Photo: Look Away! Look Away! Look Away! (1995) by Kara Walker.
Words of the Month: Reproductive Justice
Reproductive justice is a multifaceted concept encompassing the right to have children, not to have children, and to parent in safe and supportive environments. It emphasizes the intersectionality of race, class, gender identity, sexuality, and other factors in shaping individuals' reproductive experiences. While reproductive rights primarily focus on legal access to contraception and abortion, reproductive justice goes further to also address the systemic inequalities that impact the reproductive choices of marginalized communities.
This framework acknowledges historical injustices such as forced sterilizations, limited access to healthcare, and discriminatory policies disproportionately affecting Black, brown, and low-income people. Advocates for reproductive justice strive to dismantle these barriers and promote policies that ensure that everyone can make informed decisions about their bodies and families. It emphasizes autonomy, dignity, and equity, recognizing that true reproductive freedom is achieved only when all individuals have the resources that support their reproductive lives.
Welcome back!
It's hard to believe it's almost April. We in the DEIG Office hope that you had a restful, relaxing, and restorative spring break. We look forward to seeing you soon, and to our seniors, congratulations on making it to Senior Spring Project! We wish you the best as you embark on your projects, and we can't wait to hear about all the exciting things you'll do.
In February, our community honored and celebrated Black History Month. All three campuses held BHM assemblies where students learned about Black history, culture, and activism. Other highlights included an event hosted by Parents of Black Students and a portrait wall of Upper School community members who identify as Black, organized by the Black Student Union. The US also engaged in the student-led Community Day, which featured workshops around the theme of "Leading with Light in a Time of Darkness."
This month we're excited to celebrate Women's History Month. While International Women's Day was first celebrated in the United States on March 8, 1911, it was largely forgotten until feminist activist Laura X organized a march in Berkeley, California in 1969. This Women's History Month, we're uplifting the intersectionality of women's history by centering the voices and experiences of women of color, queer and trans women, women with disabilities, and all women who have contributed to history and shaped the world we live in today.
The Two Fridas (1939) by Frida Kahlo.
Celebrating Black Excellence Mural
In honor of Black History Month, the Black Student Union at the Upper School created a mural, "Celebrating Black Excellence." The mural featured portraits of community members—students, faculty, and staff—who identify as Black. The photographs were taken by film and video teacher Chris Gaines, and the mural was assembled by students Ekram Shemsu, Nate Bodden, Cam Miller, Sabina Kaba, and Corinne Holness.
Black History Month Assembly
Upper School Black Student Union leaders Ekram Shemsu and Avery Hart invited Joshua Bennett, renowned writer and Professor of Literature and Distinguished Chair of Humanities at MIT, to speak at the annual Black History Month assembly. Introduced by US DEIG Practitioner Maria Graciela Alcid and history teacher Jack Hill, Prof. Bennett performed three poems, answered questions, and connected with students. His poignant words had a powerful impact on the US community, students and faculty alike. Jack reflected: "I see a lot of Joshua Bennett in the kids I teach now—what they could be and what they could do. When we talk about Black excellence and empowerment, being able to see themselves and the range of possibilities are what they need to access. I always tell the students that it’s important to read and engage the work of living authors who are young and fresh and looking at things with a different twist."
Joshua Bennett is the author of five books: Spoken Word: A Cultural History (Knopf, 2023), which was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2023; The Study of Human Life (Penguin, 2022), which won the Paterson Poetry Prize and is currently being adapted for television in collaboration with Warner Brothers Studios; Owed (Penguin, 2020), a finalist for the New England Book Award; Being Property Once Myself (Harvard University Press, 2020), winner of the MLA’s William Sanders Scarborough Prize, and The Sobbing School (Penguin, 2016), winner of the National Poetry Series and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award.
Dr. Bennett earned his Ph.D. in English from Princeton University, and an M.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Warwick, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He has recited his original works at the Sundance Film Festival, the NAACP Image Awards, and President Obama’s Evening of Poetry and Music at the White House. He has also performed and taught creative writing workshops at hundreds of middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities across the United States, as well as in the U.K. and South Africa.
