Local organizer Jamar Wilson talks about the personal importance of his candidacy as a New Orleans school board member, and what it could mean for students.

When I look around schools in New Orleans, I see so many eager black students who show up every day ready to be great. To do great work. And to be recognized as worthy of attention and love. When I look into the schools I see countless teachers, showing up for their kids to do the hard and challenging work of affirming those beautiful black kids, challenging those kids to be their best selves, and being the biggest cheerleaders for their kids. I then look at our school board and I see far too many people who don’t show up in our schools. I see school board members who don’t see and affirm our kids for what they bring to our schools each day and aren’t able to see the impact of their decisions and policies on how kids are able to grow into the further leaders of our New Orleans community.

“I see school board members who don’t see and affirm our kids for what they bring to our schools each day and aren’t able to see the impact of their decisions and policies on how kids are able to grow into the further leaders of our New Orleans community.”

Unfortunately, there are not enough educators on the school board, people who have worked for years in classrooms and in school buildings, and who have an intimate understanding of what our students, parents, and fellow educators need. That is a large reason why I chose to run for Orleans Parish School Board this year. Our community deserves school board members who can influence policy and system-wide decisions with a solid understanding of how those decisions will manifest in classrooms and schools. Not only am I an educator, but I am also a black male educator in a country where approximately 2% of K-12 educators are black men. We need more black males in every area of education so that not only our black male students but all students see examples of what black excellence can look like in education.

“Not only am I an educator, but I am also a black male educator in a country where approximately 2% of K-12 educators are black men. We need more black males in every area of education so that not only our black male students but all students see examples of what black excellence can look like in education.”

As I contemplated running for office, I had doubts about my potential run. I remember thinking to myself “How am I going to raise money given that I come from a low-income background?” “Who is going to help me navigate the process of setting up a campaign?” and “How will I balance running for office, leading special education at my school, and being a supportive husband to my wife?” As I asked myself these questions, I then realized I had an amazing and talented group of people in my life that could help me figure all of these things out. As Black people, we have literal communities of support that will step up and figure things out together, especially when our community knows that we will fight tooth and nail to ensure that we are representing their best interests. My work as a community organizer helped guide my thoughts and allowed me to tap into my community of support in New Orleans so that we could run a community-focused and equity-minded campaign.

We need people on the school board that our kids can look up to and be inspired by. The one thing I always tell my kids is that you always know your self-worth and no one can take that form you and to question everything you see around you. The students I work with go into the world ready to ask ‘Why do we do it that way?’ Our kids need people surrounding them and guiding their schools and community who are not okay with the status quo. Our kids deserve the best, and nothing short of that. I think about a student that I worked with a couple of years ago. She was a student with an exceptionality, and she was often embarrassed about asking for what she needed; she also felt that she didn’t deserve to have success like other students in her class. Seeing this broke my heart, but it didn’t break my spirit of wanting to help this young lady find her true success. So we worked on it and worked on it. We had numerous conversations with her family and our social worker to give the concrete skills that she needed to be confident enough to ask for what she needed in class. And then it happened. One day, one of her teachers came up to me and said she raised her hand to ask for the math tool that she needed for the day to do her work and she said it very confidently. I remember following up with my student and her breaking down in tears as she was overjoyed with having not only me but a community of people who kept telling her that she could do it. Those are the types of students that we are capable of producing from our school system. These are the kind of citizens we need and want in the City of New Orleans.

As I continue my run for school board, I am committed to engaging in countless conversations with students, families, fellow educators, and community members about what they need and deserve from our schools. I’m committed to not letting my doubts or insecurities prevent me from showing up for my kids and families and ensuring that oppressive systems and policies are dismantled. I am not a perfect person or candidate, and I don’t strive to be one. However, I will always listen to the community so that they are guiding my actions. I look forward to the rest of my campaign and can’t wait to be the next representative on the school board for my community.

To support Jamar Wilson’s campaign visit him at www.jamarforopsb.com  

Facebook: Jamar Wilson for Orleans School Board District 7 

Instagram: votersforjamar 

You can donate and sign up to volunteer with the campaign on the website.