Sharing the Work: Re-examining Our Past to Advance Our Future

by Lauren M. '22 and Lisa Robinson

Earlier this month, Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School sent a group of teachers, parents, Board members, middle school students, and alumni to participate in the 2021 Town Pollyanna Conference Sharing the Work: Re-examining Our Past to Advance Our Future.

A program by the national non-profit Pollyanna, this full-day virtual conference brought together teams from twelve area schools to help them understand our nation's history of systemic racism through an intersectional lens, consider their personal roles in dismantling racism as connected to our own identities, and develop an action plan for creating more equitable school communities. The day began with a keynote presentation by Monique Vogelsang.

Lauren shared, "She (Vogelsang) mentioned that there really isn’t a biological/genetic truth to racism; there is no such thing as a “race” chromosome, which means that humans have created the idea of race. She also told a story about a German scientist, Johann Blumenbach, who in the late 1700s, proposed five categories of race-based on different human skulls. His opinion stated that the Caucasian skull was the “most beautiful form of the skull,” a lot of white people use the term Caucasian to describe their race. What they may not know though, using that term is implying white supremacy. Personally, I had no idea about that concept and I am glad that I know about it now. She showed us the development of race categories on the United States census too. (She shared how) the first United States census only had two races on it, “White” and “Colored” compared to the latest United States census where there are many more categories. I also learned how important it is to spread our knowledge about others so people don’t get the wrong idea about certain topics. There were many more topics she covered during this presentation but those are some key points that stood out to me."

Participants then took part in facilitated discussions within constituent groups. Following a lunch break, there was a presentation from students and the conference then concluded with a time for each school team to meet together to reflect, to share, and to determine the next steps together.

"Race is not based on biology, but race is rather an idea we have ascribed to biology."

Alan H. Goodman, biological anthropologist and author

In the constituent groups, participants took time to reflect on the work that must take place in order to create more equitable school communities. The first question that the parent group discussed was:

In her book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum writes: “I can describe myself as a light-skinned, well-educated, heterosexual, able-bodied, Christian African American woman raised in a two-parent middle-class family in a small, predominantly White, middle-class town. As an African American woman, I am systematically disadvantaged by race and by gender, but I systematically receive benefits in the other categories, which then mediate my experience of racism and sexism.” 

• Using a similar pattern, craft a statement that speaks to your own intersectional identities. 

• How do you think your identities have impacted, and continue to impact, your life? How may have they informed your worldview? 

• As a result, what may be some of your (implicit or unconscious) biases? What other perspectives could you seek to understand the experiences of people both “within” and “across” your identity group(s)?

Groups then created definitions of racism and discussed why/how we must dismantle racism and how we can use our personal strengths and professional networks to help build community and navigate challenges.

Lauren reported, "In the student constituent group, we played a game, learned about each other, and answered questions on how we felt about race. It was nice to connect with kids from different schools and hear a different point of view. When we were doing that, it felt like an open space where everyone was comfortable to share their opinions. Nobody felt judged and everyone was very respectful to each other. We were all talking about race like a normal topic so it wasn’t awkward. Hopefully, in the future, everyone will be able to talk about race like that to each other."

Our student representatives, seventh graders Coco K. and Lauren M., were selected by the event facilitators to be among the nine students who spoke during the student panel. Coco shared, “First of all, one part that I play in challenging both systemic and everyday racism is the role that everyone has as a human being. Acknowledging and affirming who you are and how you identify yourself, and who others are and how they prefer to define themselves. To be constantly open-minded and updating the words you use to talk and be aware of the lenses that you look upon situations through. For me personally, I identify as a white, European American girl, who recognizes that she has privilege and a stable socio-economic status. One thing that I talked about in my constituent group was that I sometimes look upon all the beautiful cultures around me and I can feel envious. I am always open and eager to learn from the people in those groups, but I am cautious about immersing myself into their customs and traditions or wearing certain clothing, hairstyles or (making) dishes associated with or brought into popularity by a certain culture, with the worry of showing any hint of disrespect. This kind of fits the question of what I learned from this experience, and I already had a general idea of this, but I was affirmed in my group that as long as I always approach people of different cultures than my own with respect and love and open-mindedness, they will likely give that in return. I understand how some cultures may be wary about people of different races or ethnicities trying out and learning about their traditions and practices, and they deserve that right because of the decades and centuries of oppression that they have endured. I acknowledge them. I affirm and validate them and their beliefs, and not because they need my validation, but because we are all stronger together. Always trying my hardest to go into a learning space with respect and an open mind, everyone will benefit. And all of these things aren’t even the tip of the iceberg. This is a conversation that has been discussed and will continue to be discussed for years to come. But it all starts with us.”

As the Saint Andrew’s group gathered together in the afternoon, we reflected on the work that has been started by the school’s DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Committee and the work that still needs to be done. As Coco shared, this “will continue to be discussed for years to come.”

As a school, we will continue to work on creating a truly inclusive community. Our work is grounded in the statement,

“Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School is a community rooted in kindness. We believe that learning happens best when we bring our whole self to school. We support every person’s right to define, express, and live comfortably within their own evolving identity. We are committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment that recognizes the worth of each individual. 

By embracing diversity, we are a stronger community.”

Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School will continue to educate our faculty, students, and parents on how each one of us can foster inclusivity through conferences, speakers, books, and videos. We will review our curriculum and policies through an equity lens. We will launch more affinity groups so the people can connect with others in our community. We will continue to report out to you on the work that we’re doing.

You can learn more about the DEI work that has been done so far by visiting the school website. We’ll be adding more resources in the coming weeks. Participants in the Pollyanna conference will also be sharing at upcoming Board and PAB Meetings. More details to come.