The Gathering Place Family,
We’re writing this with heavy hearts. We’re angry, we’re heartbroken, and we’re grieving.
We’re angry that our nation continues to systematically devalue and outright kill and harm our black communities. We’re angry that our systems and institutions, from law to policy to practice, are racist. We’re angry at the inaction of so many, and particularly the inaction of the majority of white communities.
We’re heartbroken for the families and friends of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, who are three of many black people who have been killed because of white supremacy. And we’re grieving for the pain and the fear that black people feel each day when they live in a country as unjust as ours.
As two white leaders, we do not know what it feels like to face racial violence everyday which we believe happens every day in every space. It happens in our workplaces, in our religious institutions, in our media, on our streets, in all facets of society.
To our black families and our black staff: We see you. We hear you. We love you. And we will do everything we can, both as individuals and as an organization, to fight alongside you. As two white people, we will continue to call out white people in our own personal circles and in white communities. We remain committed to continuing excavating our own biases and our own prejudices; this work is never done.
To our white families and our white staff: racism is not just systematic, it is personal. It is present in our everyday mindsets and in our actions - it is present in how we vote, in what businesses we frequent, where we choose to live, where we send our kids to school, who we surround ourselves with, how we interact with others. We each have deep work to do, and work that needs to be done in a way that does not place a burden on our black and brown colleagues - it is our work to do. Being anti-racist is a daily commitment to personal interrogation of beliefs and behaviors, and a translation into daily behaviors and actions. We encourage you to look deeply within and around you, and to name and fight racism wherever you find it.
To our families and staff of all additional races: anti-blackness is present in most cultures and most races. We also encourage you to look deeply within and around you in your communities, and to name and fight anti-blackness wherever you see it.
We believe that our humanity is interwoven. We resonate deeply with the Mayan greeting of In Lak'ech Ala K'in which means I am you, you are me/Tú eres mi otro yo. Together, with critical consciousness rooted in awareness and action, we can change the world. There is much work ahead. We wanted to share a few things that we are doing both on a personal and professional level.
What The Gathering Place is doing:
We continue to prioritize mission alignment and representation on our Board of Directors. Our goal is for our Board to identify as at least 51% or more as people of color, and at least 51% or more as women or gender fluid. We are at 100% and 60%, respectively.
This upcoming school year will be our first with both children and staff. We will be surveying our entire school community to hear feedback on inclusivity and equity, with the goal that all of our community members are seen, truly belong, and are treated equitably.
Our curriculum will be driven by our design principles as an organization, one of which focuses on critical consciousness rooted in awareness and action. That means that our learning experiences, from projects that you will be developing to our village libraries to our arts program, will be centered in equity, inclusion, and the decolonization of traditional learning curricula.
We are in the process of developing our leader and staff PD which includes partnering with local individuals and organizations to lead professional development in anti-bias/racial justice work; diving into the indigenous origins of restorative justice; and recognizing that we live and work on occupied land - and what that means on a daily basis in school.
We were both present at this past weekend’s march. While we have done this in the past, we will continue to publicly name and show that Black Lives Matter.
We will talk about race and identity with our staff, with our families, and with our children. While many schools shy away, we reject that mindset and behavior as we believe that makes schools complicit in our social inequity. We also do not believe it is ever too early to talk to children about race or identity. We will also call out racial inequities in the broader educational ecosystem.
In solidarity,
Joanna (Asia) Klekowicz & Ryan York
Co-Founders & Co-Leaders
