On the September early release day, Gorham High School (GHS) held a Unity and Diversity Day to open up students to the world and to unite in the face of differences. The Civil Rights Team organized the day, which has been in place for over five years, and included a keynote speaker and sessions for teaching about diversity.
The main focus of the day was to celebrate the differences at GHS and foster unity. Principal Brian Jandreau said that he hopes students will develop “a greater understanding of people who might be different than them, which I hope cultivates compassion and empathy and leads to more kindness and promotes a positive school culture,” said principal Brian Jandreau.
Jandreau would like students to experience diversity and use that understanding and compassion to create a more unified school. This theme of understanding and compassion was seen throughout the day.
Sessions included using voice to promote change in writing, Chinese New Year and dumpling making, Gender and Gender Identity, and yoga. All sessions promoted learning about topics and issues that are not normally brought up in the everyday classroom.
Fatima Batool, a senior at GHS, who ran a presentation called ‘Ask a Muslim’ said, “I have always believed that people fear the unknown. I also believe that knowledge is power. Unity and Diversity Day is an opportunity for me to educate fellow students and teachers on my culture and experiences. I feel that it helps erase negative stigma around many stereotypes or labels and gives us a healthy space to ask any questions without any judgement.”
Photo credit Heather AldenOne of the workshops students chose to attend during Unity and Diversity Day was called “Letters of Love-Letters of support for children in ICE Detention.” Students learned about the current laws regarding immigration into the United States and wrote almost 100 letters and cards of support to children who have been separated from their parents upon entering the United States. The letters, written in both English and Spanish, will be sent to the closest ICE detention facility in Boston for distribution.
While sessions were under way, students took turns listening to keynote speaker Shay Stewart-Bouley, also known by her blog name Black Girl In Maine, who spoke to students about diversity issues, specifically race and racism.
Her hour-long presentation was filled with stories and life lessons about how racism was woven into this country and that, in her opinion, it is a societal, not a personal, issue. As in life and with difficult topics of conversation, students had mixed feelings about the presentation.
Some students felt that parts of the talk became too intense and too generalizing about white people, especially for high school students.
Ryan Doughty, a junior at GHS said, “It was the way she was talking that freaked me out, especially about slavery. I didn’t do that.”
Several reflected his view that some parts were aggressive and generalized all whites to being horrible and irresponsible people.
“I felt like I was being reprimanded. I know we have done bad stuff but people were crying because they were upset. She shouldn’t have come across that aggressive,” said Marin Perry, another junior at GHS.
However, according to Jandreau, the majority of the students surveyed afterwards shared the view of Iris Kitchen, a GHS junior. “I loved her and I thought that all of her opinions were relevant and I personally didn’t think that she was intense. She was getting her point across as best as possible.”
Civil Rights Team Advisor Rachael Grady said, “Our keynote speaker is an expert in the field of anti-racism work. She spoke truths that challenged students to consider the reality and legacy of systemic racism beyond the scope of the personal experience. I hope any students struggling to understand institutionalized racism choose to learn more on the topic by seeking out some of the resources she suggested or by attending a Civil Rights Team meeting for further discussion.”
Even with the split opinions on the keynote speaker, the day opened up new views and new debating techniques for students. Jandreau knows that it is the job of high school educators to prepare students for the world outside of Gorham High’s walls and this way is the perfect opportunity.
“Our students will travel all over the world, encountering all kinds of people with wide-ranging views, and listening to someone with divergent or intense views for an hour is an important educational experience in and of itself,” said Jandreau.
Grady added, “So much of schooling is scripted curriculum; I hope students came away from U&D Day excited to learn more about current issues like racism and to have conversations with people who have had different experiences from their own. While we all have many diverse elements to our life stories, we are all united in our humanity and our need to be safe and valued.”