Revisiting Space Traders and the Discourse on Opening Schools During COVID-19 by Dr. Jonathan Davis

Black people are the magical faces at the bottom of society’s well. Even the poorest whites, those who must live their lives only a few levels above, gain their self-esteem by gazing down on us. Surely, they must know that their deliverance depends on letting down their ropes. Only by working together is escape possible. Over time, many reach out, but most simply watch, mesmerized into maintaining their unspoken commitment to keeping us where we are, at whatever cost to them or to us.

Derrick Bell, Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism

In Faces at the Bottom of the Well, Derrick Bell, a civil rights lawyer and legal scholar, contends that racism is a permanent feature in American society and that past legal efforts to remedy society’s historical racial wrongs have done nothing more than ascribe unenforceable moral mandates. Nevertheless, according to Bell, there is beauty in the struggle for justice and much to be learned about oneself, the reproduction of injustice, and one’s response to said injustice. Though published in 1992, Bell’s seminal work strikes at the core of America’s current status on race, racism, and the reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Let me explain how.

Through a series of allegorical stories, Bell captivates his readers and transports them to a world where, for example, a mysterious island emerges in the Atlantic ocean that is deadly for everyone except Black people; where messages containing facts about slavery and racism are downloaded into the conscious minds of all Americans against their will; and, where Black people are traded off to an alien race in order to save the economy and the nation’s economic and environmental future. Bell uses these stories to advance his claim regarding the positioning of Black people at the bottom of society’s metaphorical well. One need not look far for an indication of where America stands on race and racism in the 21st century—mass incarceration, racial wealth gap, health disparities, environmental injustice, and educational disparities, to name a few.

 Bell’s argument around the permanence of racism is difficult to accept; however, his perspective that Black people are positioned at the bottom of society’s well is hard to dispute. Though disheartening, there’s power in naming this perspective and what it suggests. It suggests that Black people will always be less valued in America, deemed less important, and sacrificed if it is in the best interest of the nation.

Historical precedent notwithstanding, consider the current discourse around reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the nation, state and local leaders have pushed to reopen schools for in-person or blended learning at a time when COVID-19 cases are increasing and projected to increase exponentially throughout the fall and winter. Trusted leaders claim that reopening schools in the midst of a global health pandemic is in the best interest of students and their academic growth and social and emotional development. Unnecessarily exposing any child to a deadly virus—that is not well understood—is dangerous, deeply concerning, and places undue risk upon children and those tasked with caring for them--namely school staff. A recent study suggests that COVID-19 can cause Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) in children from ages less than 1 to 20 years of age and disproportionately among students of color. The decision to reopen schools does not appear to be motivated solely or principally by a concern for student learning and development; rather, the push to reopen schools is seemingly about reopening the economy. 

Though known for their contributions to students’ academic and social and emotional development, schools are one of the most prominent forms of childcare in the nation. When open for in-person learning, schools provide parents and guardians with both the space and time necessary to transition from remote work to in-person work--a move that would, in theory, help jumpstart the economy. To be fair, the economic fallout from COVID-19 has been nothing short of catastrophic. Recent estimates suggest that at the peak of the pandemic approximately 18 million people lost their job and source of income as a result of the measures put in place to curb the spread of the deadly virus. Entire industries, local businesses, and staple features in communities have dried up as people observe stay-at-home measures and bans on indoor dining at restaurants and reduce travel within and across local and state lines. College and universities face an uncertain future as students largely remain off campus or in a blended learning format for the majority of the 2020-2021 academic year. The long-term economic effects of such draconian measures and decisions are incalculable and that gives federal, state, and local leaders pause, especially in an election year. Faced with an opportunity to restart the economy and to curb off some of the short and potential long-term losses wrought by COVID-19, elected leaders are choosing to reopen schools.

This decision is very similar to the choice presented to and made by elected leaders in Bell’s story titled “Space Traders”—minus the arrival of an alien race. There, America found herself in dire economic, environmental, and social straits. At what appeared to be the brink of collapse, an alien race journeyed to Earth not to conquer the planet but to make a simple proposition to the American people. That being, in return for enough gold, clean fuel, and environment cleaning chemicals that would secure the nation’s future for a century, elected officials would simply trade, or hand over, all individuals of African ancestry residing within the nation’s borders. The purpose as to why the alien race wanted all Black people in America was not made known, nor did it matter to those in favor of the trade and what it signified. COVID-19 has presented its own insidious trade, the lives and health of our children—particularly those from communities of color and from low-income backgrounds—for the economic well-being of the nation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing disparities present within and throughout society. Marginalized communities of color and from low-income backgrounds, who already struggle to access quality and affordable health care services, have and are far more likely to contract and die from COVID-19 at disproportionate rates. Yet, such considerations do not feature prominently in the discourse surrounding the reopening of schools. Reopening schools at this time simply misses the mark on what is fair, just, and in the best interest of children. However, the history of this nation has been anything but fair and just for communities of color, generally, and Black people, specifically. Bell was ahead of his time when he divined that Black people would be traded away if it made economic sense. Nearly 30 years later, his allegorical story has become reality, except instead of trading just Black people we are trading off our generational legacy in our children, particularly those from communities of color and from low-income backgrounds. Such choices set a dangerous precedent and beg the question: who or what will be traded off next in order to restart the economy?