We, the Haddon Township High School (HTHS) Student Council and community at large, find that the anti-racism education in Haddon Township High School and throughout the Haddon Township School District (HTSD) is inadequate and must be reformed.
Haddon Township is a place “where community thrives.” Its residents are friendly and welcoming and help make it a safe, nurturing place to live. Its education system is an important part of the community: nearly everyone has some connection to the school district and many remain part of it even after they or their children graduate. It is rightly acclaimed as a fantastic educational institution and helps its students prepare well for their future.
In spite of this, Haddon Township has a major flaw: it and towns like it are a direct result of systemic racism. Racist policies throughout American history have kept suburbs across the country from including nonwhites in various manners. As a result, our town is racially homogenous: 91.1% white, 1.1% black or African American, 1.9% Asian,1.0% biracial, and 5.0% Hispanic or Latino. This is evident in all facets of life in Haddon Township and especially in its schools. Students at Haddon Township recognize this, but are often unaware of the extent of the privilege into which many were born. We are calling for more diversity and anti-racism education in our schools to resolve this problem:
First, the history and culture of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) must be addressed. White washing is a major issue in our nation and, despite our best efforts, our school, too. Historical and modern-day contributions of BIPOC and the hatred they have faced throughout American history are not adequately discussed. The efforts of BIPOC to aid the advancement of humankind are woefully under-represented and white crimes against them must be taught to better understand the state of the world today, including recent actions that have led to major world events and crises. This must be done despite the discomfort these discussions will undoubtedly cause. As part of this, textbooks and classroom materials must be evaluated. Many history textbooks fail to discuss the above mentioned subjects, including racism and segregation in today’s world and the recent past; they may glorify American “heroes” without considering these people’s actions that actively harmed BIPOC, such as Christopher Columbus and his genocide against Native Americans. Additionally, materials in other courses must be evaluated for their representation of BIPOC and their culture. More diverse literature must especially be included in English curriculums. On the whole, BIPOC representation must be increased in every curriculum.
Diversity training must be instituted to teach our students to rectify the problems homogeneity poses. We must hold workshops, assemblies, and other programs to teach students to be more than non-racist, but to actively oppose racism and other forms of hatred, bigotry, and discrimination in our society. Classes and outside events must be held to teach this, and they must be taught by BIPOC. Their perspective in this education will be vital to the understanding of our students, as they will be able to share their experiences of what is likely an unfamiliar subject to many students.
A committee must be established to ensure representation in the student body for BIPOC. More must be done to ensure that nonwhite students’ perspectives are considered in decisions and the creation of this committee would allow for that. This committee must include BIPOC students and would be able to address school policy decisions and activities that would help improve anti-racism education and programs in HTSD.
HTSD must make a commitment to increasing its staffing diversity. Our faculty is large-majority-white, and the HTSD must make a concentrated effort to improve this. Representation is important for the success of all students. In this representation, we mean more than improving racial demographics: people of different sexual orientations, genders, and abilities must be part of our discussion. While we understand the difficulty in changing the demographics of the staff, we implore the district to ensure that diversity is considered in future staffing decisions, especially among leadership groups, to ensure every perspective is represented in district decisions.
This is not an exhaustive list; it is a start. Nor is this list for HTHS alone. These are changes which must be implemented across all grades and schools. No student is too young nor too old to be taught about racism, hatred, and bigotry. In regard to racism and injustices, everyone must spend their whole life learning. Everyone must be lifelong students.
It is our actions here and now that will allow us to work towards fixing systemic injustices. Education is our best tool to fight ignorance and we must use that tool. It’s time to teach our students about the discrimination from which many benefit and will never experience. It is our duty to do this now, to relieve the suffering of many in our community and nation.
WE ARE HAWK NATION.