For his creative writing and scholarship, Joshua has received fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. Alongside his friend and colleague, Jesse McCarthy, he is the founding editor of Minor Notes, a Penguin Classics book series dedicated to minor poets within the black expressive tradition. He lives in Massachusetts with his family.
Upper School Community Day
On February 14, the Upper School engaged in Community Day, which was revived by Fatmata Sesay '23 after a hiatus during the pandemic. The theme of the day was Making Change: Leading with Light in a Time of Darkness. The day consisted of over 50 workshops proposed and led by students. The goals of Community Day were to get the whole school together to have fun and good conversation that will leave people feeling seen, valued, and heard, and for students to leave the day feeling like they learned with and from one another.
Nikki Minsky '24, who led the friendship bracelet workshop and is also co-president of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, shared, “We organized this workshop because we felt that on a day that’s all about community, we should have a space to gather as a queer community. Making friendship bracelets, which we had done in GSA, is a really fun activity that allows us to express who we are—we made bracelets with the colors of different flags across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. It was great to have people from many different areas of the school—people who regularly attend GSA and also new faces—which was the goal.”
Community Day is organized by a committee of over fifty students and faculty members. All workshops incorporated conversation, connection, and creation, and the workshops reflected the tremendous breadth of student interests. Jaiden Douglin '25, a member of the committee who also designed the t-shirt, shared his reflections on the theme: “I feel like Making Change: Leading with Light in a Time of Darkness can resonate with so many people in our community given everything that's happening in the world and what's happening in our own personal lives and how as leaders in our community we can lead. There are aspects of our identities, passions, and interests that serve as light whether it’s in art, athletics, affinity, alliance, interest group, club spaces, music, peer counselor, publications, service, student government, and theater. I hope that everyone in our community will consider how they will participate, whether it’s to lead or to be a part of a conversation."
Along with two sessions of workshops, the day also included an opening assembly with two competitions (rock, paper, scissors and musical chairs) and two record-breaking events (longest harmonized note and longest slow clap). During lunch, students played basketball and dodgeball with faculty and enjoyed sweet treats generously provided by the Parents' Association. Above and below are pictures from the day, including some of the many workshops!
Design Your Dream Class: Doing the Work Towards Becoming an Anti-Racist Institution
This spring, the Student and Faculty DEIG Steering Committees at the Upper School are collaborating on a joint project, "Design Your Dream Class: Doing the Work Towards Becoming an Anti-Racist Institution." SDSC Co-Chairs, Emma Osagie and Darius Sinha '24, and SDSC/DSC Faculty Chair Maria Graciela Alcid are facilitating a series of four sessions to build capacity around anti-bias, anti-racist, and culturally responsive practices. We will also explore what it means and what it looks like to have challenging conversations during these times, and how to learn across identities and power differentials. The sessions are open to students and faculty changemakers and allies/accomplices working towards cultivating a just community of belonging and living into our commitment to being an anti-racist institution. Below are reflections from SDSC and DSC members.
Emma Osagie '24
“When I started freshman year in 2020, the Masks Proposal had just come out and was fresh on everyone’s minds, so it was impactful to be part of SDSC. I joined the committee because I wanted to connect with people look like me in the BB&N community. Then I started going to affinity spaces, like Students Honoring All Differences and Embracing Similarities (SHADES) and Empower for women of color, and immersing myself in other people’s experiences. SDSC influenced a lot of the conversations we were having in SHADES. I’m very glad that SDSC is back up and running so that future students can have conversations about making this school an anti-racist institution.”
“The idea for the theme came about when I was meeting with Ms. Alcid, and we were thinking about what changes we wanted to see in BB&N classrooms, and how teachers can make their Black and brown students feel like they belong here. As someone who’s going into STEM, I see that there are so many students of color with untapped potential in STEM. It’s so important to see yourself reflected in your teachers—that’s what led to creating your dream classroom. I hope that we can think of concrete ideas as a group to make BB&N a safe place where all students can learn in a welcoming and encouraging environment.”
Scott Tang, History Teacher
“I chose to join the DSC because I want to listen and learn; I love working with students and collaborating with my colleagues. I’m always growing as a teacher, and these conversations are not ones that I had in high school. As someone of Asian descent, it’s important for me to be there to contribute as well as to learn from others and their perspectives."
