Please visit Voices of Color Commentary regularly for updates, reflections, and new commentary by Voices of Color founder and Executive Director, Cheryl S. Greene, Ed.D.

January 20, 2008
Voices of Color Commentary, Vol. 1.
Title: Mind the Gap

In June 2001, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel with my fellow doctoral students to London, England for two weeks of study at the University of London. After our daily classes we would spend the afternoons enjoying the sights, sounds, and tastes of the city. We quickly learned how to navigate the “Tube,” London’s underground railway system. Every time we boarded the Tube, we were reminded to “Mind the Gap” – to pay particular attention to the sometimes significant gap between the train door and the station platform. For whatever reason, “Mind the Gap” soon became one of our favorite expressions. Perhaps it was because it was posted everywhere, and not just at the Tube stations or platforms. We saw it on t-shirts, bags, canisters and a host of other British souvenirs.

While my doctoral program and my days in London soon became distant memories, the expression “Mind the Gap” never really left my consciousness. However, over time, it took on an entirely new meaning. Passionate about educational equity, I became increasingly concerned at the growing gap in achievement between White and Asian students and students of color. Perhaps more alarming than the gap itself was the fact that no one around me seemed to “mind the gap.” Worse yet, many didn’t seem to even recognize or acknowledge that the gap existed at all.

The idea for Voices of Color emerged amidst my passion for equity and my deep frustration about “the gap.” My goal was to capture the collective wisdom of students, particularly students of color, regarding race, racism, and schooling, and use Voices of Color as a springboard for raising educators’ awareness and understanding of issues of educational equity. While Voices of Color has proven to be a powerful tool for staff development, I felt that the time had come to broaden its scope and capacity to reach a larger audience of educators and youth. I developed the Voices of Color website to share the wisdom of the Voices of Color students and to provide a forum for people like you to express your voice and perspective on issues of equity, race, and student achievement. Our ongoing dialogue will help keep the issues of educational equity at the forefront, reminding everyone to “mind the gap” and to work vigorously to help all children achieve academic success.

Please share your thoughts about educational equity by posting your comments on this website
or by sending an email to Cheryl@VoicesOfColor.com.

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”