Teachers for Social Justice Chicago

About


Teachers for Social Justice (TSJ) is an all-volunteer grassroots organization of educators in the Chicago area committed to racial, economic, gender, and social justice in and out of the classroom.

TSJ formed 25 years ago in the midst of neoliberal education reform in Chicago, has worked in coalition with local and national organizations for education justice and social justice, ex: organizing against the militarization of schools, school closings, privatization, police in schools, racism, and more. We were honored to play an active role in the 2015 Dyett Hunger Strike and the city organizing against school closings and to support the CTU’s social movement unionism.

TSJ brings teachers together for political education, curriculum sharing, radical inspiration, and collective action – notably through curriculum fairs, teach-ins, inquiry-to-action groups, and active participation in the education justice movement opposing school privatization. Our keynote speakers at curriculum fairs over the years have been grassroots leaders (teachers, parents, youth) who have helped us better understand how to work for education and social justice in Chicago, nationally and globally.

TSJ Political Principles

  1. Continuously develop our understanding of the sociopolitical, historical, cultural, and economic roots of social inequality and injustice, and recognize the role of education within this context.
  2. Provide a space for educators to collaborate, share knowledge, and resist injustice.
  3. Create and promote liberatory practices in educational curricula, practices, classrooms, schools, and community spaces.
  4. Organize educators in solidarity with students, parents, and community members to fight for education justice and other issues that impact children, young people, and their communities.
  5. Join with others to build a broad national and international movement for educational and social justice.
  6. Confront, and continue to develop our understanding of, racial capitalism, heteropatriarchy, settler colonialism, white supremacy, anti-blackness, ableism and other forms of oppression as they show up in ourselves, communities, and global society. 
  7. Acknowledge personal and collective trauma as it manifests within our community and movement spaces. Dedicate time to practices of healing, love, and care to repair harm within ourselves and our relationships with one another.

Education Workers for Palestine (EDW4P) is a group of educators organizing across Chicago for a Free Palestine. We seek to unearth, make clear, and develop connections from Palestine to Chicago with & in our communities to build power and broaden our collective movements.

TSJ has been working in the Ed Justice Movement in Chicago for over 25 years. We are working on archiving historical materials to host on this site as a resource. In the meantime, you can explore the old website: http://www.teachersforjustice.org/