Community Voices

Anti-Racism and Support of Black Lives in Edwardsville School District #7

As it has now been nearly three weeks since the murder of George Floyd and two weeks since the first subsequent protest against racism and police violence in Edwardsville,^[1] we are troubled by District 7’s lack of communication to students and families. This is a time when we expect district leaders to vocally reject white supremacy and state their commitments toward advancing equity for the well-being and academic growth of Black students in Edwardsville schools.

This silence is, unfortunately, not surprising.

District 7 has a long history of silencing Black voices and failing to educate students on the deep-seated history of white supremacy in both our nation and our town.  Teachers are encouraged to temper or eliminate discussions of current societal issues faced by the Black community, in an attempt to “keep politics out of school.” But this attitude fails to recognize the fact that, for some District 7 students, Blackness is an inherent component of their identity, and such “political” issues may have tangible effects on them and their families.  Some Edwardsville teachers encourage “colorblind” attitudes in discussions of race, but students do not simply stop being Black when they walk through the doors of a District 7 school. The administration has failed to support Black students and promote a culture of solidarity between them and their white and NBPOC (non-Black people of color) counterparts.

Those of us enrolled in Fall 2014 at Edwardsville High School vividly remember the school day after the 2014 Ferguson Protests, following the murder of Michael Brown at the hands of the police. When students attempted to initiate conversations in their history and social studies classes, they were immediately shut down. Teachers read from an email sent by administrators announcing to the class that teachers and students were forbidden to discuss the unrest that was occurring in our neighboring communities.^[2] This moment of deep tragedy was an opportunity for District 7 to stand up and provide an environment for open, thoughtful discussion regarding systemic racial oppression. It was an opportunity for Black students to voice their grievances, their perspectives, their justified condemnations of racial inequality and police brutality. It was an opportunity for white and NBPOC students to listen to the concerns of Black classmates, re-examine privileges, and ultimately begin to understand the importance and necessity of critiquing the racist institutions that this country was founded upon, as well as the subtle ways students reinforce racism through their own mindsets and actions. However, District 7 ultimately decided to silence the faculty and students, allowing racial ignorance and tension to build within the walls of our schools.

This was only one of many instances of District 7’s disregard for Black lives. As students, we observed and experienced countless other transgressions, from everyday microaggressions in the cafeteria to threats from white supremacist students toward classmates of color. Students were allowed to display the Confederate flag on their vehicles, which were parked in view of everyone, especially Black students. And while District 7 made a statement condemning racism^[3] following anti-Black social media posts and messages among students in the fall of 2019, we worry that the District’s silence at this moment indicates any follow-through on commitments in that statement will be anemic at best. This community’s school district needs to do better, not only in addressing the current climate but also in everyday education.

We believe that in working together as a community of students, parents, educators and administrators, we can begin to make District 7 an empowering space for Black students, an environment to learn about privilege and allyship, and ultimately an institution that stands up against systemic racism through actions, not just words.

We demand that District 7 explicitly stand in solidarity with the Black communities, families, and students who make these schools so great. We specifically urge District 7 to:

Immediately acknowledge District 7’s pattern of silence and lack of response on issues of racism and anti-Blackness.

• Immediately send public communication to students and families to acknowledge the recent weeks of police brutality and subsequent protest and the psychological and emotional toll of such events on specifically Black students, teachers and families.
• Communicate both condemnation of police brutality and structural racism and long-term commitments to all students and families.

Dismantle district-level systems and practices that uphold structural racism, anti-Blackness and white supremacy.

• Recognize and celebrate Black History Month and Juneteenth at a District level and through all schools. Edwardsville High School consciously failed to acknowledge Black History Month in any way during the 2014-15 school year, even after administrators were urged to do so by a student who created activities for the school to enact.
• Create publicly available information on the district’s equity task force; provide regular updates on task force activities and deadlines.
• Host a town hall, or multiple town halls for parents, students, and community members to voice their concerns.

Cultivate a talent pool of school personnel that is representative of the racially diverse students they serve; culturally competent; and prepared to facilitate open dialogue on racism both in history and the present day.

• Reevaluate hiring practices with the explicit goal of increasing the number of Black teachers and staff serving in all schools.
• Train teachers to educate students on subtle forms of racism and anti-Blackness in everyday life through racist words, actions, and mindsets, in a way that protects the well-being of students of marginalized identities during said lessons.