"The goal of the DSC is to find out what students want and need. It allows teachers to have a better view into student experiences, and it also allows students to understand why teachers do what they do. We all chose to be there because we want to improve student learning. Hopefully we’ll put together a class that is our shared dream.”
Ariel Duddy, Head of the English Department
“Over the past few years, I’ve engaged in a lot of self-reflection on my relationship to race and my understanding of social justice in the United States. I chose to join the DSC because it feels like a step in the direction of trying to support all students, especially students of color. If you’re paying attention, I think it’s impossible not to listen to student voices."
"As a white teacher, I recognize the importance of this space. If I can be in a space where students can openly share their experiences, I want to be a part of that as much as possible. I hope that the students in SDSC feel valued and that their ideas are valued—and that there are adults at this school who take them seriously. The point of being a teacher is to help students grow and learn and feel like they matter."
Upper School DEIG Practitioner Maria Graciela Alcid presented at the annual conference organized by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). "Thrive" was the theme of the conference, which took place in St. Louis. Maria Graciela collaborated with colleagues and friends Reanne Young (Maumee Valley Country Day School) and Dr. Drew Ishii (Sage Hill School) to create and present "SPAM, Journey Beyond the Can: Unleashing Joy, Pedagogical Power, and Positive Identity Development."
From musubi to fried rice to tocino, from Hawaii to the Philippines, SPAM’s TikTok fame has spotlighted a wave of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) chefs and foodies reimagining SPAM in a global, cultural conversation. Join educators reclaiming histories rooted in colonization as they share their Identity-Conscious Educator (Talusan 2022) work and what cultivating belonging looks like in their practice and in their schools. Travel in time through Special Place and Memory (SPAM) and learn how SPAM serves as a powerful, culturally sustaining identity vehicle for connection that informs pedagogical practices and community building.
Parents of Black Students Event
PBS (Parents of Black Students) hosted a Black History Month event on February 22, 2024. The evening featured student performances by Princess Adeoye (9th grade), Meeka Toure (10th), Sydney Francis (10th), and Kenneth Foster (Roxbury Latin student). Michael Bobbitt, Executive Director of the Mass Cultural Council, was the featured speaker.
Highlights
Looking Ahead
On March 30 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, Parents of Black Students and the Latin American & Hispanic Parents Association will host a family brunch.
In observance of Ramadan, an Iftar event will take place on April 5 at 7 pm.
On April 17 from 9:55 to 10:30 am at the NAC, the Upper School Gender and Sexuality Alliance will host an assembly—an early celebration of Pride Month—featuring a local speaker TBA.
On April 19 from 6 to 8 pm, the Jewish Affinity Group will host a Shabbat dinner.
Community Day at the Middle School will take place on April 29.
Inspirations
Read: Who's Afraid of Gender? by philosopher Judith Butler, one of the most important thinkers and theorists of gender, whose groundbreaking book Gender Trouble (1990) transformed our understanding of gender as something we do, rather than something we are. This new book, their most accessible, interrogates the fear of gender that has fueled the rise of trans-exclusionary feminisms and authoritarian regimes. Butler challenges us to imagine alternative worlds where trans and gender-nonconforming people can not only survive but thrive.
Watch: Abbott Elementary, which chronicles the lives of teachers working in a predominantly Black school in Philadelphia. Season 3 airing now! A hilarious and poignant satire of the education system and its challenges, the show illustrates how teachers struggle go above and beyond even with the most limited resources and support. Creator Quinta Brunson has received universal acclaim: at the Emmys, she was the first Black woman to be nominated three times in the comedy category. She was also the first Black woman to win Outstanding Lead Actress in Comedy in 40 years.
Eat: The Mad Monkfish, formerly known as Thelonius Monkfish after the iconic jazz musician, is a unique, eclectic restaurant with live jazz performances and delicious, adventurous takes on sushi an innovative fusion of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese flavors.
DEIG it?
Questions, comments, thoughts, or feedback ? Email us at deig@bbns.org
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This month's newsletter was curated by Avik Sarkar, Education Fellow.