We also had the pleasure of experiencing the work of the ‘Canes on Da Mic poetry club based out of Gainesville, Florida. Led by teacher Nicole Harris, ‘Canes on Da Mic are a group of young spoken-word poets dedicated to the free and open, creative expression of young minds. Their presence and presentation had a deep, profound impact on the other presenters. Like the EVAC Movement, ‘Canes on Da Mic present counter narratives to fight stereotypes and provide a space to empower young people to speak about their lives and experiences in honest, meaningful ways. They brought the house down.

But, to be fair, the grown-ups showed up too.

We had the good fortune to meet and learn from Val Brown of Teaching Tolerance whose presentation was framed as, “The Miseducation of Valerie Brown.” Playing on the title of Lauryn Hill’s iconic album, Val questioned how what she was taught in school, and more importantly, not taught, was still framing her thinking today. She focused in on how teachers can create classrooms that reflect diversity, equity, and justice. Check her out on twitter y’all, she is on the rise.

Other brilliant presentations included Dr. Natasha Merchant discussing the combating of Islamophobia through teaching, Dr. Kasey Jordan discussing the partnering of school nurses and educators to promote mental health, and Civil Rights activist, Rodney Hurst, Sr. focused on the ways racism continues to cause social inequality and injustice today. His talk challenged and inspired everyone in attendance to do much more in the service of social justice in the South.

Dr. Regina Bradley of Kennesaw State University gave the conference keynote address. Her talk, “Alla Us or Summa Ya’ll: What Does Social Justice Look Like in the Contemporary South?” drew on her experiences growing up in Albany, Georgia, and made powerful connections between Southern hip-hop, race, and culture in the contemporary South. Like Rodney Hurst, Sr., Dr. Bradley broke it down for folks when she talked about black joy as a form of protest and then on ways to be an activist ally for people of color in the contemporary South. Her powerful words inspired us to do even more to be part of the solution and to never stand on the sidelines.

In summary, the All Y’all Social Justice Series made us proud. It made us proud of what can be in regards to teacher professional development. There were no excessive conference fees, no spectacular and expensive swag, no bells and whistles. There were only dedicated and brilliant professionals digging in and supporting, honoring, and loving teachers. This is what education can be when like-minded individuals dedicate themselves to supporting public education. We couldn’t be more proud to have been a part of the inaugural event and hope this is one that persists.

We need this. All y’all need this.

We also know there is good work going on in southern schools we do not yet know about. If you want to share any information on other amazing professional development events designed to transform teaching and learning in the South use this link to let us know. We would love to learn more and shout out the work y’all are doing.

So we want to end this column by throwing our support behind All Y’all 2019. This needs to happen, and we will be there wherever it takes place. We will keep y’all posted on details. How about a big Southern Schooling gathering next year?