Our community needs our support. — JUNE 2, 2020 — Dear CDS Community,
While school is officially out for the summer, it is with a heavy heart that I reach out with this message to our CDS community. Our nation is struggling with the recent and tragic reminders of racially motivated violence and injustice. In just the past few weeks, we have been shaken by the deaths of Ahmaud Aubrey in Brunswick, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and now George Floyd in Minneapolis, as well as additional traumas and injustices that have taken place.
The continuation of tragedies like these leave many shocked and outraged, creating an outpouring of feelings and a demand for systematic change. Ongoing peaceful rallies, organized protests, and also riots are now underway locally and across our nation. America is hurting—many are fearful and many are grieving. The pain we feel is real.
I urge you to join me in expressing solidarity with our black families, and collectively with our families of color, colleagues, and students at CDS and with those in the greater community. Our community needs our support. We cannot be indifferent or remain silent in the face of these tragedies.
As a community of belonging, Carolina Day stands against hate, racism, violence, and discrimination, and above all else, we are committed to striving for excellence as compassionate and caring human beings. The mission and core beliefs of Carolina Day encourage us to cultivate strong character, to create a diverse and inclusive community, and to act with courage and compassion to make a meaningful difference in the world. If we were in school today, adults and students would be spending time in respectful dialogue, to process feelings, thoughts, and questions. Providing a platform for civil discourse is a hallmark of our mission.
Although the school year is finished, there is nevertheless much to process. We encourage you to continue to rely on us as resources. Please reach out if we can be helpful to you and your family. Today we are especially thinking about our students and the challenges they face in understanding what is happening in their world. As important adults in our students' lives, we are all wondering what to say, what to share, and how to honestly respond to their questions and concerns. To create confident citizens of the world requires us to engage honestly in difficult conversations with our children and with each other, modeling our core values.
In the words of Dr. King, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Carolina Day must do our part to shorten that arc through our willingness to acknowledge and talk about the nature of these tragedies and the deep impact they have on the victims' extended communities and on our nation, and by sharing our support for each other. We have work to do. Like any other institution we have our failings, but we must try harder and do better.
It is my hope that during this difficult time, we will reveal the best of who we are at CDS.
Peggy — RESOURCES —
The resources below were shared with me earlier today through the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). Perhaps you can find something here that will support you and your family in talking about race at home.
Children/Young Adult Anti-Bias Books Social Activism Diverse Reading List Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children's Books Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You
Listen "More Beautiful" with Imani Perry The scholar speaks powerfully about her experience raising black sons in America.
Read How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies by Reesma Menakem
Organizations to follow on social media: The Conscious Kid: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Other Resources Strategies For Talking About Race with Young Children Your Kids Aren't Too Young To Talk About Race Resource Roundup 5 Tips For Talking With Children and Teenagers About Hate Incidents How White Parents Can Use Media to Raise Anti-Racist Kids (from Common Sense Media)
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