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Malik White’s battle for justice at the David Douglas School District may have started with hoodies. But it won’t end there.
White, who teaches at Floyd Light Middle School, a short walk from Mall 205, was part of the school equity team that eliminated disciplining students who wear hats and hoodies in the halls. His next goal? To change the same rule at David Douglas High.
That’s where he graduated in 2013. “I became a teacher because I never had a Black teacher or a teacher of color,” White says. “Kids are not able to see themselves in the curriculum.”
In his third year of teaching, White believes that who tells history matters—both in the perspective of the texts and the life experience of the teacher. “Students can be themselves,” he says, if they have educators who have been in their shoes.
“I’m a firm believer that you can read all the good books; however, if you don’t have the lived experiences, what do you have to offer?” he says. “This is why representation is so desperately needed in our society.”
WW is celebrating Black History Month by meeting some of the people shaping Oregon’s future: Black teachers. Look for a photo essay on a new teacher each week of February.
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