Diversity Day 2002:
We Are the Stories We Tell

by Rita Goldman, director of multicultural affairs

We hold these truths to be self-evident,
That all men are created equal...

"What exactly did you mean when you wrote those words?" That’s one question I’ve always wanted to ask my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson.

These words were written by Shannon Lanier , a 23- year-old descendant of Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings. Shannon and photographer Jane Feldman, the authors of Jefferson’s Children: The Story of One American Family, were our guest speakers at Diversity Day, March 14, 2002.

Late in the spring of 2001, a group of faculty and students met to decide what would be an appropriate follow-up to Diversity Day 2000, "Lift Every Voice." That event was a celebration of difference and the richness and texture it adds to our lives. The question was, "What do we do as an encore?"

The students gave us useful feedback: The day should delve deeper into an issue. The theme should be linked to the curriculum. We should only offer workshops that are interactive, with opportunities for students to speak - no lecture formats. We should keep the day school-wide; it was fun to open and close the day with all three divisions in the same room. Last, but not least, the food should be good.

Faculty were pleased to hear students suggest a link to the curriculum. Our colleagues in the math and science departments reminded us that our efforts need not be limited to the humanities. After much brainstorming, we agreed on the theme "We Are the Stories We Tell."

With much student input, we designed a day that was informative and fun. All three divisions used the theme. Since the Thomas Jefferson family story was the focus of our keynote address, part of the day included both the Lower and Middle School students working with their own family stories.

The events began on the afternoon of March 13 with a school-wide assembly organized by the Lower School. After a spoken piece was delivered by the whole Lower School, nine readings of family stories were presented, three from each division.
March 14 was devoted entirely to Diversity Day. Each Lower School student made a "quilt square" (actually a 12 x 12 piece of poster board) to represent his/her family. Then the squares were combined, first within each classroom and finally as the whole division. (The "quilt" was displayed in the West Room on March 15.) Lunchtime consisted of a family-style, brown bag picnic lunch.

After attending the keynote address, Middle School students had the opportunity to spend an additional hour with Shannon Lanier and Jane Feldman. The rest of the day was spent with hands-on activities that enabled students to create or tell their own stories. Students addressed the query "How do family stories reinforce our values?" For the first time, the Middle School offered its own workshops, specifically designed for its students.

In the Upper School, students spent part of the day in mixed-grade discussion groups considering such questions as: "How accurate is DNA, and is it ethical to use it?," " Does your DNA or your culture determine your identity?," "Does it matter who your ancestors are?," "What does this information say about Jefferson, which we might not have already assumed?," "How do you sift and distill information, written and oral, to discover the truth?," "What does this information tell us about our own view of history?"

Prior to Diversity Day, teachers Gen Nelson (science) and Bill Koons (history) presented two short assemblies to prepare the students. Since Diversity Day was a Thursday, the day Upper School has weekly Meeting for Worship, the students had a Worship Sharing following a presentation by Tina Factor, an actress who tells her story in the one-woman show J.A.P -- the story of a Japanese-American girl and her journey from Hawaii, to Los Angeles to New York and finally to Judaism. The Worship Sharing considered the queries "What religious rituals give meaning to your life?" and "What overt or subtle pressures are exerted on you to follow the path mapped out by your family?"

Students chose a workshop from over twenty offerings, and once again had our ethnic pot-luck lunch. The day ended as we began, with the entire school in the Taulane and a rousing closing ceremony.

We once again undertook a formidable challenge. But we were again blessed with creative and enthusiastic students, dedicated faculty and staff, and the guiding belief that this is the right thing to do and the right time to do it. The journey continues.