Dear Pomfret School Board of Trustees:

The murders of Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arberry, and George Floyd have opened the eyes, ears, and hearts of the nation. While these names are the most recent and their deaths unnecessary and monstrous, we must recognize that the long history of white supremacy, epitomized by police brutality and murder, has taken so many more lives than we will ever know. 

We must acknowledge the way that institutions have been complicit in this violence. 

Pomfret School is a physical, intellectual, ideological, and literal manifestation of white supremacy and institutionalized racism. Built for wealthy white young men in the 1880s – it has continued a perennial legacy of preserving a culture in which many Black students (and alumni!) continue to feel the pain, scars, and trauma of their years on the Hilltop due to micro-aggressions, openly racist interactions that went unchecked, and a generally toxic, primarily-white student body. For many Black students, alumni, parents of Black students, and their allies, there must be more action taken.

Pomfret has often been called a “bubble.” And this rhetoric is primarily used to describe the isolation of the school from the current events of the rest of the world. While geographically this certainly applies, it also applies to how Pomfret operates ideologically. Calling it a bubble is kind, calling it a sieve is accurate. Pomfret’s geographic distance from the rest of society, in a place predominantly white, predominantly falling into the same socioeconomic background, predominantly of similar life-views given said two former attributes, among other intersections, creates an opportunity for the sheltering and echoing of these values. Not just the fact that Pomfret was built for wealthy young white men, but the fact that it creates an echo chamber for ignorance.

In a letter to all alumni sent earlier last week, Head of School Tim Richards wrote that “our thoughts go to the families of victims of this type of unacceptable brutality and to the communities that are suffering so deeply” but thoughts are not actions. In the requests that follow, we have compiled a list of ways that Pomfret School must demonstrate with actionable items that Black Lives indeed Matter to the Board of Trustees, Faculty, Staff, Student Body, Alumni, and any other stakeholders of the community. As Pomfret releases a predominantly white group of young-adults into the world, it is the responsibility of the institution to properly educate them to be antiracists. The only alternative is a group of newly minted ignorant alums contributing to a broken system. The top priority is to ensure the comfort, safety, and actualization of BIPOC at Pomfret.

BIPOC students will not feel safe and supported within the Pomfret community until the following changes are made.

Our requests are as follows: 

I. Donate the equivalent of 1-year’s boarding tuition (for the 2020-2021 academic year – approximately $61k) to the Black Lives Matter Movement. This a non-political action as Black Lives Matter is a 501(c) 3 organization and does not endorse or oppose any political entities, parties, or persons. As a powerful institution with a robust endowment of $48 million, this donation will be greatly appreciated by your Black alumni many of whom did not feel seen, heard, or respected in their years on the Hilltop. Performative actions such as letters and Instagram posts do nothing to dismantle a system that Pomfret perpetuates and benefits from. Consider it reparations. 

-For more information on how this minimal donation compares to the top (as of 2018 all white) earners of Pomfret School, please see Article 1 of the Appendix below.

II. Commit to decolonizing the curriculum – NOT just the English and History departments. Students at Pomfret, a college preparatory school, should understand that intersectionality is a tenet of true scholarship and intellectual curiosity. 
-This includes departments such as: Science, Art (visual and performing), Mathematics, Foreign Language, Music, Religion, and others not listed. 
-Here are some examples:
Science: incorporating a section on indigenous knowledge within the biology and     environmental science curriculum, acknowledging unethical experimentation on Black and Brown bodies in medical “research.”
English: reading 50% of books written by BIPOC, framing their narrative in well-researched historical context.
History: Including the genocide of Native Americans in USH curriculum. Including Protest history in USH curriculum. Framing Imperialism as oppressive and brutal as it actually is in world history classes.
Arts: learning about, celebrating, and drawing from BIPOC artists (including in entry level art courses).
-Offering elective courses and Project Pomfret topics on black history, indigenous history, a very intersectional history of feminism, etc.
-Destigmatize the use of: AAVE, slang, Spang-lish and other non-traditional forms of academic writing. Whiteness pervades and dictates what is “acceptable” in academia - this must be undone. 

