**We have received over 4,000 signatures to this petition as of 6/25/20. We will publish the full list of names, with the exception of those who indicated they want to remain anonymous, by Monday 6/29/20. Please follow our Instagram page @BlackInterAcAlumni for updates. Thank you for your support. We can help our schools rise to meet their present challenge by using our collective voice.**

Alumni, current students, previous students, parents, and school staff we ask that you all join us in support by signing our petition. Please share this link with others in your network to spread the word: bit.ly/phlalumpetition.

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Date: Juneteenth 2020

Recipients:
- The Agnes Irwin School
- The Baldwin School
- Episcopal Academy
- Friends Central
- Friends Select
- Germantown Academy
- Germantown Friends
- Haverford School
- Malvern Preparatory Academy
- The Shipley School
- Springside Chestnut Hill Academy
- William Penn Charter School
- Academy of Notre Dame de Namur
- Abington Friends School

A statement on behalf of the Inter-Ac and Independent School Black Alumni Association:
   
The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd and countless others, in conjunction with Amy Cooper’s weaponization of white privilege, have brought our nation to a breaking point requiring action. People around the world have come together to protest and denounce white supremacy and police brutality. The police serve as just one example of the physical and fatal manifestations of racist American institutions. However, racism bleeds into every facet of our lives - including the education system. Our society can no longer withstand the trauma of institutional racism that has a metaphorical chokehold on the necks of Black Americans.
 
As our nation faces a reckoning of its sordid history of systemic racism, it has become clear that Inter-Ac and Independent Schools in the Philadelphia area have a legacy of failing their Black students. We, the Inter-Ac and Independent School Black Alumni Association are speaking up in support of current students and parents, to demand institutional change. Please read about our organization here: bit.ly/blkphlmis.
 
The failure to adequately support Black students has resulted in mental and physical harm, regardless of their socio-economic status. As the premier educational institutions in our area, this is unacceptable. A review of your websites’ diversity commitments shows good faith efforts have been made, including hiring diversity directors, instituting equity initiatives, and setting diversity targets. This is just a start. There is much more work to do as institutions.
 
You have a legal responsibility to ensure your faculty and staff address racial harassment and hostility. You also have a moral duty to prepare the next generation of leaders and to protect the spirit and the mere existence of your current students. This requires both the competency to respond to racist incidents from an anti-racist perspective and also the courage to directly address incidents of racial hostility and microaggressions.
 
This does not mean looking for a “both sides” solution: this means understanding the weight and legacy of 401 years of systemic inequity; this means understanding that our ancestors were not "slaves" but were enslaved human beings; this means understanding Black people love being Black; this means understanding Black people have a legacy of brilliance, achievement and success despite what they have endured; this means understanding that “people of color” are not the same as Black people. In fact, racial bias against Black people is often perpetuated by other minorities. These important principles are simply the baseline to allow Black students to comfortably breathe.
 
Beyond improving responses to individual instances of racism, your institutions must embrace foundational changes. Schools provide the context for a child’s first relationship with the world outside their families; and are thus instrumental in changing discriminatory attitudes and behaviors. You have the power to change not only your schools, but also our society as a whole. We are here to work with your institutions as alumni. We want our alma maters to be excellent and equitable for all.
 
Research demonstrates that a learning community is better, richer and more effective when students are from diverse backgrounds. Points-of-view are challenged by new thoughts and perspectives. Students concentrate and push themselves further. Cognitive skills, including critical thinking and problem solving are improved. Empathy for people who are different is fostered. Prejudice is stifled by promoting awareness and creating personal connections with diverse cultures. With the rise of globalization, students will be better prepared for a diverse workplace. In order for your institutions to obtain the level of global prestige to be relevant in our changing world and to equip and empower your students to become change-agents, we have included the following action items.

 
Action Items:

I.             Sincere and comprehensive public apology acknowledging insufficient actions and a commitment to improve.

II.     Schedule quarterly meetings with members of our alumni association


III.     Curriculum:

- Redesign and unify the Global and US History curriculums, ensuring that every student receives an intersectional education, incorporating Black history in the diaspora and the evolution of racism in America.

     ------> Require the history department to rearrange the syllabi to weave Black history within existing units underscoring the prominence of blackness in various time periods

     ------> African Americans have been in America since its inception. Black people should, therefore, be reflected positively, intentionally, and inclusively throughout each department’s curriculum and not only limited to Black History Month. There are Black scientists, playwrights, historians, and inventors, etc., who have contributed to American society at all of its stages. Work with HBCU curriculum coordinators and department heads to achieve this.

- Redesign lower grades’ curriculum to introduce the truth of America’s history in an age appropriate way. See the Young Readers’ Edition of Never Caught by GFS parent Erica Dunbar as an example for how to do this.

- Require all students to take a Racial Justice course to graduate. This will provide students with strategies to address structural racism and advance racial equity.
 

IV.     Faculty and Staff

- Quarterly professional diversity and racial bias training for faculty and staff.
      ------> Create specific and transparent hiring goals to curate a faculty that is racially diverse and representative of the United States.
      ------> Hire a minimum of 15% Black classroom teachers.
 
 
V.     Board Representation

- Dedicated position of elected young alumni to represent the interests of Black students.
 
 
VI.     Accountability

- Comprehensive accountability and reform for disciplinary actions for faculty, teachers and students, including a zero-tolerance racism policy, reporting student misconduct to colleges and universities, and a restorative justice and trauma informed approach to racial misconduct.

- Create a diversity report to be published annually on the following:
      ------> Student enrollment by race
      ------> Faculty and staff breakdown by race and department
      ------> Hiring practices and efforts made to increase Black teachers
      ------> Newly admitted Black students
      ------> Statistics on applicants versus admitted students
      ------> Students who leave school by race

- Updates to meet benchmarks requested herein.
 

VII.   Support

- Create a system to anonymously report incidents and method for students to provide feedback to be overseen by the school’s Director of Diversity.

- Retaliation Protection
      ------> Support, protect and fund Black student unions in order to: validate the importance of Black students in your school; enhance student mental health, self-esteem and confidence; and maintain a safe space for black students. Facilitate the creation of a multi school Black Students Union that serves students who attend all Philadelphia-area Inter-Ac and Independent Schools.
      ------> Work with Inter-Ac and Independent School Black Alumni Association to build and grow a mentoring program for existing students.
 
 
VIII.   Institutional Commitment

- Divestment of the endowment from all companies related to the for-profit prison, weapons, or chemicals manufacturing industries.

- Increased investment of the endowment in Black-owned and WOC-owned companies;
      ------> Phase-out or eliminate one-off community service projects in favor of sustained engagement and membership in community organizations


We look forward to beginning the conversations necessary to truly make our schools an inclusive place for all students and have our Black students feel supported within them.

Sincerely,
Inter-Ac and Independent School Black Alumni Association