This summer saw the mobilization of people across America to dismantle systemic racism following the senseless murders of Black people by police in late May and early June. In a particular effort to provide Black students platforms for anonymous expression, social media accounts like @BlackMainLineSpeaks are sharing Black students’ stories of racial discrimination in school environments, and Agnes Irwin is one of the many schools called upon to make reforms. After announcing their commitment to antiracism, Agnes Irwin organized the Summit of Racial Justice, a three-day virtual event designed to be “a beginning for the work we will do as students, families, faculty, staff, administrators, and alums to wrestle with our history and to unify our efforts to make Agnes Irwin a truly inclusive, culturally responsive, and anti-racist institution” (Mrs. Seals).
On Monday 7/20, Assistant Head of School Camille Seals and featured speaker Dr. Kareema Gray led Naming, Honoring, and Healing Racial Trauma, the first virtual summit of the series Real Conversations About Race. Throughout the hour-long meeting, targeted towards AIS alums, Dr. Gray made several compelling points about institutional racism and our school’s responsibility to honor racial trauma.
Dr. Gray defines racial trauma as trauma that results from isolated or repeated experiences with racism, which can manifest in large-scale displays or less blatant microaggressions. In response to trauma, some people shrink themselves to avoid confronting their feelings, while others struggle with anxiety or depression sometimes for years after their experience. The bottom line, according to Dr. Gray, is that everyone deals with trauma differently.
One of the most effective things the school can do to make students feel heard is to validate their stories of racial trauma. However, we can’t begin to actually target the issue of racism in our school until we look at the system as a whole. Dr. Gray mentions bell hooks’ Sisters of the Yam, Black Women and Self Recovery, a sort of self-help book that addresses the harmful “isms” hooks has faced as a Black woman in this country. Because Agnes Irwin, like all American schools, operates under an oppressive patriarchal system, several of these “isms” are prevalent in our school community, and the more we acknowledge them, the more we heal.
Along with hooks, Kimberly Crenshaw is an important figure in the fight against the system. She developed the idea that several factors contribute to racial identity development, known formally as the theory of intersectionality. One factor Dr. Gray and Mrs. Seals discussed is gender; specifically, how girls experience trauma or struggle with racial identity in comparison to boys. Dr. Gray notes that boys tend to act out or shut down, whereas girls generally respond with more active coping strategies, such as becoming aware of the stressor, seeking social support or professional help, and reframing the problem.
Agnes Irwin must do a better job of creating an environment in which each student, regardless of background, gender, sexuality, or race, feels comfortable in her full intersectional identity, and that entails collaborative work involving our entire community.
Dr. Gray recognizes the importance of extending support to all minority groups at our school. She points out that, though the “isms” look different for each minority, all marginalized people have experienced persecution and will inevitably face discrimination in a country built on just that. We must first accept this truth and then take a holistic approach to eradicating institutionalized oppression.
On becoming an ally, Dr. Gray says the first step for white people is to acknowledge secondary trauma. When watching the news, viewing clips of police brutality or violence at protests, and even reading the posts on @BlackMainLineSpeaks, white people may experience vicarious trauma, and this is something they must work through before joining the fight. Dr. Gray also points out that everyone has a part to play. Some people protest in the streets, some go to a representative, some start petitions, and some provide platforms for marginalized groups through social media. There’s no one way to change the world!
Alums are conflicted, for many have wonderful memories of AIS but aren’t sure how to reconcile their positive memories with their feelings of frustration and discontent. Dr. Gray says it’s natural to love and hate something, though it can be confusing, and recommends channeling negative emotions into efforts for tangible change. Along with addressing emotional ambivalence, all those invested in the improvement of our school should conduct research into the history of white supremacy in America, which begins with the Europeans’ settlement here. According to Dr. Gray, “Europeans came here, decided that their way was superior, and constructed every system with the ideal of centralizing whiteness.”
What AIS has to figure out, she says, is how it will create a space in which everyone is valued and stop pushing conformity to the status quo. Our community must, instead of forcing students to fit the image of the archetypal Agnes Irwin girl, accept and celebrate whatever they bring to the space.
So, once all the preliminary work is complete, how do we go about change? Dr. Gray says it takes four steps, which she lists as: 1. Focusing on the root of the issue (institutional racism and white supremacy), 2. Realizing that, if you’re white, you’re unintentionally participating in a system that benefits you, 3. Identifying your role in supporting white supremacy, and 4. Asking yourself: what exactly will be different?
Prioritize the issues you’re most passionate about, and exercise patience towards those just joining the fight. We’re all in this together, so we must support newcomers while also remembering that if they truly want to be a part of the solution, they’ll have to put work in themselves. As for how to navigate this space when we’re tired of witnessing and experiencing injustice, Dr. Gray emphasizes the necessity of reflection and self-care. In order to emotionally prepare ourselves for each new challenge, it is imperative that we pinpoint the source of our trauma and unpack even our subconscious fears as we begin to recover.
Diversifying our student body and faculty is similarly important in fostering positive racial development at this school. Representation must extend beyond our dining service and maintenance staff, as it is confusing for both white and Black students when they don’t see POC in teaching positions. In addition, we must hold everyone in our school community, regardless of position or background, accountable for racist behavior and never again dismiss stories of racial trauma.
The session concluded with a discussion of alums’ roles, which include listening to the concerns of current students and doing whatever possible to provide support. However, at the end of the day, the school must commit to antiracism for any real change to occur; “We [the alums] should have a voice in changing the climate of the school, but much of the heavy lifting is going to fall on the school to do” (Dr. Gray).
