Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives Planned

Recognition, justice, and development are the themes proclaimed by the UN General Assembly to commemorate Black History Month in February. A working group at SPS, convened by Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Bethany Dickerson Wynder and Vice Rector for School Life Theresa Ferns ’84, is taking that theme and expanding on it. Working group members, including faculty, students, and staff, are in the midst of planning programing focused on justice, reconciliation, and recognition of Black excellence in a variety of different fields. Students involved in the planning are members of Onyx, a BIPOC affinity group.

“What we are planning to do within this framework is secure four speakers, one for each week in February, and they will focus on the themes,” explains Wynder. “We chose this theme because we want to reach as many students of color as possible and recognize that Black students come from the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean. We want to engage and invite them into further community.”

The speakers for Black History Month (who will be conducting their sessions virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic) include Eleanor Marie Brown, professor of law and international affairs and senior scientist at the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State Law School; The Rev. Leandra Lambert, Curate at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, East Hampton; and Michael B. Moore, who was appointed in 2020 as the first diversity and inclusion officer for Blackbaud. Wynder is also working on additional events featuring SPS alumni.

Prior to the events planned in honor of Black History Month, the School also observed Martin Luther King Day on January 18. That day included a special Chapel service, featuring guest homilist Dr. Catherine Meeks, founding executive director of the Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing, located in the Diocese of Atlanta. Students watched the service from their homes, as they were still away from school for remote learning until the end of January. Connecting MLK Day to Black History Month, the School will welcome Bishop Rob Wright, former SPS trustee, to engage SPS students in a social justice and reconciliation program in late January or early February. That event is being spearheaded by The Reverend Chuck Wynder, SPS chaplain.

Another featured component of Black History Month is a visiting exhibit of banners, created by the New Hampshire-based Sacred Ally Quilt Project. St. Paul’s School will be the first stop on a gallery tour for the quilts, made to celebrate and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. They will be on display in the Crumpacker Gallery from the end of January through March 1.

“We are excited about this initiative that has taken a multipronged approach,” says Bethany Wynder, “in the spirit of ensuring what it means to live into being a beloved community.”

Another goal of Black History Month and the DEI initiatives at the School is to continue to provide opportunities for students of color to see themselves reflected at SPS and around the world. Dr. Ferns is working with student leaders to plan a February 13 LINC (Living in Community) Day that explores and celebrates the international decade (2015-2024) of the African diaspora.

“This programming, including the cultural observance, fits with our DEI and justice work at the School because it is a thoughtful and strategic way of ensuring that current students, alumni, faculty, and staff see themselves reflected in the larger space,” says Wynder. “It’s an intentional way to ensure we are building on previous traditions at St. Paul’s, while also expanding our work within the international space.”