Statement of Solidarity
CONTACT: Kristie McCaw, Director of Marketing and Communications
The Leelanau School
kmccaw@leelanau.org
231-334-5831
Announcement: June 17, 2020
Racial and Social Justice Committee
The Leelanau School Community has created a Racial and Social Justice Committee. The Committee’s first, but certainly not last, item to address is the below Statement of Solidarity with the Black community. The committee worked hard to craft a statement true to the Leelanau spirit and looks forward to continuing the work regarding this important movement.
Statement of Solidarity
The Leelanau School shares the collective anger, grief, and outrage the world is feeling in response to the systemic violence, racism, and injustice perpetrated against the Black community in our society. Since the death of George Floyd and others, we have witnessed global uprisings and urgent calls for change. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and all those committed to combating racial violence and challenging systemic racism.
Our commitment begins with a willingness to be uncomfortable, to examine our own privilege, to confront our lack of racial diversity, to fight against the dehumanization of and violence against Black lives by acknowledging the systemic racist barriers in society and in ourselves, and to accept that we have much to learn.
As a learning community, it is our responsibility to listen to the voices of people of color documenting the legacy of racism. We will foster cultural change through education. We will establish meaningful and lasting ways to educate ourselves and our students about racial injustice. We will find, learn from, develop, and share anti-racist resources. We will continue to foster a love of life-long learning, which must include research-informed anti-racist practices and the uncomfortable unearthing of our unconscious biases.
We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
About The Leelanau School
The Leelanau School is a Glen Arbor, Michigan based independent boarding and day high school offering students an experiential college-prep education with integrated learning support, individualized attention, small classes, and a commitment to whole-person wellness.
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