Anti-Racism and Cultural Affirmation Went Viral in 2023

What goes viral for an audience says much about what they care about. Ed Post's readers and viewers stopped their scrolling for issues such as student success, anti-racism education and advocacy, school funding, combating extremist "parents' rights" groups, and the need for culturally relevant education that includes overlooked history.

Here's what went viral in 2023. 

Celebrate Student Success

Yes! Reading social media channels doesn't have to feel like a never-ending nightmare of doom scrolling. Several of the posts that readers connected with the most shared good news with no "but" attached to ruin the mood. 

Meet #HephzibahAkinwale @hephzibahworkshop, the 10-year-old from East Cambridge who published a novel titled Chronicles of the Time Keepers: Whisked Away. Congratulations young queen! #LiteraryProdigy #UnleashingCreativity #CelebratingYoungTalent

Jane Elliott, One of the GOATs of Diversity Education, Rocks Social Media

If you're involved in the education world and have social media, you probably have watched a video of Jane Elliott dropping the mic like a ton of bricks on people who are blind to their biases. 

She famously conducted her blue eye/brown eye exercise with her all-white third graders in a small Iowa town the day after a white supremacist assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. She's still fighting to help realize MLK's dream more than 50 years later.

  “I’m not a white person; I’m a faded black person."  A truth about the myth of "white superiority": “My people moved far from the equator. And that’s the only reason my skin is lighter. That’s all any white person is.”

“You are a racist, whether or not you think so … ."  Elliott claims that if somehow a student dodged taking in racial biases during their K-12 schooling, then they weren't paying attention to the curriculum.

Moms for Liberty Oppression

"Shame on you, Moms for Liberty." That was the loud and clear message from protestors who gathered in Philadelphia to denounce the hate group outside their national summit.

Education Karen’s 10 Resolutions for 2023

Sometimes the best way to make a point is with humor. It's difficult to know what's parody and what's real life sometimes when you watch video after video of people seemingly making earnest statements that sound ridiculous. Enter "Karen K. Kramer", a woman with a message about how to be "colorblind" in the woke world. 

We "awfulize" black and brown children.

Powerful truths and productive conversations are cornerstones of Ed Post's Freedom Friday podcast and interviews. This sound bite from @citizenstewart resonated with many people who can personally attest to the experience of being demonized. 

Black Mathematician History Series

More good news, with the added benefit of enlightening people about often neglected history! Ed Post is proud to collaborate with educators who step up to be advocates outside their classrooms and speak out in support of all students.

This video was the first of a series of short but informative videos brought to viewers by math teacher and Ed Post contributor Kwame Sarfo-Mensah:

"To kick the series off, we want to give our 💐 to Dr. Gladys West, whose computer programming and mathematical designs served as the foundation for the creation of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

In other words, there would be no Waze, Google Maps, or any other GPS app without her contributions."

Does whiteness define American culture?

Another taste of the thought-provoking podcast hosted by Ed Post made viewers pause and think about the influence whiteness has exerted on American culture. 

Funding crisis in schools

With an election year coming up, how we spend our tax dollar is of even greater concern for people than normal. Where will school funding fit in the equation for our local, state, and federal governments? 

This video was also posted on Ed Post's Tik Tok channel, but what Adrienne Quinn had to say about distressing examples of funding crises in schools sparked a long-running conversation on Instagram.

"The shortage of essential school staff and the requests for parents to volunteer for tasks like cleaning bathrooms and substitute teaching without pay underscore the challenges facing the education system."