Demand Kirby School Statement that Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter. Attempting to be apolitical in this moment is taking a political stance and does all of you Black alumni and current Black students a disservice. By not releasing a statement you are telling Black members of the Kirby community that they are lesser than the rest of the community members. Do better.

I don't know if my initial comment went through so I apologize if this is a repeat. The statement made by the board co-chairs was so disheartening. Their inability to stand with Black people within the community and outside is appalling and shows who they truly are. Their beliefs demonstrate their deep implicit racism -- while all must educate themselves and it takes some time to do so, they should not be in power while they continue to hold these beliefs. I implore you to sign and share this petition demanding that they resign. They have completely failed their community and I cannot find a way to trust them as leaders. If you would like to discuss further I'd be more than open to do so: [email protected]. I apologize for the anonymity as well, I promise this isn't fake I just can't have my name associated with a demand for their resignation right now. We cannot have racist people anywhere in our community, but particularly not as board chairs. http://chng.it/jdFn4Y6kNN

The board has shown their true colors in their statement and their demand to take it down with no follow up. I believe that the co-chairs have shown their implicit bias in failing to stand for Black lives and therefore should not be in positions of power. I have started another petition to demand the removal of the board co-chairs for their failure to protect Black students and community members. If you feel similarly please feel free to sign and spread this petition as well (apologies for the anonymity, I promise this isn't fake I just can't attach my name to a request to have them removed) http://chng.it/jdFn4Y6kNN

Black Lives Matter is not political, and you’re a racist for saying so.

I would like to direct to the state, county, and local governments, national organizations (e.g., the American Association of Public Health), and countless others who have joined in saying that Black lives matter, that Black human dignity is precious, and that institutionalized racism is a public health crisis. I am dear friends with multiple graduates from your school, and I share in their sustain that this is the Kirby School’s silence. The school’s silence makes your institution complicit. I recommend you seek new legal counsel. Caitlin Lang Master of Public Health

Kirby leadership has a responsibility to their community of former, current, and future families to stand on the right side of history and make a statement that Black Lives Matter. Your silence is noticed, and says that you condone the systemic racism and violence against our Black communities. Do better.

Some of us are marching and losing blood and teeth for this. You can speak up.

I went to Kirby back in 2003-2005 or so. I hope Kirby can manage clear this low bar of making a statement regarding the series of police murders in my ethnic group.

Black lives matter. It’s tragic we have to remind people of this, and also bizarre that people counter this notion with “every life matters, black or white.” Of course, every life matters, but white people haven’t been kidnapped and shipped to this continent by the millions, sold and enslaved, systematically discriminated against for 150 years, and jailed and beaten and killed at rates and in the manner that Black people have in the US. The fact that the tragedies of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery were unacknowledged for weeks by authorities and the police is why we have to remind ourselves what should be blindingly obvious: that Black lives matter.

It is crucial that we acknowledge our white privilege and take anti-racist action in our society where the structural and systemic racism is so ingrained and insidious.

As a former student council president of Kirby I am extremely disappointed in the lack of a public statement on solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. With the resources and flexibility that Kirby has (a high school that is able to offer linear algebra and differential equations classes), this institution has the duty to take the lead in educating its students on racial injustice and White privilege. Kirby has the responsibility to be anti-racist and anti-colonial. Kirby needs to develop a concrete action plan of how the school intends to use its platform to be anti-racist in its community, curriculum, and administration.

Silence = acceptance To be silent is to be on the side of the oppressor. In times like these it’s much easier to be quiet than to put forth a public opinion, but the easier option is hardly ever the right one. Please show the POC students you have right now that they matter and that you stand behind them! It’s sad to me that companies like LEGO and Bratz Dolls are able to put forward statements (the bare minimum of activism) supporting BLM but Kirby isn’t able to? To pride Kirby as a place of acceptance and welcoming then to be silent on this issue is completely contradictory. There’s never been a time in history where being silent was the right choice. Please, do better.

Black Trans Lives Matter.

