h
wit d r a w For g n i v o M ity and
s r e v i D n o i s u l Inc ross at Holy
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Artwork by Sacrée Frangine
The summer of 2020 was a turning point in our country. With the ongoing fight against police brutality targeting African Americans, many community leaders organized protests to bring awareness to the severity of the issues. Meanwhile many companies, organizations and businesses evaluated their diversity practices or lack thereof, and many local independent schools, including Holy Cross, began to self-reflect as well. At the same time, students and alumni from schools around the country (including Holy Cross) began posting on social media, looking for a way to share their own experiences and bring awareness to unfortunate events that occurred in school. Although it was disheartening to read what students had experienced, it was necessary to acknowledge our own shortcomings as a community and work more effectively towards a school environment that was welcoming and safe for all. In the summer of 2020, Holy Cross developed the Anti-Racism Task Force, whose initial role was to be points of contact for students or parents/guardians to report racially motivated issues and take feedback from students to create goals and objectives for a new Diversity, Equity and Access program. A major first step in moving forward included taking accountability, acknowledging and apologizing for times Holy Cross had fallen short on prioritizing diverse objectives and handling racially motivated reports made by students. Our school should serve as a place where our community can learn, understand and appreciate differences. Our student body is diverse in many ways, and it is important that all individuals are recognized, respected, included and seen. Our mission statement includes the words “dedicated to educating young women in a Christ-centered community which values diversity.”
10 THE TARTAN 2020 - 2021 School Year
