s National Institute, Columbia University, and in various teaching positions with an explicit commitment to an abolitionist, survivor-centered Black queer feminist lens. She is co-host of Zora’s Daughters Podcast, a Black feminist anthropological take on popular culture and issues that concern Black women. Outside of academe, you can find Brendane dancing, singing, writing poetry, and creating healing spaces for survivors of interpersonal violence.

Akiea “Ki” Gross (they/them) is an abolitionist early educator, consultant, cultural organizer and creative entrepreneur currently innovating ways to resist, heal, liberate and create with their pedagogy, Woke Kindergarten, a global, abolitionist early learning community, creative expanse and consultancy supporting children, families, educators and organizations in their commitment to abolitionist early education and pro-Black and LGBTQIA+ liberation.

Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi is the 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. He teaches high school AP English and research in New Bedford, MA. As an education advocate, TK has focused on policy around diversifying our schools and supporting leadership roles and opportunities for teachers of color. He has written op-eds on culturally responsive work; helped recruit educators of color through the MA Department of Education; and serves on several state committees, task forces, and advisory boards to fight for equitable and anti-racist policy recommendations. A nationally recognized educator, TK also leads trainings and workshops around the country, ranging on topics from pedagogy, curriculum and content, to education policy and community organizing work. Takeru has received recognitions such as the Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence (2021), Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teacher Leadership Award (2019), Boston University Young Alumni Award (2019), and Sontag Prize in Urban Education (2018). He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with an honors B.A. in international relations and from Boston University an M.Ed in Curriculum and Teaching. As a son of Japanese immigrants and a gay person of color, TK leverages his identities to fight for and center equity in his teaching and teacher leadership.

Owen Bondono (pronouns: he/they) teaches 9th grade ELA at Oak Park High School. He is the 2020-2021 Michigan Teacher of the Year. As an educator, his goal is growing students as empathetic critical thinkers and communicators in a space where they are safe and empowered. Owen is focused on bringing anti-racist and queer-affirming practices into the classroom and believes that advocacy drives all good teaching practices.

shea wesley martin is a fat, Black, queer, non-binary writer based in the mountains of Vermont. they write about the joy, pain, and triumph of being Black, queer, and not-quite-woman in and beyond this world. a freelance educator, they also research, consult, and write about creating and sustaining liberatory learning spaces. their work is explicitly rooted in radical love, antiracist pedagogy, and seeking justice and liberation through intersectional coalition-building in schools and communities. shea is the co-founder of the Liberate and Chill* Collective, serves as co-facilitator of Love and LiteraTea for LGBTQ+ Youth, and runs the Anonymous Teacher Speaks Project.