III. Require at least six terms of Diversity and Culture courses
-4 of which must be taken in the Junior and Senior years, so that this learning is not something forgotten by the time a student turns eighteen and is off to college. This also inherently creates a culture of leadership and life-long (un)learning.
-I.e.; Freshman year: 1 course, Sophomore year: 1 course, Junior year: 2 courses, Senior year: 2 courses
-Here are some examples: white privilege, white fragility, history of protest in America, geography/multiculturalism, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, police brutality, among many other relevant topics
-All must be framed all in the context of institutional racism, with lessons starting with a realistic picture of the topic, and ending with how these issues are tackled in everyday life and at the institutional level
-This learning, and unlearning does not stop, and should be influenced by current events.
-These courses must be taught by an interdisciplinary group of qualified faculty members.

IV. Dismantle the culture of white supremacy on the Board of Trustees, in the Administration, Faculty, and Staff by:
-Increasing the diversity of the Board of Trustees by 800% at the ends of terms of service
-Increasing the diversity of the Administration and Faculty by 500%.
-Ensuring that staff with close and trusting relationships to students such as: nurses, counselors, academic support specialists, and others are accurately representative and diverse. Students count on these people for intimate and confidential care and should feel seen, heard, and validated when trusting these adults with concerns. 
-Instituting a program specifically geared at retaining administrators, faculty, and staff of color - who often leave prematurely.

V. Institute a culture of restorative justice rather than unchecked punishment. By implementing these practices, there is opportunity to move away from the carceral punishment model (which has historically disrupted and oppressed the lives of BIPOC for centuries). In so doing, we request that:
-All students found responsible for hate speech, slurs, or derogatory language (in person, online, or in-code) be:
-Required to complete on campus diversity and sensitivity training that is meant to be educational rather than punitive.
-At the end of this training make a public, written AND spoken apology to the student body for the harm they/she/he have/has caused to the community at: 
-Chapel
-School Meeting
-Any other public forum that is deemed appropriate by the D.C.

VI. Institute a Pre-Orientation program for incoming students of color. Many colleges and universities have adopted this kind of programming so that students of color can have an equitable opportunity to meet current students of color and alumni of color, and build a network, before they start coursework, life, and significant personal development at a Predominately White Institution (such as Pomfret). 

VII. Hold faculty members accountable for when students report incidents of bias, micro-aggressions, or hateful racist remarks. Either in a student-to-student situation or faculty-to-student situation.

VIII. Hold faculty members accountable for when faculty report incidents of bias, micro-aggressions, or hateful racist remarks amongst the faculty in a faculty-to-faculty situation. 

IX. Hold Board members accountable for incidents of bias, micro-aggressions, or hateful racist remarks. 

X. Take public responsibility for inaction of decades past, and acknowledge that alumni of color had a starkly different experience than their white peers on the Hilltop. Not acknowledging these differences is unchecked white privilege in action.

XI. Acknowledge that International students, while intrinsically valuable to the school community, are NOT living the same experience as domestic students of color
Double-reporting practices in attempts to inflate diversity numbers is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

XII. Require ALL faculty to complete diversity, equity, and inclusion training as well as anti-racism work DURING the on-boarding process. Further we request that:
-During the recruitment process, prospective faculty must sign a commitment to anti-racism beliefs and practices both in pedagogy and personally.

XIII. Diversify the Admissions Team. It’s startling and shameful.

XIV. In the recruitment of new students include: “cultural acceptance, social justice, and respect for difference” as a key criterion for acceptance. 8th graders are old enough to know that racism isn’t okay, and if they (or their parents) don’t, refuse acceptance to a community committed to doing better. 

XV. Provide free menstrual products for all students with periods in dormitories and bathrooms. Period poverty is a real thing and has historically disproportionately impacted women of color. This is equity in practice. Imagine not having access to proper menstrual hygiene products because you didn’t have someone to take you to Target or Rite-Aid or because you couldn't afford them?

-The HoneyPot is a Black-owned feminine hygiene company and a great place to start. 

