By Layla Tammen & Rachel Applegate
Focus
Midland HS
1st Place
Division 2, News Writing
At the beginning of the school year, math teacher Johnny Chatman wrote names on his board: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and 11 more. For weeks he said nothing, to see if any of the students would react. One student said that she liked that he wrote the names, but that was all. After those weeks, Chatman opened his class up for discussion.
After pointing out that the names were all victims of police brutality, it led to a powerful discussion on Black Lives Matter. Before this discussion, an African- American student felt that everyone at MHS despised her for her color. She had previously heard the N-word in the halls, sometimes directed at her. What she said really took her classmates by surprise.
“She started to get teared up,” Chatman said. “The whole class started to talk about it. What she said really shook me to my heart and made me tear up, and that was this, ‘You guys will never know how I think of you in a different light now.’”
On June 7, 1,200 protesters laid on burning concrete for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the exact amount of time George Floyd was suffocated by a white police officer before passing away. The protesters were not just protesting Floyd’s death, they were protesting systemic racism throughout American history. While a majority of Midland’s population is white, the town is no stranger to racism. Two days after the march on June 9, Midland Public Schools released a Special Edition Communique addressing DEI.
DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion, topics MPS has been working on for over a year. The objective of DEI is to “foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our schools.” The communique also states, “We cannot fully accomplish this objective without addressing bias, systemic racism, privilege and behavior.” MPS hired Dr. Amy Beasley as the DEI consultant. She also works as the Inclusion Leader for Dow Chemical’s North American Region. With her expertise, she has worked closely with MPS to ensure that all students feel welcome and included in their school.
“At the most basic level, it means that we value everyone for who they are and embrace the uniqueness they bring to the world,” Beasley said. “We see difference as a strength, we want collective success.”
Penny Miller-Nelson, Associate Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment, co-facilitates the DEI Advisory Team. DEI’s primary inspiration comes from students, and the belief that all students deserve to come to school as their true authentic selves.
“I believe in our vision statement and in my responsibility to ensure an equitable, collaborative, and inclusive culture that provides opportunities for all to achieve success,” Miller-Nelson said.
Chatman works as the only African American on staff. African American students have always gone to him because he identifies with what they are dealing with. His whole life he has experienced exclusion because of his race, even in his professional life.
“I have a lot of experience to bring to the table,” Chatman said.“My strength is that I’ve experienced it, and I’m willing to talk about it.”
A major part of DEI is open discussion, even at the elementary level. Many people believe that people are not born racist, they are taught to be racist. Creating a safe place for open conversation at a young age is a way to try and combat it.
“When little kids are taught that uniqueness is good, that our differences can be celebrated, and that we can talk honestly about differences as valued attributes, that sets a pretty powerful foundation of openness and inclusivity,” Beasley said.
While MPS is working towards inclusivity, some students said that the district is not doing enough. Senior Courtney Collamer is a student activist who has noticed a lack of representation in the curriculum. Collamer believes that the curriculum is outdated and does not include the necessary aspects of African American history.
“We often learn more about the white aspects of history just because we’re white and we have our own explicit bias,” Collamer said. “It’s so important to learn about other people’s history.”
Collamer is not the only student who has noticed a lack of diversity. Sophomore Emma Buschlen is a part of the Midland Inclusion Council, a group of students from both Midland and Dow High who are trying to make the community a more welcoming place. While much of the council focuses on community outreach, she believes that inclusion also needs to start in the schools.
“A lot of times we’ll talk about freeing slaves and MLK, and that’s pretty much the extent that it goes to,” Buschlen said. “Really diving deeper into the African-American history I think is really important, which brings a whole other level of cultural awareness to students. Ultimately, those students are going to be growing up and they’re going to be the ones making the change.”
Buschlen recognizes her white privilege and is inspired by that. Her parents have encouraged her to use her voice, especially her father, who works in the leadership department at CMU. She hopes to help lead change for those who’ve been silenced because of their race.
“I have that privilege to use my voice, so I feel like everyone has a voice and they should be able to use it and using it just makes that much [more] of a difference,” Buschlen said.
Collamer has also been vocal about the necessity of inclusion and equality. She has used her own social media to educate people on the oppression of many minority groups.
“You definitely get backlash to what you post or what you say,” Collamer said. “I’ve learned to take it with a grain of salt and not pay attention to them because it’s better to do the right thing and not fit in than to try and fit in and be a terrible person.”
MPS understands that changes need to occur in order to diversify the curriculum. Changing a curriculum such as adopting new textbooks from authors of color is a long process. Miller- Nelson is hopeful that changes in the curriculum will occur due to the push from both staff and students.
“Assessing our curriculum through the lens of DEI is a complex endeavor, and we will rely upon the findings from our equity audit to guide us,” Miller-Nelson said.
MPS has taken action to combat hate speech and symbols in school. MPS does not accept the use of racial slurs and has banned symbols, such as the Confederate flag, from it’s campuses. The student handbook has been updated with these measures. Disciplinary actions have also been taken seriously, even resulting in expulsion.
“It’s been made very clear that students cannot bring the Confederate flag on the school grounds because it is a symbol of hate,” Chatman said. “We are really sincere about removing those symbols of hate from this school permanently.”
Despite all of the work from students, Dr. Beasley, and the administration, there is still backlash. Opponents of DEI state that it goes against religious beliefs, and inserts a political bias. Beasley understands that there may be confusion, but by definition it is neither of those things.
“Inclusion isn’t political or religious, it’s human,” Beasley said.
NW-16. Diversity Coverage
This story tells about the lifestyles, challenges and potential of those from a diverse background. It will cover not just the plight of the subjects, but may also look at how subjects deal with their diverse backgrounds and how diverse backgrounds are dealt with by others. The term “diverse” is not limited to ethnicity and may focus on a wide range of subjects, depending on the author’s story angle. Submit a PDF of the print page(s) on which the story was published or the URL to the story on an online news site.
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Topic relevant to the school or students and reflects lifestyles, challenges and potentials of those from a diverse background
- Sharp, attention-getting lead grabs reader and arouses curiosity
- Shows thorough reporting skills through research and interviewing
- Effective use of facts/quotes from both primary and secondary sources
- Balanced, fair and sensitive presentation
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar; use of third person