New Board Member

The mission of the Racial Unity Team is “to advance relationships among people of different racial identities, increase understanding, and reduce racial bias in our communities.” Fostering a peaceful, loving, humanitarian view of the world is at the heart of our mission. Inherent in this is our focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) work within the public schools. 

What does that mean in the classroom? We live in a diverse, complex, and often inequitable world. In order to help students effectively understand that world, educators must be free and encouraged to guide them in a critical and comprehensive examination of our history. Our schools must not only allow, but also inspire a careful, honest study of history and culture. 

The United States as a whole has much to be proud of, but where we find ourselves today makes it clear that the U.S. has never squarely faced the entirety of its history. While we have collectively and consistently highlighted remarkable achievements, like developing the Bill of Rights and defeating the Axis powers during WWII, our society and its institutions have generally chosen to value denial over historical accuracy, despite available evidence. It has made that choice with respect to the causes of the Civil War, with the ways in which we frame the “discovery” and colonization of land, with how we choose to remember our Founding Fathers.

But who has traditionally had the power to decide what is included in our history vs what’s excluded? Our schools need a curriculum that ensures an inclusive, and accurate, history that is consistent with actual historical experience. Discomfort, guilt, even shame, may be a learner’s response to these historical facts, just as celebration and admiration may be responses to positive historical achievements. Both responses are legitimate in the process of becoming educated. And whatever their curricular choices, schools need to embrace and defend both intellectual honesty and respect for all available evidence. 

The Racial Unity Team supports educators in their efforts to address issues around diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in their classrooms. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, teaching about our complex history. While Sections of the “Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Workplaces and Education” (297 – 298, NH House Bill 2)  do not prohibit this work, the narrative among conservative groups and in the mainstream media is that they do. Despite what is actually written in the law, however, the reality is that these provisions discourage the careful examination of historical and current discriminatory practices within our schools and society. 

What HB2 does prohibit is the teaching that any individual or group of individuals are inherently superior or inferior to people of another group. While this is not taught in our public schools, the prohibitions in HB2, alongside the inaccurate narrative perpetuated by those who wish to delegitimize public schools, have led to fear and confusion among educators about how and what they may teach, while encouraging complaints against them that jeopardize their licenses and careers. 

The Racial Unity Team expressly denounces the actions of those--including those working at the State level—who have created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation among teachers, who respond by removing concepts and conversations that may shed light on harmful historical policies and practices. This atmosphere creates a barrier to providing students with a school experience that reflects DEIJ principles as well as a full education for protected classes of people. We support efforts to reverse  these legislative actions.

Respectfully,

Ken Mendis

Chair, Board of Directors 

Racial Unity Team