Belonging at Blair By members of the Inclusivity Committee
In this essay, three members of Blair’s Inclusivity Committee—history teacher Dr. Hannah Higgin, language department chair Joyce Lang and Dean of Strategic Initiatives Leucretia Shaw—share how the Committee is working to expand Blair’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion work. This time things will be different, right? That’s the question May 25, 2020 inspired as the Black Lives Matter movement resurged with fervor, with the coronavirus pandemic in the backdrop, and backed by more than just the care and concern of Black people. On that horrific day, even though there had been so many others like it, the killing of another unarmed Black man in America by law enforcement appeared to become just too much. Many took to the streets to stand up for justice for George Floyd, for countless others and the whole Black community, which has been dehumanized for centuries in this country and around the world. Taking notice and moving out of a state of neutrality or denial became imperative. We all had to take stock of the racism that has plagued society and come to grips with our own part in a very flawed system. Blair was no exception. Compelled by the global movement for improving and protecting Black lives and in response to community feedback, the Blair Academy Inclusivity Committee, at work since its inception four years ago, has a renewed sense of urgency to expand the School’s diversity, equity and inclusion work. In building a foundation for active and radical kindness that engages with the realities around us, as a School, we knew we had work to do.
Providing a clear public statement to the entire Blair community acknowledging the racism that exists on our campus was the necessary first step to approaching things differently. Since that time, throughout the summer and into the start of the school year, faculty, staff and students have engaged in thinking and training about diversity, equity and inclusion, particularly along lines of race. Between the discussion forums and conversations in which we heard from alumni, parents and students and read the stories shared on social media, self education and professional training have stood out as key areas for Blair on the journey of improvement. In that vein, various members of the faculty took up Dr. Eddie Moore’s 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge, engaged in group study of Ibram Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist, and ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion training for faculty and staff began. We will also continue participating in diversity, equity and inclusion–related conferences and offering the yearlong Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) seminar professional-development program. Many of the courses Blair is planning for the all-remote academic session in January 2021 will have a social-justice focus, and Martin Luther King Jr. seminars will now be Black History Month seminars. In assessing policies and programs, language BLA IR BULLE T IN 31
