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Fighting Racism

Impact of Racism Hits Home as a School District Self Examines and Commits to Change and Growth

June 6, 2020 by Grace Bennett

Chappaqua, NY— Growth. The banner sign outside the administration building for the Chappaqua Central School District could not be more symbolic. For we are all learning. No community is immune or free of the ravages of systemic racism that is being addressed in unprecedented protests in cities and towns around the nation following the death of George Floyd while in police custody-aggravated by the delay in bringing murder charges against the Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s for his actions in Floyd’s death. 

That includes the community of New Castle, where last night, the Inside Press learned, a group of Chappaqua students and parents, especially those who have been directly impacted, are holding the Chappaqua school district and school board accountable for experiences they say indicate a tolerance for systemic racism within the school district.

Currently, a Tik Tok video circulating in social media depicts a group of Greeley teens offensively using the N-word. According to parents calling out the incident and by those discussing it in social media, there was a weak/inadequate disciplinary response–a brief suspension. A new source points out, however, that the video was withheld from the school district for an unspecified period impacting the disciplinary action. But the problem is more ‘systemic’ too, according to these same discussions.

An on the record open letter received last night by one former Greeley student to the Inside Press was within hours retracted by a legal team for this student who reversed course and asked that it not be published. The student offered, however, that it can provide insight of pain and trauma experienced by students of color inside the school district.

The Chappaqua School board,  in the meantime, this morning responded to a collective voicing of “grief and outrage” with the following statement promising to bring about change:

Dear Chappaqua Central School District Community, 

As our nation confronts the continuing scourge of racism and oppression faced by African Americans and people of color, and as we continue to witness horrific and brutal events around our country and racist incidents in our own community, we know that we must commit to change.

We are appalled and devastated by racially divisive incidents in our schools and our society as a whole. We know that our staff, students, parents, alumni, and community feel the same. From the many letters which were sent to us today by our students and alumni, we are bearing witness to an outpouring of grief and outrage, and the recounting of personal experiences of racism in our school community. We thank you for reaching out to us and want you to know that the actions you have taken will make you a part of the solution. 

We are resolute in our commitment to address and support social justice education in our schools. Here are some examples of what we are doing to help bring about change:

  • The District will continue to work with Facing History & Ourselves so that our curriculum can better address and examine racism, anti-semitism, and prejudice at pivotal moments in history, and so that we may help students connect choices made in the past to those they will confront in their own lives.
     
  • Our faculty will engage in professional development to help facilitate important conversations with our students that address racism and enable all of us to meaningfully process the events unfolding in our country and our community.
     
  • We have made a commitment toward addressing diversity in our staff, and have made progress in doing so, through our involvement in the Regional Diversity Recruitment Fair.
     
  • The District has created an Equity P.R.I.D.E. (Promoting Racial Inclusivity, Diversity & Equity) Fellowship. This is a team of K-12 educators who will focus on understanding bias and how it impacts our work as educators as we strive to promote equitable, diverse and inclusive learning spaces where all learners, both adult and student, can feel seen, heard, valued and respected. The Equity PRIDE Fellowship will analyze feedback sent to the Board of Education and our District Administration as a part of their work. They will present recommendations to the Board of Education on how we can enhance our social justice instruction District-wide.
     
  • We continue to support student-led initiatives including the Black Student Union and ENOUGH at Greeley, and the Diversity Clubs at both middle schools. These student clubs are focused on promoting equity, inclusivity and diversity in our schools and the larger community.
     
  • The Board of Education has recently accepted a substantial grant from the Chappaqua School Foundation, which will enable us to further diversify our elementary classroom libraries.   

We acknowledge that we can, and must, do more as we work and interact with our students, especially students of color, to listen to and understand their experiences with incidents of racism in Chappaqua schools. We will continue to review our curriculum to ensure that we are educating our students and school community about systemic racism which continues to perpetuate discrimination and oppression in the nation and within our own school community. 

We are committed to doing better and will work to do so by maintaining and promoting an anti-racist stance. Please continue to provide feedback. Please continue to report incidents. We will listen, we will share information with our community, and we will hold ourselves accountable in helping our district bring about change.

Sincerely, 

The Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education

Jane Kimmel Shepardson, President
Holly McCall, Vice President
Hilary Grasso, Member
Warren Messner, Member
Victoria Tipp, Member

 

Filed Under: New Castle News Tagged With: change, Chappaqua Central School District, Chappaqua School Board, Facing History, Fighting Racism, growth, I.D.E., P.R

January 28: Facing Racism Together: Bearing Witness and Bringing Hope | AJC

January 25, 2018 by The Inside Press

As Black History month approaches, a multi- faith community plans to come together “to learn, worship, sing and break bread in response to the racism that exists in our society.” The event will include feature remarks from Rev. Kymberly McNair, Rev. Stephen Pogue and Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman, music, personal testimonies and social action tables presented by local anti-racist organizations.  When: Sunday January 28th, from 3-5 p.m., followed by a “Beloved Community Dinner.”

The program and dinner will take place at the Mt. Hope AM Zion Church in White Plains.

The event is co-sponsored by the following denominations, organizations and institutions:

Denominational Sponsors

AJC Westchester/Fairfield
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Westchester Stake
Hudson River Presbytery, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Metropolitan NY Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
NY Annual Conference of the A.M.E. Zion Church
The NY Conference / The United Methodist Church
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of NY
Westchester Jewish Council
Westchester Board of Rabbis
Yonkers Islamic Center

Sponsoring Houses of Worship and Institutions

Antioch Baptist Church, Bedford Hills
Bedford Presbyterian Church
Bet Am Shalom, White Plains
Bet Torah, Mt. Kisco
Beth El Synagogue Center, New Rochelle
Calvary Baptist Church, White Plains
Church of St. Augustine, Larchmont
Church of the Holy Family, New Rochelle
Congregation B’nai Yisrael, Armonk
Congregation Emanuel of Westchester, Rye
Congregation Kneses Tifereth Israel, Port Chester
Congregation Kol Ami, White Plains
Congregation Sulam Yaakov, Larchmont
Community Synagogue of Rye
First Baptist Church, Mamaroneck, NY
First Baptist Church of White Plains
Greater Centennial A.M.E. Zion Church of Mt. Vernon
Greenburgh Hebrew Center
Iona College
Interfaith Connection
Interreligious Council of New Rochelle
Larchmont Avenue Church (Presbyterian)
Larchmont/Mamaroneck Human Rights Committee
Larchmont/Mamaroneck Interfaith Council
Larchmont Temple
Mamaroneck United Methodist Church
Manhattanville College
Mt Hope A.M.E. Zion Church, White Plains
Northern Westchester Interfaith Council
Pelham Jewish Center
Pleasantville Community Synagogue
Presbyterian Church of New Rochelle
Saint Augustine’s Church, Larchmont
Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El
Sinai Free Synagogue, Mount Vernon
St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, White Plains
St. James Episcopal Church, North Salem
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Larchmont
St John’s Lutheran Church, Mamaroneck
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Rye Brook
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Mamaroneck
Temple Beth Abraham, Tarrytown
Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, Chappaqua
Temple Beth Shalom, Mahopac
Temple Israel Center of White Plains
Temple Israel of Northern Westchester, Croton-on-Hudson
Temple Shaaray Tefila of Westchester, Bedford Corners
Trinity United Methodist Church, White Plains
Westchester Jewish Center, Mamaroneck
Westchester MLK Institute for Nonviolence

Tickets

Filed Under: Inside Westchester Tagged With: BHM, Black History, Black History Month, Community Dinner, Facing Racism, February, Fighting Racism, multil faith, Racism

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