To: NAUDL Board of Directors
Fire Linda Listrom-ED of National Urban Debate League
Linda Listrom fails to lead a potentially powerful youth education organization. She makes flagrant and insulting comments about the very students she serves. Demand that she and certain members of the Board of Directors are removed from the organization.
Why is this important?
I started this petition because I am very involved with Urban Debate Leagues and an alumna of Northwestern University's College debate program. Debate is near and dear to my heart and I strongly believe that debate, as a tool, is extremely powerful and can be used to help middle school and high schools in public schools across the country, as they navigate the world and try to fight back against oppression. Because I recognize the power of debate, I am deeply disturbed and heartbroken at some things that have come to light about the leadership of the National Urban Debate League. #StopBigUDL
Linda Listrom constantly demonstrates a lack of skill, awareness, and capacity to perform her job duties. The NAUDL tournaments have become a hotbed of racial microaggressions as well as a space for NAUDL to strip students of their stories by strategically putting students in a position where they essentially are made to credit NAUDL for all of their successes publicly. I am sharing recently published articles on this exact question.
1.http://newarkteacher.blogspot.com/2015/04/why-newark-science-left-national.htm
“The following was a letter written to Linda Listrom, the Executive Director of the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues on March 13. To date there has been no response. Well meaning white missionaries can do insidiously harmful and racist things. I believe that the movement of urban debate is important. Hopefully this is something we can learn from.” -Jonathan Alston, Director of Debate, Science Park High School, Newark, NJ
2.http://lbsbaltimore.com/white-power-and-black-voices-why-we-cant-rely-on-good-white-people/
“The Baltimore Urban Debate League (BUDL), under the leadership of Pam Block-Brier, is bound up in the non-profit industrial complex. We no longer will support BUDL in any way, shape or form. We are building the Walter Carter Leadership Institute to offer quality debate, advocacy and leadership training to young people in Baltimore. Those who are interested in helping to support grassroots debate training should support our work.” - Dayvon Love, Director of Research and Public Policy for Leadership of a Beautiful Struggle, #LBSbaltimore, Baltimore City, MD
3.http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/03/boston-debate-league-believes-debate-can-help-students-struggling-most-city-schools/xL70Cnzg08i3IP22gfjNDN/story.html
“Finally, this last piece tells the story as framed by the Boston Globe of the Boston Debate League. The League is very successful and scholars like the individual from New Mission spotlighted in this piece are numerous and their narratives are vast and incredible. As a former employee of the BDL, I commend the effort of all the staff, students and coaches for their Athena-like effort in supporting the growth and success of the BDL. Unfortunately, you can see from the Executive Director, Steve Stein’s commentary, he suggests that all BDL students are vulnerable and debate in some way saves them. Or perhaps Steve himself assumes all personal salvation, like so many white liberals with too much money and not enough humanity.” -Veronica Switzer, former Talent Manager, Boston Debate League, Boston, MA (resigned).
The culmination of the egregious behavior on behalf of NAUDL leadership is an email recently sent to all leagues directors in which Linda threatened that she would ban students, schools, and even entire leagues from the National Competition if they were found making arguments that the Urban Debate League institution is, by and large, a racist and problematic institution.
Here is a copy of a recent email she released to the Urban Debate community: http://www.cross-x.com/topic/58802-naudl/
We need to stand up and demand that white liberals are held responsible for their problematic internalized racism.
Here is a quote from a former UDL alum on Linda's statements:
“I think that it is disturbing that critique of urban debate as exploitative was lumped together with misogynistic and demeaning language. I do not think that those arguments (about UDLs being exploitative) are beyond reasonable critique, we need (and probably must, and should) to be able to grapple with that possibility. If people feel threatened by those arguments, the best answer will be found through more debate, not less. This goes hand in hand with a statement made later on in the email where she goes on to say, “It is also insulting to the sponsors who are paying for the debaters’ plane tickets and hotel room." ...This implies that if you can afford to buy in to tournaments you can run(argue) whatever you want but if you're in a position where a UDL buys in for you then that comes with the power for them to choose what you're allowed to say? I feel like that is antithetical to most of the mission statements, not to mention would kind of make the statement she made later on that, “it is not appropriate to argue at an urban debate tournament that urban debate is racist or exploitive" painfully ironic.
I would implore us all to remember that racial justice is not something that our students ‘– many of whom are students of color – are interested in” saying that deeply devalues that hard work that our students are doing to combat racism in their own lives as well to take on the beast that is institutionalized racism as they navigate (Substitute; Public Schools) , college, and the working world. When I think of something I am interested in I think of Star Trek, not a centuries long battle for equity.”
