A Message About Recent Events
A riot is the language of the unheard.
—Martin Luther King, “The Other America”
When I am asked about the goals of Browning’s training and programming in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, I begin with the idea that EDI work helps us really listen to others’ stories. Listening helps us find what we have in common, to be sure, but it also allows us to better understand what’s different in our experiences--and when we validate that difference, we open up the possibility of compassion, empathy, and belief. And belief in someone else’s perspective, fear, or pain, can become a bridge to action—to correcting a mistake, to easing a burden, to fighting for justice. American culture associates masculinity with “more than just talk” and swooping into action, but a healthy masculinity—and a healthy community—understands that listening and believing must come first.
This has been a terrible week for all who care about human life and dignity. More than 140 cities, including our own, have erupted in fury after George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died on May 25 while being arrested in Minneapolis. Continuing protests throughout the United States are calling for justice in the wake of this killing, and drawing attention to the persistent racism and dehumanization which daily invades, alters, and threatens the lives of people of color.
“This is a time for listening to those who identify with or feel a connection to George Floyd and Chris Cooper, and people of all races who feel the dehumanizing effects of bias in their daily lives.”
Some of us live this story daily; others of us can scarcely believe these stories are true. It is in the bridging of this experiential gulf that Browning has both opportunity and responsibility, and we thus will take needed steps to meet this goal. This week, we are hosting a series of open discussions and dialogue with our Middle and Upper School boys, our faculty and staff, and our families. This is a time for listening, for hearing the stories of those in our community who have been particularly worried, hurt, or threatened by recent events—or for whom those events acutely recall a long history of inequality, fear, and bias. Together, we will exercise the mandates of our mission—compassion, courage, honesty, curiosity, dignity—so that Browning boys can fully become the kind of men who contribute meaningfully to a better world by helping all feel respected and valued as they deserve.