Enforce bans on hate speech and symbols on every District 7 campus; establish practices supporting a culture of inclusion.

• Ban all displays of the Confederate flag along with racial slurs and other forms of hate speech – put it in the student handbook along with all the other things you’re not allowed to do “on or off-campus.”
• Create regular workshops and town halls for students, staff, and families to process and learn as the community continually strives to unsettle white supremacy in our district.

Implement and expand culturally responsive, anti-racist curricula across all core subject areas and grade levels from Pre-K to 12th grade.

• Pursue an independent audit of processes for identifying students as Diverse Learners and/or requiring Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Black students comprise 7.7% of District 7’s student body, but 14% of students with IEPs.^[4]
• Require teachers to incorporate both fiction and non-fiction works by Black writers in English classes at all grade levels.
• Immediately begin implementing culturally responsive curricula to adequately and continually educate students on the history of white supremacy in the United States, including slavery, Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights Movement, mass incarceration, police brutality and other histories of racism in the United States and Edwardsville.
• Introduce non-fiction books on the above issues as a “One Book” experience for all incoming first-year students at Edwardsville High School, and encourage productive dialogue for students to share what they have individually learned (moderated by a teacher equipped to handle such discussions).

Just as the individuals of this community and country have begun looking inwards at their past injustices and inactions, institutions such as public schools must re-examine the roles they have played in perpetuating racism on the individual and structural levels. District 7 cannot simply release an apology statement denouncing racism and then move forward without a change to the “status quo.” The only way for institutions of education to make up for their past mistakes is to take direct, revolutionary action through a formal change in policy. As the alumni, families, and residents of District 7, we urge you to enact these reforms so that we may take the next step toward racial equality.

Signed,

Authors

Emily Ash, Class of 2015, emclaireash@gmail.com

Asher Denkyirah, Class of 2015, asherdenkyirah@gmail.com

Kristen Dowell, Class of 2014, Kris10dowell@gmail.com

Cheyenne Grenaway, Class of 2017, cgrenawa@iu.edu

Jacob Gianaris, Class of 2013, jegianaris@gmail.com

Hanna (Beck) Griffin, Class of 2014, Hgriffin@hsptherapies.com

Audrey Hudlin, Class of 2013, achudlin13@gmail.com

Emma Lipe, Class of 2017, elipe@iu.edu

Henry Lu, Class of 2016, hzlu97@gmail.com

Guy Russo, Class of 2014 guy.russo.96@gmail.com

Margaret Stolte, Class of 2013, margaretstolte@gmail.com

Supporters

Abi Sholar, Class of 2014, Resident of 25 years

Peter Byers, Class of 2015, Resident of 15 years

Jane Forster Byers, Community member, Resident of 14 years

Spencer Wallace, District 7 alum, Sibling of District 7 student, Resident of 16 years

Abraham Gianaris, Class of 2023, Resident of 15 years

Grace Northcutt, Class of 2017, Resident of 21 years

Adam Raza Pyarali, Class of 2011, Resident of 18 years

Nina Weatherly, Class of 2016, Resident of 20 years

Max Byers, Class of 2012, Resident of 11 years

Clayton Schneider, Class of 2016, Resident of 18 years

Madeline George, Class of 2016, Sibling of a District 7 student, Resident of 18 years

Jennifer Gianaris, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Resident of 25 years

Katie (Speicher) Cassens, Class of 2012, Resident of 26 years

Cale Ambuehl, Class of 2016

Mckinlee Gobble, Class of 2019, Resident of 19 years

Ellie Elson, Class of 2019, Sibling of a District 7 student, Resident of 19 years

Justin Hinds, Class of 2019, Resident of 19 years

Elliott Gianaris, Class of 2016, Resident of 22 years

Michael Glisson, Class of 2017, Resident of 16 years

Lamont Carpenter, Class of 2016, Resident of 21 years

Isabella Lilley, Class of 2015, Resident of 21 years

Genevieve (Evie) Kupsky, Class of 2014

Kathryn Ash, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Resident of 8 years

Howard Ash, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Resident of 8 years

Jenna Beck, Class of 2010, Resident of 22 years

Haley Eaton (Birkner), Class of 2014, Resident of 22 years

Ann Stolte, Class of 1975, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Resident of 50 years