Actions needed to be taken by the Athletic Department in order to dismantle the culture of white supremacy

Every single sports record set by a Pomfret athlete will eventually be broken and the day afterward, the world will not be changed. However, every time the institution chooses to educate their athletes on racial injustices, the world will maybe be a little bit better for someone else. If teams have the time for team dinners, they most certainly have time for monthly programs regarding not only racial injustices, but also regarding the white privileges they benefit so gratefully from. 

Moving forward the athletic department must:

I. Require all athletic teams to attend MANDATORY monthly programs regarding:
-Anti-racism, Racial Injustices and Inequality, Reflecting on their own white privilege, Microaggressions, Racial Profiling, Colorism, Racial Discrimination, Systemic Racism
II. Accountability on incidents regarding racial slurs within spaces that the team occupies
-Locker-Rooms 
-Toasters
-Group-chats
III. Require Coaches, regardless of their status, to attend MANDATORY Cultural Competency training and anti-racism with a focus on Black racial injustices. 
IV. Create a safe space for the Black/POC athletes to meet weekly (if they would like) with the athletic director to discuss any issues within their programs.
V. We ask that Black/POC faculty members be in attendance when these meetings take place.
-Remind athletes that this is a safe space and encourage the athletes to share any racial incidents or experiences that have taken place during athletic outings. Whether it has happened against the opposing team or within Pomfret’s own program.
VI. Require athletes who hold a leadership position on the team, a captain's position, to be stripped of their title immediately if caught partaking in any racial or bias incident.
VII. Hold opposing teams accountable for their actions when Black/POC Pomfret athletes are faced with racial incidents.
-For example but not limited to, racial slurs.
VIII. Require teams to dedicate as much time that goes into events like bonfire into Black History Month.

Pomfret can do better. As alumni, current students, and others with a vested interest in the wellbeing of The Hilltop - our home for the most important years of our self-development - we are committed to leaving the Institution better than we found it. There is much work to do to get to a place in which the Institution is rid of white supremacist ideals - we believe that these requests are reasonable and necessary - and a good place to start. 

Pomfret has an obligation to educate its students against white supremacy. We recognize that institutions cannot change overnight, but Pomfret must take swift action in order to become a place where students of color are getting the education they deserve in an environment where they feel comfortable and supported. These changes cannot wait. 

Therefore, we want to see a comprehensive plan for Pomfret to make the changes outlined in this letter within the next 3 years.

It is because of our education at Pomfret that we know how to write with conviction and seek to change the status quo. However, It is because of our development as individuals bearing witness to the ways in which we have been complicit to institutionalized racism that we know this: we must strive valiantly for generational change. 

Please initiate a response to these requests no later than Friday June 12th, 2020 by COB. 

Thank you for your consideration. We can be reached at: griffinsforjustice@gmail.com.

In solidarity,

 

APPENDIX:

Article 1: Pomfret’s highest compensated employees, according to its 2018 Form 990 filing, were and continue to be, all white. These seven white employees earn a combined $1,193,253 a year – with the highest paid employee Timothy Richards earning $336,645 per year. Let us be clear: This does not stem from a dearth of exceedingly qualified Black professionals in the college-preparatory school labor market. 

This data stems from the structural racism and white supremacy that the Board of Trustees – the body which approves salaries – and Pomfret has perpetuated since its founding.  

(1) TIMOTHY RICHARDS......................................................................

Head of School
50.00
 
336,645
0
65,093
(2) EDWARD GRIFFIN......................................................................

Chief Financial Officer
50.00
 
192,589
0
52,667
(3) MELISSA BELLANCEAU......................................................................

Director of Advancement
50.00
 
178,670
0
22,889
(4) JAMIE BAKER......................................................................

Director of Grauer Institute
50.00

157,576
0
46,204
(5) BRENDA BULLIED......................................................................

Director of Facilities
50.00
112,375
0
26,587
(6) RICHARD DEMPSEY......................................................................

Asst Head of School
50.00
 
112,283
0
44,560
(7) MATTHEW PIERCE......................................................................

Assoc Director of Advancement
50.00
 
103,115
0
40,677