On May 25th, 2020, the death of George Floyd ignited a nationwide movement against racism and police brutality. As a global community that teaches respect and equality and encourages students to voice their opinions and beliefs, New Hampton School is All In the fight for racial justice. We have received messages, photos, and videos from our students who are standing up for what they believe in, and we are proud of their tireless advocacy for racial equality and anti-racism.
A Public Display
News channels across the country display the outcry from Americans. Their impact is due in part to large-scale protests. These demonstrations organized from small towns to large cities have mobilized in all states, internationally in over fifty countries, and through online platforms.
Many of our students have taken up the call to join and even organize peaceful protests in support of the fight against racial inequality. Supported by their classmates, community members, and advocates around the globe, their voices bring light to this critical human rights issue and to emphasize the need to listen, learn, educate, and create change.
A Powerful Message
In addition to the many protests Autumn ’21 attended, she also took the time to address the New Hampton community with a thoughtful message about the topic and our responsibility to each other to help end racism in all forms and seek much-needed change.
“As a community that is made up of young people, I believe that we have the power, and are therefore responsible to promote the change. As we all know, our community is made up of students from many diverse backgrounds. I understand that some of us are not “directly affected” by racism. However, we must take into consideration that we are all associated with peers and faculty members that may be the target of racism and or police brutality. To make the world a safer place for them, change is imperative. Collectively, the New Hampton community has a moral responsibility to promote change. We must do this not only for ourselves, but for our teachers and classmates.”
Social Empowerment
In the era of social media, we have witnessed that mobilizing a cause and honoring voices across vast distances can create moments of inspiration and unification. While massive group protests are a sure way to spread a message and gain public attention through the voices of many, Mohammed ’20 is looking to start a movement with his voice. In a recent post on Instagram, Mohammed writes:
“We are BLACK MEN! We build. We don’t tear down other BLACK MEN! We have felt the pain of being torn down and we have decided we will be deliberate about building others! All too often, we men find it easier to criticize each other, instead of building each other up. With all the negativity going around let’s do something positive!! Upload one picture of yourself, only you, then tag as many brothers to do the same. Let’s build ourselves up instead of tearing ourselves down. #weshallrisechallenge
Be a part of something bigger
There are many ways to support a cause, and we challenge all of our community members, and young people everywhere, to find a cause that means something to you, find your voice, and find a platform that can help you share it with the world. As we continue to learn what it means to be more than an ally, to do the work and be anti-racist, we also recognize that we do not know all the unjust challenges that exist in the home countries of many of our community members. There is always more work to be done. We encourage you to find your voice and remember that New Hampton School is a community of active global citizens.
