9 minute read
Representation Matters
past five years. Among the participants who attended virtually last year, Taiya Letang '23, a second-year participant, and Ronit Totwani '23, a first-year participant, shared their thoughts. "I was truly excited going in to have the chance to meet other student leaders, learn about a range of different cultures and backgrounds, and take away some of the great things other schools are doing, " Ronit, pictured above attending an affinity group session, said. "As part of the Upper School Student Council, I came in with some of these broader goals, and after participating, I understood they could be a little more specific. A lot of the work we did was in our student affinity groups – mine gave me a chance to interact with other Asian Americans, South Asians in particular, and one of the things we really spoke about was implementing more multi-cultural celebrations within our schools. What I really loved the most was that first day with my group - everyone was just saying so many things we could all relate to and there was just so much excitement in that special space where we all came together. In her second year, Taiya said her focus was to explore ways of making the Antilles campus a safer, more welcoming space for all students.
"As someone who has always wanted to be more open about my identity, I felt applying for the conference would give me a push in the right direction, " she said. "While there is a lot of diversity within our school, sometimes I feel like we can push ourselves to do more in an attempt to create a more comfortable environment for all identities. During the conference, I learned to love myself more and to try to be open to as much as possible within our school community. One of my favorite experiences was the 'Silent Movement' activity, where we were given time to acknowledge the certain parts of ourselves that we identified with. Since it is hard for me to be vulnerable with myself, the activity showed me how I was not completely alone as I thought I was. Head of School Shannon Harris was recognized in the Spring of 2022 by Private School Village in a "Salute to Black Leadership" celebrating Black senior leaders at independent schools across the nation. According to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) 2021-2022 Trendbook, over the past 20 years, the number of heads of color in independent schools increased from 3 percent to 10 percent - still below the 22 percent of principals of color at public schools. And, excluding diversity practitioners, people of color in various leadership roles represented fewer than one in five in most independent schools. For context, in 2014-2015, there were only 30 African American school heads out of more than 1,500 member schools in the NAIS. Ms. Harris is the first person of color to serve as Head of School of Antilles and has been a part of the school's leadership team since 2006. Private School Village is a national organization that cultivates and harnesses the power of community to positively transform the private school experience for Black families so that students fully thrive.
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CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Offering historical context for February ’s annual Black History Fair events, Averad Penn P'22, P'24, spoke to Middle and Upper School students about growing up in New York in the 1970's and experiencing a range of "firsts" that he said set the stage for the evolution of Black leaders. Along with the election of David Dinkins as the first Black mayor of New York City, Mr. Penn, who worked on Dinkins' campaign, spoke about watching Jesse Jackson running for president of the United States in 1984 - the second Black candidate since Shirley Chisolm in 1972 - and his excitement over Jackson's message of unity. This generation has experienced more firsts - including the actual election of the first Black president - but as far as society has come in a few decades, continued incidents of systemic racism have demonstrated how much further we have to go, he said. Mr. Penn encouraged students to pick up where the last generation left off - a message echoed by members of the Upper School Student Council, who, in designing a range of other activities during the last week of February sought to both celebrate the accomplishments of Black Americans while shedding light on the struggles for equity and equality that many still face. Our students' perception of what Black representation and excellence - looks like was the focus of a video featured during the main portion of the Fair, which came at the end of an expanded week-long celebration. "We asked students what Black history means to them and all of the responses were reflective of how important it has been for us to live in a community that is so diverse and empowering for people of color, " co-organizer Joshua Crawford Barry '22 said. "What we' ve had to think about next, is how can we, as students and future leaders, take that model and our experience and use it to drive change wherever we go. Like the responses in the video, part of the shift also has to include changing the narrative around Black culture, added co-organizer Araba Penn '22. "With this event, for example, I like that we focused on the celebration rather than the tribulations of Black history, " she said. "We have to push the positive and push the accomplishments until they 're no longer surprises or firsts, but rather just a normal part of life.
ON THE PIANO
The structure of the event - particularly the main portion of the Fair - was also reflective of the spirit of the Antilles community, according to student organizers. Many of the acts were musicoriented, such as Sahid Letang's '24 rendition of John Legend's Glory, which you can view by scanning the QR code to the left with the camera app on your smart device.
STILL I RISE
Other performances, such as DaJahnelle Joseph's '24, recitation of Maya Angelou's famous poem, "Still I Rise, " explored different forms of self-expression, including art, poetry, and acting. At Antilles, Fair organizers said, the arts are seen as a connector and used to not only bring groups together, but on common ground.
COMMUNITY
- Coretta Scott King
WOW! Our 21-22 three-day Jogathon raised more than $15,000 thanks to the support of our families, alumni, and friends who stepped in to sponsor our students - or, for the first time in two years, join them on the field. It was wonderful to see our community rally around the event, which directly benefits the expansion of Early Learning Center and Lower School programs, materials, and resources.
