Opinion writer Stefan Roots explores what has changed, and what hasn’t, since George Floyd’s murder a year ago.
All tagged Racial Equity
Confronting Swarthmore’s Painful History
Swarthmore resident Amy Sisson describes her project to create an annotated bibliography about race history in Swarthmore — both what it is, and how she came to assemble it.
Swarthmorean Silence
Historian Laurie Bernstein notes a missed opportunity to discuss race and segregation in the Swarthmorean in 1931.
Equity Audit on Hold, Diversity Training Ongoing
An equity audit of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District is on hold for now, pending an investigation into who might best perform it, board member Kelly Wachtman reported at the board’s meeting on Monday. Also, Superintendent Lisa Palmer reported that the school board has begun equity training with Heather Bennett, Director of Equity Services for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Palmer anticipates that the board will produce an equity statement and an equity policy by the end of the school year.
What Are We Celebrating?
I was at the Swarthmore Farmers Market when the news broke that Joe Biden had won the election. People started cheering in the streets. Honking their horns. I saw some people break down in tears. I understood it, but I didn’t feel it.
Board member Jerry Ballas reported on the activities of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Ballas noted several disturbing incidents at Strath Haven High School on the first day of school. “It’s important that we not only talk about but fundamentally demonstrate that behavior of that type is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the school system,” he said. The public comments portion of the meeting included reading out the following letter, written by leaders of the group Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools Big IDEA.
Kearney and Williams Host Racial Equity Conversation
State Senators Tim Kearney and Anthony Williams will co-host an online community discussion on racial equity on Tuesday, July 28, at 4 p.m. The event is part of a virtual statewide Racial Equity Tour, organized by Pennsylvania senate Democrats, seeking to end systemic racism and reimagine public safety.