ED&I Commission Column: Fall 2023

Defining Social Justice

NAEA position statements are crafted to give language to issues of interest and reflect the voice of the organization. These statements also give voice to our members who may not feel safe or supported to use their own voices in curricular decisions. Social justice is an important and relevant topic in the field that needs to be addressed in support of our membership.

The ED&I Commission met for our 2023 summer retreat and revisited the process of crafting an NAEA position statement on social justice. We inherited a previous statement from NAEA that was originally drafted in 2015, prior to the ED&I Commission’s 2019 inception. The ED&I Commission was tasked with revising this statement. During that process, it was determined that an entirely new statement was necessary to reflect the contemporary research and best practices surrounding social justice. We considered the platform under which the new statement would fall, and we had meaningful discussions about where it would best fit. The Commission contemplated the need to create an additional category for ED&I. With the current options, we decided that the Curriculum category was the most appropriate; however, we understand that this may be a temporary placement.

In writing this column, a related group of Commissioners reimagined a new social justice statement. We relate that statement here in the interests of transparency and collaboration. Some of the themes that emerged during this process were: Honor, Hxstories/Theirstories, Heritages, Perspectives, Lived Experience, and Removing Barriers. The NAEA Strategic Vision guides our process. As a Commission, we are charged with ensuring that what we offer is aligned with this plan, as well as our purpose and vision. ED&I is a strategic superpillar that exists as its own goal and as a crossbeam throughout the other pillars.

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We are interested in your collective feedback and invite you to share your thoughts on platform placement and the language of the statement itself as you consider the aforementioned pillars. We invite stakeholders to use the form below to join us in this process and share their voices.

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Column by:

Mary Soylu, Supervision & Administration, ED&I Commission
Assistant Professor of Art History, Alabama State University. Email: marysoylu@gmail.com

Maria Knuckley Robinson, At-Large, ED&I Commission
Studio Art and Pre-Art Therapy Director, Salem Academy and College. Email: maria.robinson@salem.edu

Kristin A. Ponden, Middle Level, ED&I Commission
Email: kponden@gmail.com

Ligel Lambert, At-Large, ED&I Commission
Doctoral Student & Fellow. Email: LL3537@tc.columbia.edu

Browning Neddeau, Past Chair, ED&I Commission
Associate Professor of Elementary Teacher Education & American Indian Studies at California State University, Chico. Email: bmneddeau@csuchico.edu