Cover: Student Mural for Upper School Community Day
Words of the month: Trans-Inclusive Feminism
Trans-Inclusive Feminism is about all genders having equal rights and opportunities, regardless of a person's gender identity. It includes and promotes transgender voices. Intersectionality is a core part of feminism that acknowledges how the interplay between different aspects of a person's identity can affect how they are seen or discriminated against. The DEIG team's vision of feminism includes everyone and is not defined by gender identity, because anyone can be a feminist. Our feminism is, trans-inclusive, acknowledges intersectionality, and is representative of all the diverse perspectives of our community.
Women's History Month
The 2023 theme for Womens History Month is "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories", recognizing women past and present who have been active in all forms of storytelling across all forms of media.
At BB&N, we have been thinking about how we create space for people to tell their stories. This years Black History Month theme's was "Black Resistance", and a student panel the Middle School showed us how Black joy can be an act of resistance. While all panelists taught us how their joy is interwoven with their resistance, in the transition between February and March we can take a moment to focus on how the Black women amongst the panelists highlighted how our intersectional identities can be uplifted. Instead of celebrating Black History Month and Woman's History Month as two separate and unconnected events, we can look at one as building upon the other.
Two Black women who have been inspirational storytellers are Amanda Gorman, a poet and activist, and Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez, an actress and singer. Both use their voices in powerful ways to create change in powerful ways.
Amanda Gorman was first National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States in 2017. Her poetry speaks to important issues like racism, climate change, feminism, marginalization, and social justice inspired by her own story.
Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez made history as the first Trans woman to win a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Pose. She has been breaking boundaries in the entertainment industry and proving time and time again how important representation in the media is.
Recognition is powerful. By listening and sharing stories we can see people in their unique intersectional identities, making us more powerful and connected. And in the words of Amanda Gorman, "We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be: a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free".
Picture: Second graders at the lower school presented to their classmates about Amanda Gorman's work
Special Feature: Upper School Community Day
On February 14th the Upper School brought back Community day! The goal of the day was to “Get the whole school together to have fun and good conversation that will leave people feeling seen, valued, and heard and that students will leave feeling like they learned from another person.”(Fatmata Sesay '23)
Planned and led by students, with guidance from DEIG Practitioner Maria Graciela Alcid, Education Fellow Jade DuVal, and Art Faculty Nicole Stone, the event featured Keynote Speaker Jason Talbot, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Artists for Humanity, who shared how graffiti and public art have inspired him and made a positive impact on his community. The day kicked off with a mural art project where students were invited to share things that were important to them. After finishing their art, students broke off into smaller conversation groups organized by affinity/alliance and interest groups where they had discussions around the questions: How do we celebrate in Community? How do we engage in meaningful conversations? In the second half of the day students had time to be involved in workshops including, Music Across the Globe, Let's Talk Food, 30 for 30, and Story Cubes. These workshops were an opportunity to put community building into practice and have fun. The day then rounded off with some fun knight games and Valentine's treats by the Parents Association.
Thank you to all students, faculty, staff, and parents who were involved in making this day possible!
Community Day Committee 2023 (alpha last name, year):
Rohan Badani, Elizabeth Chin, Alexandra Fabbri, Jayline Figueroa, Lulit Hailu, Alisa Ishii, Alana Kramer Gómez, Ford Legg, Lucas Liu, Emma Maginn, Kaia Patterson, James Prenelus, Saanika Raina, Nejma Reza, Tasha Roseman, Rahdin Salehian, Fatmata Sesay, Juliet Shaywitz, Brian Brennan, Emma Osagie, Jude Poisson, Valentina Ramirez, Dahlia Roberts, Darius Sinha, Jaiden Douglin, Becket Dubovik, Avery Hart, Max Laibson, Olivia Lee, Rania Mankodi, Cam Miller, Krishna Patel, Aleeza Riaz, Ekram Shemsu, Lea von Hilgers, Allison Wang, Rockie Yewendwossen, Maria Zacharia, Lorenzo Blackston, Sydney Francis, Ms. Alcid, Mr. Cook, Mr. Cox, Ms. Duddy, Ms. DuVal, Ms. Efstathion, Mr. Fidler, Ms. Gonzenbach, Mr. Hill, Ms. Kaur, Ms. Keimowitz, Ms. Riemer, Dr. Spring, Ms. Stone, Mr. Tang.
Looking Back: Black History Month Across Campuses
The Lower School held two assemblies, B-2 and 3-6, to honor Black History Month. Each grade selected a Black changemaker inspired by the natural world to teach the community more about. In the first picture, second graders present on Amanda Gorman, poet and activist. The second shows a presentation on student-made windmills based on the work of inventor William Kamkwamba.
