The last several weeks have been traumatic in Minnesota and around the country. George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police laid bare our country’s systemic racism. This systemic racism routinely violates the human rights of people of color. We mourn for George Floyd, and for all the victims of white supremacy. Enough is enough.
The Duluth Community School Collaborative stands behind our Black community. We are listening to the voices of our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) youth and families, and we are resolved to make this a turning point.
We realize and acknowledge that we are coming to this conversation later than many of our partner organizations. We wanted to take adequate time to reflect and determine action steps for how our organization can actually influence systemic change. After much thought and deliberation, we resolve to make the following commitments:
1. Our work will continue to be centered on BIPOC young people and their families, driving toward our values of equity and youth voice.
2. We will hold ourselves and our partners accountable to doing the internal work necessary to ensure an actively anti-racist organization into the future.
3. We know that authentic family, school, and community engagement is necessary to create the opportunity for all young people to achieve their full human potential. By using this engagement to create the conditions for power-sharing between BIPOC youth and families and schools, together we will disrupt the status quo of historically racist systems.
4. Our board of directors will focus recruitment efforts for new board members on BIPOC communities in order to represent the students and families we serve at a leadership level in our organization.
5. We will partner with the Education Equity Alliance in their initiative to address disproportionate discipline of students of color and increase cultural responsiveness of teachers and staff in Duluth Public Schools.
In the coming weeks and months we commit to developing and deepening authentic relationships with our BIPOC youth and families, to listen, and to begin to work together to rebuild a more just future for our beloved children. Please stay tuned to our Facebook page and newsletter for more information on the family engagement opportunities that we will hold this summer.
If you would like to join these efforts, please contact us. If you are interested in providing monetary support to agencies supporting our BIPOC youth and families or taking other action, please visit the Duluth NAACP website for their statement regarding the murder of George Floyd and suggestions for action.
Thank you for your support.