SPARKING INTEREST IN HUMANITIES
16th annual bissell grogan symposium Virtual Speaker Series: Building an Equitable Community When we were faced with the challenge of reimagining our annual symposium into a virtual event, we discovered an unmistakable silver lining. With an exciting opportunity to feature multiple keynote speakers and offer multiple workshops, we tapped into not one but four timely, relevant, diverse voices on the topic of equity. “The online format opened the speakers up to a much wider audience who may not otherwise have attended,” noted Symposium Co-Chairs Kenley Smith and Jessica Christian. “We were thrilled to invite Trustees, Board of Visitors, alumni, and families to join our grades 7-12 students and faculty.”
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LAWRENCE ALEXANDER, CARNEY, SANDOE & ASSOCIATES DIRECTOR OF EQUITY & INCLUSION EVERYDAY ACTIVISM: MOVING FROM TALK TO WALK INTRODUCED BY ALPHONSE HOUNDEGLA ’21 can lead authentic, sustainable systemic change. “The global pandemic has introduced a living environment to some that for many of us has existed for centuries,” he commented. “Some of us will be able to take our masks off when the vaccine arrives while others of us will keep the mask on that we’ve worn for centuries.”
“W
hile we are all in the same storm, we are not all in the same boat,” quoted Lawrence Alexander in his opening remarks. Powerful imagery for those of us living through the same double pandemic of global health crisis and systemic racism, but not having nearly the same experience, and a great way to kick off our 16th Annual Bissell Grogran Symposium on the topic of equity. How do we go about creating a truly equitable community? According to Alexander, it starts with a single conversation, no matter how difficult. “If the conversations are hard, imagine how difficult are the lived experiences of your colleagues/friends of color,” he observed. Alexander joined the Brimmer community in the fall as a DEI consultant. As our first keynote, he spoke from the heart about how communities, and particularly our students,
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Spring 2021 Brimmer Magazine
The enduring question of Alexander’s presentation was this: If you can’t lead the next million-person march, or deliver the next famous speech, or spark the next global movement for social change, then what can you do? His answer, quite simply, was that there is always something you can do. “As individuals, we have a daily responsibility to speak up,” he said before sharing practical recommendations for young activists. These included: thinking intersectionally; acknowledging your own privilege and using it for good; holding space for others whose voices are often muted, missed, or marginalized; being willing to be unpopular; and learning how to problematize. “An answer is never the end of a conversation,” he stated. “Always end with a good question. Who is being privileged? Who is being marginalized? Whose voices are we missing?” In closing, he gave students the following challenge: commit to at least one daily action for social change. He reminded them that
while they can’t change people’s racist, sexist, or otherwise biased behaviors, they can make them widely uncomfortable about performing those behaviors in front of others. “You can share your perspective, the books you are reading, the feelings you have. You can share your own personal ethos. Find other allies and create critical mass,” he suggested. “Remember, this is not a political opinion but a social condition.”
STUDENT WORKSHOP YOUTH ACTIVISM:
MOBILIZING FOR JUSTICE Alexander spoke that afternoon with students about the power of small acts of activism. He furthered his challenge from the keynote by asking students to consider at least one daily action toward social change that is meaningful to them. Ahead of Black History Month, he spent time reinforcing the notion that racial equity work is not about Black versus white: it’s about everybody versus racism.