The Middle School held an assembly with the theme of Black Joy: "Black joy is a type of 'internally driven' happiness that can happen when someone consciously chooses pleasure as a way to combat the traumas of racism" - Kleaver Cruz (Black Joy Project)
Black Students from the Upper School including, Anochie Azuakolam, Camron Miller, Ekram Shemsu, Jaiden Douglin, Ja'Niya Ellcock-Crayton, Jude-Michel Poisson, and Nathaniel Bodden, participated in a panel where they discussed what Black joy meant to them. They spoke about being able to be themselves and express or enjoy Black culture while feeling safe and without judgement. The Middle School students also heard from Iman Solomon, a former LS arts teacher at BB&N, about how to learn from and build relationships with those around us.
The Upper School Black history month assembly was facilitated by Jack Hill, Upper School History teacher and founder of the National Anti-Racism Teach-In. It started off with a video The Most Searched: A Celebration of Black History Makers, and was followed up with a wonderful performance by the jazz band of "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone. The assembly finished up with a panel by Black students from all grades speaking about their journey to BB&N and each sharing one experience where they felt supported and welcome in our community. The students on the panel were: Ava Wade-Currie, Avery Hart, Briyana Targete, James Prenelus, Ja'Niya Ellcock-Crayton, Jayline Figueroa, and Jude-Michel Poisson.
Highlights
Student Spotlight
Current Events
Turkey-Syria Earthquakes
Following the Turkey-Syria Earthquakes Upper School students Diba Demir '25, Ali Gonzalez '24, David Driscoll '24, and Aleeza Riaz '25 gathered resources and created a presentation to share background information and keep our community informed about organizations that are working to support the affected population. Here is some of what they shared:
Background: On February 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the southern region of Turkey and the northern region of Syria, devastating a 50,000 square-mile area (70% the size of New England), killing at least 47,000 individuals, and displacing millions. Two Monday's ago, two more earthquakes hit the Hatay province of Turkey.
Organizations: Organizations, volunteers, and nations are providing support to the affected areas of Turkey and Syria in countless ways, including creating search teams, distributing food and clean water, and building housing and hospitals. Below, are some credible organizations:
AHBAP uses donations for supply aid, including shelter, food, and medical supplies, and AKUT is an NGO that organizes rescue and search teams. AFAD is a Turkish governmental organization that meets the immediate needs of people affected by the earthquakes. Oxfam is focusing on providing food, clean water, and shelter, and in the long-term, is committed to helping reconstruct the damaged areas. Turkish Philanthropy Fund and Unicef are also wonderful organizations!
Next Steps: Countries from all around the world are helping support Turkey and Syria during this devastating time. Recently, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged $100 million in relief and Israel is shipping hospital supplies to the Sahara Hospital. Here is a video of ongoing efforts in Massachusetts to help earthquake survivors.
Of course, monetary donations are not the sole way to help Turkey and Syria. These students hosted an open discussion about the earthquakes and have plans to have a drive for goods.
(Photos Credit: The New York Times)
Looking Ahead
- Monday 3/6 5-6pm, 46 Belmont: Family Gender and Sexuality Alliance (FGSA) Event
- Saturday 4/1: AISNE 2023 Middle School DEI Conference
- Tuesday 4/3: PIN Community Service AWARD Application: Please see links below: PDF Preview of Application Questions for both Lower/Middle School and Upper School Divisions - click here. Application for Lower/Middle Division Community Service Awards - click here. Application Upper School Division Community Service Awards - click here. Please note that all applications MUST be submitted by midnight on APRIL 3, 2023 in order to be considered.
Inspirations
- Read: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter - When her older sister, Olga, dies in an accident, Julia is left to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family, stuck in the shadow of her perfect sister's legacy. Julia has to reckon with the pressures and expectations of growing up in a Mexican American home, while coming to terms with a side of her sister that she never knew.
- Watch: Disclosure - Disclosure is an unprecedented, eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures our deepest anxieties about gender.
- Listen: Self-described as “the radical feminist history party you’ve been waiting for,” Nevertheless She Existed is a live-recorded series hosted by Molly Gaebe and Kylie Holloway that uncovers the stories of lesser-known figure in feminist history.
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Photo: Painting by Iman Solomon, former BB&N teacher and author of A Visual Memoir for My Three Sons
This month's newsletter was curated by Jade DuVal, DEIG Programs and Operations Coordinator and Education Fellow.