Hannah Grigaitis, Class of 2014, Resident of 21 years

Deborrah Blackburn, Class of 2014, Resident of 25 years

Allie (Sweatt) Trueb, Class of 2014, Resident of 15 years

Steve Stolte, Class of 1974, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Resident of 64 years

Valerie Livesay (Sweatt), Parent of 4 EHS graduates, Resident of 17 years

Abby Reller, Class of 2014, Resident of 24 years

Clay Cassens, Class of 2012, Resident of 15 years

Erica Young (Campbell), Class of 2006

Isaiah Blackburn, Class of 2013, Resident of 22 years

Garrett Sweatt, Class of 2012, Resident of 15 years

Thomas Webb, Class of 2016, Resident of 10 years

Jacob Hinds, Class of 2019, Resident of 19 years

Annie Earlysmith, Alum of District 7, Resident of 15 years

Jim Dodds, Class of 2019, Resident of 19 years

Clay Schoolman, Class of 2015, Resident of 4 years

Maggie Perkins, Class of 2014, Resident of 18 years

Andy Russo, Class of 1978, Parent/guardian and sibling of District 7 students, Resident of 40 years

Suganya Dhanamitt, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, District 7 educator, Resident of 22 years

Paul Dodds, District 7 alum, Resident of 18 years

Mackenzie Collins, Class of 2012, Resident of 18 years

Emily Kuether, Class of 2011, Resident of 27 years

Bethany, Class of 2013, Resident of 13 years

Colin Clayton, Class of 2014, Resident of 18 years

Jamie Skigen, Class of 2017, Resident of 18 years

James Sauermann, Class of 2014, Resident of 24 years

Claudia Vazquez, Class of 2017, Resident of 21 years

Stacey Lipe, Class of 1985, District 7 educator, Resident of 49 years

Alp Aktuna, Class of 2016, Resident of 10 years

Emily Clark, Sibling or family member of a District 7 student, Resident of 10 years

Meghan Grenaway,  Sibling or family member of a District 7 student, Resident of 10 years

Grace Payden, Class of 2015, Resident of 4 years

Lauren Corby, Class of 2014, Resident of 18 years

Terry Lynn, Class of 1962, Resident of 70 years

Morgan, Class of 2013, Resident of 18 years

Carly Weimer, Class of 2014

Teagan Potter, Class of 2015, Resident of 22 years

Michaela Kulasekara, Class of 2015, Resident of 23 years

Angela Potter, Class of 2012, Resident of 23 years

Susan Levy Kulasekara, Class of 1984, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Resident of 53 years

Ryan Kulasekara, Class of 2020, Resident of 18 years

Zane, Class of 2011, Resident of 24 years

Caroline Frew, Class of 2015, Resident of 23 years

Lauren Corby, Class of 2014, Resident of 18 years

Jay Fry, Class of 2011, Resident of 20 years

Scott Kuether, Class of 1981, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Sibling of a D7 student, Resident of 44 years

Nalin Kulasekara, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Resident of 33 years

Shawn Semmler, Class of 2015, Resident of 20 years

Joe Strohmeyer, Class of 2014, Resident of 23 years

Natalie Jarrett, Class of 2015, Resident of 23 years

Priscilla Dowell, Community member, Resident of 28 years

Colleen Potter, Community member, Resident of 34 years

Katie Dowell Arnold, Class of 2007, District 7 educator, Resident of 29 years

Tatum Secor, Class of 2014, Resident of 18 years

Donte Howard, Class of 2005, Resident of 20+ years

Devin Kane, Class of 2016

David Blackburn, Class of 2016, Sibling/family member of a District 7 student, Resident of 22 years

Ella Hudlin, Parent/guardian of a District 7 student, Resident of 41 years

^[1] ‘It can be done this way’ | Peaceful protest calls for justice in Edwardsville: https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/george-floyd-protest-edwardsville-illinois/63-59054723-bdfc-48f1-95d1-73dfac1b3904

^[2] Edwardsville Teachers Told to Avoid Discussing Ferguson With Students: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/edwardsville-teachers-told-to-avoid-discussing-ferguson-events-with-students/article_1358925d-3e54-5823-9ce3-2f9938fc4c22.html

^[3] Edwardsville High School reacts to racist social media posts circulating among students: https://www.bnd.com/news/local/article237073904

^[4] ISBE Report Card, ECUSD7: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?source=studentcharacteristics&Districtid=41057007026