In the wake of a national reckoning on racism prompted by the murder of George Floyd in 2020, a coalition of unnamed Upper School (US) students opened an Instagram account, Masks@ BBN, to expose and address racism within the school community.
Co-President of Students Honoring All Differences and Embracing Similarities (SHADES) Jude-Michel Poisson ’24 said the climate forced action on social justice in the school.
“The unity across different schools nationwide in sharing their experiences during a critical time like COVID put schools like BB&N in a tough spot to be a bystander to the many issues going on in our country and the world as well,” he said. “In past years, BB&N has been too comfortable in not making room for change or at least considering certain ideas made by the student body.”
Between June and September of 2020, the students posted 124 accounts of marginalization at the school on the Instagram. Expanding upon their work that summer, they authored a document known as the Masks Proposal. The proposal cited instances of racism at the school and made several demands to make the school a space more welcoming of all. The proposal was accepted by
of the communities surrounding the school. The proposal calls for the admissions office to increase diversity in their recruitment, acceptances, and, ultimately, the student body: 50% of accepted students should be BIPOC by 2025 and 50% of students in the US student body should be BIPOC by 2026, the proposal states. According to admissions, 46% of admitted students self- identified as students of color.
3) Representation and inclusion in faculty and staff
“In order to pursue the mission of a truly diverse school, diverse teachers are a requirement,” this section begins. The proposal calls for the prioritization of diversity in recruitment and hiring practices. The plan also includes annual cultural competency and sensitivity training for faculty and staff.
4) Representation and inclusion in our curriculum
Two subjects are mentioned in this section: English and history. Regarding English, the proposal demands that English curriculums incorporate at least two books written by Black authors and one book from a different BIPOC writer as well as more books on topics including racism and slavery. As for history, the proposal calls for increased curriculum regarding the African diaspora and the experiences of Indigenous people on American soil.
person with features of both an introvert and an extrovert—on a getting-to-know-you survey, which baffled my history teacher at the time because he didn’t know the word. My memory of that school year is fuzzy, but if there’s one thing I took from it, it’s that, strangely, performing comes more naturally to me than socialization.
My mother recently organized the old, clunky iMac we use to store photos and videos. She found a recording of kindergarten me re-enacting the day’s music class. I stumbled through the lyrics of a song about a little bird, dancing to the beat of my bare feet pattering on the uneven floor of my grandparents’ house. After watching the video about five times, she told me about the little performances I used to put on for the family and plays of my own creation or a silly little song my lower school music teacher taught us. I remember wanting to learn how to play the guitar because a kid in my class could play, and I thought that was so cool.
All this being said, though, I was a shy kid. I didn’t like to raise my hand in class. I was, and still am, frightened by prolonged eye contact. I’d wedge my face between my mother’s back and the leather upholstered booth at a restaurant
in hopes of avoiding the waitress’ puzzled expressions when my mother ordered for me. For a while when I was younger, I was afraid of very specific people: a camp counselor at BB&N camp, my cousin, Patrick, and my
the school administration that fall. Further, in
a meeting on May 24, US English Department Head Ariel Duddy, US History and Social Sciences
5) End all tolerance for hate in our school
The Instagram posts on the Masks@BBN
mom’s friend, who had artificially-red hair
and a birthmark around her left eye. She tried to bribe me into opening my eyes around
Rose Fahy
Listen Up
Department Head Susan Glazer, and US Science Department Head Rachel Riemer shared the work their departments are doing to meet the ideals the proposal lays forth. Ending with the words, “hear our voices,” the plan is organized into five parts, summarized below as The Vanguard recognizes that—despite the Masks Proposal’s three years of existence and the impact it has already made within those three years—not every student may be familiar with it.
Drawing by Sherry Ren
1) Establish a student-run sub- committee of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Global Education (DEIG) office with a BIPOC faculty advocate
This group, formed in 2021 and named the Student Diversity Steering Committee (SDSC), allows students to “participate in the development of activities … that have been lacking in their representation of BIPOC people.” This committee is led by DEIG Officer Maria Graciela Alcid and US Science Teacher Terry Cox. The committee meets with faculty and students to raise awareness of identity-centered spaces on campus.
Jude, who is also a member of the SDSC, said, “Through various workshops, events, and round table discussions with people from all over the BB&N community, we’ve been able to pivot in a direction for the better, not only for administrators but for students and faculty alike. The job isn’t done yet, but we are well on our way to get closer to a more equitable institution.”
2) Representation and inclusion in the student body
The proposal demonstrates, using statistics from the Class of 2022, that the racial and ethnic makeup of the student body is not representative
account detail students’ experiences with “racism, homophobia, misgendering, and religious prejudice.” The proposal calls for increased attention to such incidents, the creation of a forum for the affected student to be heard, and development of disciplinary practices in these cases.
The English department’s progress towards the goals set by the proposal Masks Proposal:
1) The English department was one of the main focuses of the section on representation in the curriculum. Ms. Duddy shared that the department is “dedicated to putting in the work to not only meet or exceed the standards for representation in the curriculum that the Masks Proposal demands but also to explore and interrogate our day-to-day practices.”
2) Over the summer, three English teachers examined a variety of texts by BIPOC authors with BIPOC protagonists to replace “The Leavers” by Lisa Ko, which was previously part of the common English 9 syllabus.
3) Ms. Duddy added that she would also explore resources that would help teachers “integrate best practices for improving belonging for all students.”
The History department’s progress towards the goals set by the Masks Proposal:
In the May meeting, Ms. Glazer highlighted the work her department is doing to review the Global History I and II curriculums to include more diverse history, especially African and African American history. She emphasized the importance of incorporating voices from a broad section of society in the history curriculum.
The Science department’s progress towards the goals set by the Masks proposal:
The Science department, under the leadership of Ms. Riemer, has been working towards incorporating DEIG into the department’s practices, specifically through teacher skills, competencies and practices, curricular content, and student skills and competencies, according to a presentation she gave to students and faculty in May. The department has, for example, modified its hiring practices to ask more questions to a candidate regarding how they believe is the best way to incorporate DEIG work into the curriculum and how they have done so in the past.
