As alumni and community members of Eastport South Manor Central School District who care deeply about the education and growth of our community, we know there is a problem that has been deeply pervasive in our community and schooling for too long: racism and white supremacy.

Eastport South Manor is a school district that serves mostly white students from upper middle class backgrounds. However, there are students of other racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds who are a part of this community as well and they deserve so much better. Many of these community members have been the target of racist attacks & microagressions while also witnessing/perpetuating white supremacy without any intervention from other students, staff, or faculty. Furthermore, the district has erroneously failed to protect, support, and provide essential resources to our black and brown students year after year. Due to this, many white students are leaving ESM ill-equipped to recognize institutional racism, and even less prepared to correct their own racist behaviors in their lives as adults. How can our black and brown students leave feeling seen, heard, and supported by an institution claiming to "provide a supportive, safe, dynamic learning environment" and to "graduate students of good character who are intellectually, physically and socially developed, and who are as well prepared as possible for their futures" (Board Policy 0000) if the district does not confront even the most obvious forms of racism and implicit bias present in our schools?

At a subconscious and structural level, significant shortcomings existed in our education. While there were efforts to incorporate certain perspectives of black, indigenous, and people of color - we learned about Native Americans that previously inhabited the region - the curriculum often de-emphasized or ignored how our ancestors violently forced Native Americans off their own land, used coercion to assimilate them into American society, and marginalized them throughout American history and today. We learned briefly about slavery and Jim Crow - but not once did we learn about the Tulsa Race Massacre or that LI had the largest population of enslaved peoples of any rural or urban area in the north. Through out all of our curriculum, white perspectives and voices were always centered resulting in the white washing of the real legacies of figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and erasure of people like Malcolm X, Angela Davis, James Baldwin, John Lewis, and many others.

ESM is celebrated for providing high-quality education with robust extracurricular activities aimed at developing well-rounded individuals prepared for successful careers. This would not be possible without the love, fierce dedication and passion of our teachers. However, the community cannot expect them to solely carry the burden of this district's greatest shortcoming. As educators and public servants, it is your responsibility to ensure that every student learns in a safe & equitable environment and leaves ESM equipped with the tools to actively recognize and dismantle white supremacy in their adult life as a representative of this district and community. 

ESM’s budget for next year is $97.1 million. We demand the following actions be taken for the Eastport South Manor 2020-2021 academic school year and beyond:

• Monthly Anti-racism Workshops led by Black and brown professionals for all Staff, Teachers, Security, etc. focused specifically on working in an educational setting, eliminating implicit bias, and learning how to hold co-workers and students accountable
• Monthly Classes/Workshops led by Black and brown professionals from grades 7-12 that focus specifically on anti-racism, dismantling white-supremacy, and implicit bias
• Mandatory Curriculum focused on fostering an anti-racist learning environment for grades K-12
• A required high school history class that focuses specifically on the black experience and culture in the United States from 1619-present taught by an educator who is Black and specializes in this subject
• A requirement that at least 50% of materials studied and used in ALL curriculum/subjects across schools be by Black and brown individuals
• A commitment and action plan for hiring more Black and brown educators, social workers, and guidance counselors in ESM in ALL grades, schools, and subjects
• Establish a leadership committee centering Black and brown students dedicated to racial equity and social change
• A commitment to making resources for Black & brown students readily available digitally and person including but not limited to: a packet detailing the schools commitment and action plan for pursuing anti-racism and meaningfully supporting our Black and brown students, mental health support resources, self care resources, an ongoing list of scholarships, grants, and opportunities, and more.
• A commitment to making anti-racism resources available digitally and in person including but not limited to: articles, book, movies, online courses/classes and trainings, etc.
• An action plan and policy for effectively confronting racism and holding students/staff accountable for their actions including but not limited to documentation & reporting of event, anti-racist/implicit bias training(s), volunteering, an essay on how their actions have perpetuated racism and are harmful, a thorough and sincere apology, and possible suspension, expulsion, firing if necessary. 
• A commitment to eliminating the toxic history of retribution for staff, teachers, and students who speak out against issues present in the school

**This petition may continue to grow and evolve in response to feedback from the ESM community. 
**Please do not donate to this Change.org. The money does not go towards supporting this effort at all, it goes directly to Change.org.
**Last updated 06/06/20