Our Story
We “sunset” the organization in 2022. From 2018-2022, we served as a grassroots group of students, families, teachers, and community members dedicated to supporting Black students in Cobb County School District.
Our vision was to co-create public educational spaces where Black youth are safe, valued, and nurtured.
Mission
Our mission was to support Black youth and families within the Cobb County School District by organizing opportunities for self-exploration and community building.
Vision
Legacy
Before Stronger Together existed, Black students and families in Cobb County School District were struggling in silos. The ST legacy is the multiple grassroots groups active in Cobb advocating for justice in the school district!
A Brief History
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Crossing Paths (Summer 2018).
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Linking with established networks.
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Reading. Talking. Beginning to build.
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Sharing stories with community.
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Getting officiál.
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Centering youth counterstories.
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Forming Coalition: #BlackTeachersMatter
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Creating enrichment spaces.
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Issuing formal complaints.
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Forming Coalition: Cobb Smart Justice Coalition
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Writing letters.
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Building and facilitating community political education.
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Publishing OpEds.
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Forming Coalition: Abolitionist Teaching Network
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Forming Coalition: Southern Poverty Law Ceter (SPLC)
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Forming Coalition: Ga K16 Teach Truth Coalition
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Co-constructing Cosmic Curricula.
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Dreaming New Worlds.
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Back to crossing paths . . . (Summer 2022).
How It Started: Resisting the Anti-Black Racism in Cobb County (GA) School District
We formed in the spring of 2018 as a collection of students, parents, educators, and community members as a way to support students facing racist violence in Cobb County School District (CCSD). Our aims were to advocate for racial justice and to serve as a “soft place to fall” for families enduring the ongoing racism - emboldened by the CCSD superintendent - directed at our youth and parents.
Our concerns have yet to even be acknowledged by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. He refuses to meet with our group and any other community group around matters of Anti-Black racism and violence.
Voicing Concern.
This is a video compilation that Stronger Together foundational member Michael H. made in 2019 for us to share with the community who came out to hear anonymous Black Cobb County students share their experiences with race and racism in their schooling experiences. We called this series Listening Journeys, and thought the wider public would be as outraged by these stories of racial terror as we were. Even then, Michael only included a fraction of the instances that actually show up in the archive. Since that time, parent, student, educator, and community concern about racial issues has increased dramatically, especially due to the Wheeler High School Name Change Org and the Campbell High School Black Student Caucus. Despite the superintendent and White Republican Board members’ unwillingness to acknowledge our concerns, we continue to resist in this way. There is value in being on public record in a participatory democracy.
Building Community.
We are clear that building community is a direct affront to White supremacist power structures. As such, we seek to create spaces where young Black folks and their expansive connections thrive.
Resisting Racism.
Period.
Co-constructing spaces for healing and liberation.
What we know about the spirit murder that runs rampant in Cobb County School District is that it takes time away from our kids - all kids - engaging in safe, supportive, fun, and challenging learning spaces. In fact, that is one of it’s primary functions. We know CCSD has many great teachers and that many Black teachers and their allies openly acknowledge the racism that they feel directed at them as employees.
Reader: please take a moment to consider the last time you learned something while sharing space with other humans. It takes a certain kind of context to allow you to be open and receptive to learning, no?