Thank you,
Veronica Switzer and Crew
Original Background edited 4/11/15
I started this petition because I am very involved with Urban Debate Leagues and an alumae of Northwestern University's College debate program. Ms. Listrom constantly demonstrates a lack of skill, awareness, and capacity to perform her job duties. She recently sent an email to all leagues directors that specifically said she would ban students, schools, and leagues from the National Competition ...
Linda Listrom constantly demonstrates a lack of skill, awareness, and capacity to perform her job duties. The NAUDL tournaments have become a hotbed of racial microaggressions as well as a space for NAUDL to strip students of their stories by strategically putting students in a position where they essentially are made to credit NAUDL for all of their successes publicly. I am sharing recently published articles on this exact question.
1.http://newarkteacher.blogspot.com/2015/04/why-newark-science-left-national.htm
“The following was a letter written to Linda Listrom, the Executive Director of the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues on March 13. To date there has been no response. Well meaning white missionaries can do insidiously harmful and racist things. I believe that the movement of urban debate is important. Hopefully this is something we can learn from.” -Jonathan Alston, Director of Debate, Science Park High School, Newark, NJ
2.http://lbsbaltimore.com/white-power-and-black-voices-why-we-cant-rely-on-good-white-people/
“The Baltimore Urban Debate League (BUDL), under the leadership of Pam Block-Brier, is bound up in the non-profit industrial complex. We no longer will support BUDL in any way, shape or form. We are building the Walter Carter Leadership Institute to offer quality debate, advocacy and leadership training to young people in Baltimore. Those who are interested in helping to support grassroots debate training should support our work.” - Dayvon Love, Director of Research and Public Policy for Leadership of a Beautiful Struggle, #LBSbaltimore, Baltimore City, MD
3.http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/03/boston-debate-league-believes-debate-can-help-students-struggling-most-city-schools/xL70Cnzg08i3IP22gfjNDN/story.html
“Finally, this last piece tells the story as framed by the Boston Globe of the Boston Debate League. The League is very successful and scholars like the individual from New Mission spotlighted in this piece are numerous and their narratives are vast and incredible. As a former employee of the BDL, I commend the effort of all the staff, students and coaches for their Athena-like effort in supporting the growth and success of the BDL. Unfortunately, you can see from the Executive Director, Steve Stein’s commentary, he suggests that all BDL students are vulnerable and debate in some way saves them. Or perhaps Steve himself assumes all personal salvation, like so many white liberals with too much money and not enough humanity.” -Veronica Switzer, former Talent Manager, Boston Debate League, Boston, MA (resigned).
The culmination of the egregious behavior on behalf of NAUDL leadership is an email recently sent to all leagues directors in which Linda threatened that she would ban students, schools, and even entire leagues from the National Competition if they were found making arguments that the Urban Debate League institution is, by and large, a racist and problematic institution.
Here is a copy of a recent email she released to the Urban Debate community: http://www.cross-x.com/topic/58802-naudl/
We need to stand up and demand that white liberals are held responsible for their problematic internalized racism.
Here is a quote from a former UDL alum on Linda's statements:
“I think that it is disturbing that critique of urban debate as exploitative was lumped together with misogynistic and demeaning language. I do not think that those arguments (about UDLs being exploitative) are beyond reasonable critique, we need (and probably must, and should) to be able to grapple with that possibility. If people feel threatened by those arguments, the best answer will be found through more debate, not less. This goes hand in hand with a statement made later on in the email where she goes on to say, “It is also insulting to the sponsors who are paying for the debaters’ plane tickets and hotel room." ...This implies that if you can afford to buy in to tournaments you can run(argue) whatever you want but if you're in a position where a UDL buys in for you then that comes with the power for them to choose what you're allowed to say? I feel like that is antithetical to most of the mission statements, not to mention would kind of make the statement she made later on that, “it is not appropriate to argue at an urban debate tournament that urban debate is racist or exploitive" painfully ironic.
I would implore us all to remember that racial justice is not something that our students ‘– many of whom are students of color – are interested in” saying that deeply devalues that hard work that our students are doing to combat racism in their own lives as well to take on the beast that is institutionalized racism as they navigate (Substitute; Public Schools) , college, and the working world. When I think of something I am interested in I think of Star Trek, not a centuries long battle for equity.”
Thank you,
Veronica Switzer and Crew
Original Background edited 4/11/15
I started this petition because I am very involved with Urban Debate Leagues and an alumae of Northwestern University's College debate program. Ms. Listrom constantly demonstrates a lack of skill, awareness, and capacity to perform her job duties. She recently sent an email to all leagues directors that specifically said she would ban students, schools, and leagues from the National Competition ...