Jogathon Donors
Jeanette and Elijah Acuna P'27, P'30 Alpine Securities USVI, LLC Alexis Armenteros and Nick Vanassche P'36, P'34 Sami Asfour P'28, P'30 Tess and Kelvin Bailey P'33 Adrianne Baird Butler and Colin Butler P'33 Habibah Bell Matthew Berry '09 Menka Bhagchandani P'23, P'31 Blue Sandcastle, LLC Dr. Denita Boschulte and Jeffrey Boschulte, Sr. P'26, P'30 Steven Boswell Jacquelyn Bowers Gentry and Dewayne Gentry Lori Brewer P'31 Rickie and Jennie Brewer P'33, P'34 Sarah and Alex Brooks Ashely Bruce Jo Brugos Catherine Bryan P'30 Carleton Butler Judy Chesnut Judy Chesnut Shanda Chiumento Overmeyer '95 and Nicholas Overmeyer P'31, P'34 Michelle Connor P'30 Laura Costa Fedora Creque Nielsen and Peter Nielsen P'34 Marcela Creque Alanna Cuccia Chris Curreri '93, P'34, P'36 Lisa Curreri P'93 Shaira and Max Daswani P'34 Staci Davidson P'33 Sharmane Davis-Brathwaite Kermine Dearlove Sue and Chris DeGraff P'24, P'27, P'30 Dena and Aimery Delagarde P'32 Nanki and Deep Dua P'26, P'31 Lisa Ekpo Elisabeth Evans Nikki Fagan P'28, P'34 Daniel Fetterhoff David Fillingham Jennifer Firestone '96 and Stephen Rivera P'34
JOGATHON 2020
Ryan Fitzgerald Neressa and Ian Forde P'32 Akola Francis Cashmiere Fry Beth Gabrielson P'33 Dacia Galbraith Robert Galloway Krystle Garcia Laplace '03, P'29, P'31 Lynette George Ernesto Gomez Bianca Harris P'31 Julian Harris David Hazzard Jamie and Brent Hazzard P'35 Shanna Hazzard Valerie Heidel Alani Ali Henneman Todman P'34, P'36 Kristen and Jim Hines P'29, P'31 Avia Huisman P'31, P'33 Esther and Dennis Iverson P'33 Nisha Jones Daniel Jose Joselyn Joseph and Ian Turnbull P'34 Steve Kalpee P'29 Erika Kellerhals Heather and Geno Kral '00, P'27, P'32 Jessica Labrie Maureen Lally P'33 Agatha LaPlace Emanuel LaPlace LoToya LaPlace Hodge Amy and JJ League P'27, P'28, P'31 Carlyn and Wesley Ledee P'28, P'31 Brittany and Bruce Lee P'31, P'33 Melissa and Steve Lowe P'31 Ambar Maldonado Katherine Mallette P'31 Liza Margolis P'30 Michelle Marone Karyn Mastricola P'29 Shannon McCarthy and Jeff Euwema '30, P'34 Kerstin and Bill McConnell P'14, P'17, P'21 Mary McNamara Katie McNamara Christopher McQuade Mallory Meeks Kathi and Glen Melbourne P'28, P'32 Shaun Miller Kashish and Amit Mirpuri P'30 Margaret and Robert Mitchell P'31, P'36 Stephanie Monsanto Lida Morales and Reinaldo Mejias P'34 Meredith Myers Patty Myers Iselah and Scott Nieboer P' 21, P'23, P'29 Ronald Nimmo, MD Tatiana Nunes Lori O’Hare Nadine Pancham '07 Cassan Pancham P'01, P'07 Paul Peoples Katie Perry and John Brugos P'34, P'37 Molly and Timothy J. Perry P'33 Jillian Pothier P'34, P'36
JOGATHON 2020
Sarah and Jarrod Power P'32, P'36 Cynthia Proctor-Cox P'30 Jeffrey Quinlan Lynn Rabinovici Park and Andrew Park P'33, P'34, P'35 Cameron Raimondi '08 Alyssa Richardson Betty and Larry Richardson Condon Richardson Bonnie Rincon Melissa Rincon P'27, P'29 Sabina Rosario P'27, P'30 Genevive Ryan Pedram and Hooman Pedram P'32, P'37 Lane and Kris Sammy P'30, P'32 Keith Sammy Bijal Sampat P'34 Heather and Greer Scholes P'32, P'36 Karen Schroyer Reshma and Viral Shah P'33 Rana Shehadeh Kimberly Simari Kelli and Ryan Smolarz P'34, P'36 Ahmad Soud Jessica and Phil Spillane P'28, P'30 Marisa St. Luce Cassandra Sudziarski Henry Switlik Stanley Switlik Tarlow Family Charitable Fund Margaret Taylor Martha Taylor and Andrew Johnson P'29, P'32 Margaret Taylor Sheila Thompson
JOGATHON 2020
Christine Thompson P'03, P'06 Malorie Thompson P'31 Nicole and Steve Tulk P'29 Karen Valentine Khiani and Ro Khiani P'34 Charlotte Van Heurck '05 and Sander Lenten Lori Van Rassel Christel Vanassche Jhalak and Prakash Vasandmalani P'33, P'37 Tai Vu P'31, P'33 Sue Wagner Cory Watkins P'24, P'28, P'29 Wendy Williams Elisa Williams Pam Workman Jeremy Workman Beth and Justin Workman P'31, P'34 Jeremy Workman Pamela Zbasnik Pam Zbasnik Emily and Howard Zimmerman P'27, P'29
