EQUITY AT OUR CORE

Disrupting racism and dismantling biased practices

Brimmer and May, an institution steeped in tradition that has been educating students for over 100 years, is seeing the dawn of a new age in its existence and practices. 2020 has been, if nothing else, a year of rapid change, constant and alarming news cycles, and experiences with anxiety that many of us never thought we would experience. In March, as COVID-19 began its hard attack on our state and our country, we embraced and protected our community by developing, with near superhuman speed, programming and protocols that would ensure that our students were safe while continuing to experience the Brimmer education in which they have invested. We did a good job, and we confidently promoted our students to the next levels in their learning.

Just as COVID-19 hit us, however, another pandemic, one that has existed for hundreds of years in America but has not yet found a cure, was forced upon us: racism. Images of racist violence and murders, along with the names of far too many victims—because even one is too many—flashed before our eyes on television, social media, and other outlets on the internet. Protests, in the name of justice for innocent Black lives lost, exploded across the country. As of the writing of this article, protests continue for Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her home by police officers executing a no-knock warrant. They continue because unlike Ahmaud Arbery (shot by a civilian while jogging down the street in Georgia) and George Floyd (killed by a police officer who knelt on his neck for more than seven minutes after arresting him for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit bill), Breonna Taylor’s killers have not yet been charged with any crime.

Spring of 2020 hit the Brimmer community with waves of hardship and difficulties. We had to witness our students react first to the news of a global pandemic spiraling out of control, and then to news story after news story of innocent Black people killed by either police officers or civilians. Responding to COVID-19 was and continues to be a challenge. However, we have hard science on our side. We live in a state with phenomenal medical resources. We feel confident about knowing what works to prevent this virus from spreading, and we are working overtime to acquire all necessary equipment and to employ all essential practices to make Brimmer a safe place to educate students this fall. But racism? There’s no hard science behind that.

As we put into place our COVID-19 protocols, it became glaringly, alarmingly, and embarrassingly clear that we, as an institution, have not properly done our part to address racism in our country and bias in our practices at school. It was a turning point, and we are now embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work in ways that we never had before.

In the early part of the summer, we, like many other schools and businesses, engaged and communicated with our students and families to address the racially charged killings shared by the news in this country. We named and recognized racism as a systemic problem in America. This is something that we believe to be true as a school. We called ourselves out on our lack of faculty of color and our lack of comprehensive cultural representation in our curricula. We had faculty and staff meetings in which we talked about having “pathologized student behavior,” when really, perhaps, we were being biased and attempting to assimilate students into our environment based on traditions and values that we have upheld for generations. We identified institutional support for students, families, faculty, and staff of color as being weak. Then we created action steps.

One of the first steps taken was to add me in my position as Director of Equity and Inclusion to the Administrative Team so that the importance of DEI work could be appropriately recognized and placed front and center as an essential part of how we operate as a school. We also immediately decided that required faculty and staff reading in the summer months would have a strong focus on DEI work. Each faculty and staff member chose one book from a list of five (see page 40). The list itself was generated through faculty, staff and family input and was meant to be able to connect personally and professionally to each member of the faculty and staff As a DEI practitioner, I felt it was appropriate to choose a book that would inform my practice as well as fulfill me on a personal level. I chose How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, and it was an excellent choice for me. Others chose based on where they are in their own personal and professional journeys with identity, race, and bias. Most endeavor, as I do, to read the entire list of books as soon as they can; many have already done so.

A major goal of the required faculty and staff reading is to add to groundwork being laid that will bring us to a new institutional level in our commitment to and practice of equity work. Plans include identifying ways to bring the inspirations and lessons learned from these books into individual classroom practices and interactions on campus. Each book promotes uncomfortable introspection, regardless of race, that is essential if we are going to move the needle in our efforts and practice. It is essential if we are going to serve our students in the way we promise to every day. It is essential if we are going to live our newest Core Value, Equity, in a way that is true and genuine.

To guide us in our work, we have partnered with Lawrence Alexander, who will work as a consultant with our entire community—our Board of Trustees, the Administrative Team, faculty, staff and students—for the duration of the 2020-2021 academic year. Together, we will spotlight what we are doing well and enhance it. We will also identify what we are not doing or what we are doing wrong and address it. We hope that the outcome is a community that instinctively considers equity in everything it does.

The best thing about the Brimmer community right now is that we are ready and excited for this work. It is being deeply embraced, and there is a level of enthusiasm for engaging in DEI work that I have found heartening and empowering. I have never been prouder of where we are as an institution, and I am inspired to help lead our community to a stronger place. ■

Jessica Christian, Director of Equity and Inclusion, leads Brimmer’s efforts to ensue that our community honors its diversity and fosters equity, mutual respect, appreciation, and the ability to embrace difference.

Brimmer welcomes Lawrence Alexander, who will be consulting with us for the 2020-2021 academic year as we work to develop more equitable, antibiased practices within our community. He will be working closely with Jessica Christian in DEI work to identify, address, and dismantle systems at Brimmer that have perpetuated institutional bias and antiBlack racism.

Jessica Christian (top 2nd from right) with Brimmer students at the AISNE Upper School Student Conference in the spring of 2019.