|
Dear Centennial Crew,
On Friday Emily Volkert sent out our weekly staff bulletin and started her email to staff like this, “In response to the violence against Black bodies this summer, I didn’t hesitate to mobilize and join forces against racism. Maybe it was because I had way fewer distractions than I do now. And when the capitol siege happened, I was quick to jump on resources to try to figure out how to talk about it as a staff and to support our kids as well. [Friday] morning I read a quote on Instagram that was a total gut punch. It was something like, If you’re in a school and you haven’t made a statement supporting #AAPI community against White Supremacist attacks, checked in with your Asian staff and students, your silence is noted and racist.”
Emily and I talked on Friday about how we also had not shared a statement with the Centennial community about the deadly violence and decided in that moment that we could share something in the next Thursday Crew News email. However, when I woke up this morning, still bombarded with news and social media posts about the violence in Atlanta I realized that waiting until next week to speak about this tragedy was too long to stay silent and would make me seem possibly removed from or complicit in the racist acts. This quote from an article in Learning from Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) resonated with me and has given me pause:
“If you have been ignorant or detached from the recent spate of anti-Asian violence, we hope you’ll consider why. Consider how colleagues or students may feel intimately connected to the lives lost last night. Consider how difficult it may be to focus today and act accordingly.” I apologize that Centennial has stayed silent on the violence until today.
It is heartbreaking to once again be reaching out to the community to condemn yet another senseless, racially motivated act of violence. It continues to be incredibly important that we, as an organization, and a community continue to stand up against racism, injustice and violence.
Centennial, A School for Expeditionary Learning stands in solidarity with our Asian and Asian American students, staff, families and community. We stand against all forms of hate, racism, sexism and violence. Centennial does not tolerate hateful words or actions in our school. COVID-19 is a public health issue -- not the fault of any person, any country, or any ethnic group.
Please, care for one another. If you see or hear this kind of behavior, step in and stop it if you can. If you or your child witness something on school grounds, or in the community speak up. If you See Something, Say Something to a teacher or trusted adult.
Just the other day I read on post on a friend’s Instagram page. She talked about how being an ally was a verb and meant you needed to do something. We can be allies by speaking with our children about how their ancestors immigrated to America. We can be allies by speaking with our children about current events and by helping them understand that we are unfortunately far from living in a post-racial society. Bottom line is that being an ally means we’ll commit to TALK ABOUT IT. Bring it up, because it matters.
Being anti-racist is not about pretending to be color blind nor is it limited to platitudes of welcoming people of all races. Rather, being anti-racist requires action- big and small- to recognize that race is real, that it has played a central and pivotal role in the histories of millions of Americans, and that race still shapes everyone’s experience today. Ignoring race compounds the suffering of those who have descended from generations of ancestors persecuted for their race, those who see their lives shaped by race every day.
Let us resist the urge to forge ahead "business as usual" and give ourselves permission for deep empathy. Maybe, then, we will feel moved to fight for changes that will actually make the world safer for everyone- not just some.
Sincerely,
Laura
|
|
|
|
|
