The Meeting After The MSN Meeting

Thank you to those who attended the meeting on Wednesday, January 8th. If the conversation in that room at the Moses Youth Center is any indication of how the year will go, the future of 2020 sure looks bright.

We used our time together to pause, reflect, and take a look back at our personal experiences in school to begin to build empathy for the experiences our young people are facing now. We started the meeting by looking at the Agenda for Children OST recommended Ways of Being. If you've been looking for staff meeting agreements, we highly suggest using these as a way to practice anti-racism through our relationships.

We explored the question: What is an experience in your life as a student/scholar that has had an effect on the way you view, experience and live your life as a racialized human being?  The courage in that room from folks to reach back and look at (sometimes painful) past experiences is a crticial part of the antiracist work we need to be doing to leave a (more) just and peaceful world for our young people.

So now what? Here are some next steps you can take for yourself and on-site to continue this work:

For Yourself.

With Your Staff.

With Young People.

Watch this lecture by professor Ibram X. Kendi as he explains the difference between being "not racist" and being anti-racist. How are you actively combatting racism in your everyday life and your work? 

Attend one of the upcoming events in the city to build your collective understanding and how to take action. Whether it's a training or an upcoming School Committee Meeting to add input to the CPSD Budget Priorities. 

It's never too early to talk about racism and power with young people. If you're looking for a way to get started, check out how Wee the People used a Mother's Day card making activity as an opportunity to educate young people on mass incarceration.