To rephrase — decolonizing and teaching anti-racism at Kirby is absolutely necessary, period.

While Kirby has always held good intentions for how it handles issues of diversity and inclusion, being the white private institution that it is, it will always fall on the side of passive white liberalism instead of radical anti-racist intervention. Making a public statement is truly the BARE MINIMUM that Kirby can do in this situation. Kirby has some of the best sex education in the country (not that it can’t improve). What is keeping it from having deep and critical conversations around whiteness, privilege, and race taught by Black people and People of Color? This school sorely lacks any formative intervention on the learned racism many white kids in Santa Cruz unwittingly grow up around and with. When I was at Kirby, I heard nothing about race until senior year when a Black educator came to teach about issues with the concept of “diversity”—how if the goal is simply “inclusion”, nothing changes and white supremacy prevails. I simply did not have the tools at the time to fully understand his salient intervention, and Kirby—as my trusted vehicle for education—is largely responsible for that. Private schools like Kirby, that have more flexibility in curriculum, MUST use that privilege and power to actively be anti-racist and decolonial in its curriculum and social structuring. For starters, land acknowledgements at all school meetings—but more importantly, to have such changes be designed and implemented by BIPOC. Decolonizing Kirby school will be a difficult task but it is absolutely necessary if the goal of this institution is to provide education, especially for college preparation. Thank you.

I’m honestly not that surprised. I went to Kirby for 6 years and I never once felt like I mattered as much as the white students did. As a POC, it was so hard for my to fit in because there were no people who looked like me. I was always knows as... “that one Mexican kid.” Kirby needs to change and the way they handle these situations need to change. I am just taken back but honestly not shocked that Kirby hasn’t done much since they haven’t been helping out POC for years. Come on Kirby, get your head in the game and see that we all matter.

Small brain: being racist Medium brain: being not racist Big brain: being an ally Galaxy brain: realizing that your privilege has granted you the option to engage racism Some resources for further activism: Whether using these resources or others, please take some time to see what you can do to help, for it is in all of our power to do so. (this site wouldn’t allow me to post links, so look these up if you want more information!) BLM master list carrd Marcus Malone gofundme Dan Gregory medical bill fund gofundme Petition to declare kkk as a terrorist organization Petition to reopen Kendrick Johnson’s case First, I’d like to clarify that I am by no means attacking this petition’s intentions, challenging it’s participants in their integrity, or chastising anyone for commenting on this petition. Love from the bottom of my heart to you all. Second, I’d like to clarify that my intention in posting is to initiate a thoughtful dialogue about the movement, our collective responsibility to it, our personal responsibility to it, and the ways we can be most effective in our protest of systemic inequality. The Kirby community is often described as an echo-chamber or microcosm. With a mostly liberal student population, we believe that we stan for equality and acceptance. While our goals should be celebrated, the dangers of this echo effect should not be ignored- for some cries ring louder than others, louder perhaps in some instances than the voices that should instead be amplified. This is often the case when a dialogue about race is being held within a classroom of mostly white students. We all hopefully agree that black lives matter, and it’s mostly just taken for granted that we aren’t racist. This assumption maybe accounts for intentional discrimination, but not the societal foundations upon which these discriminatory traditions are transmitted to each of us and upheld with complacency. The true goal for the allies of Kirby’s POC

Small brain: being racist Medium brain: being not racist Big brain: being an ally Galaxy brain: realizing that your privilege has granted you the option to engage racism Some resources for further activism: Whether using these resources or others, please take some time to see what you can do to help, for it is in all of our power to do so. BLM master resource list: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ Marcus Malone gofundme: https://t.co/XYdOMFDC4C?amp=1 Dan Gregory Medical bill fund: https://t.co/8WpOqsYPo7?amp=1 Petition to reopen Kendrick Johnson’s case https://t.co/MYsw3WV901?amp=1 Petition master list: https://t.co/l4C0mytvjI?amp=1 First, I’d like to clarify that I am by no means attacking this petition’s intentions, challenging it’s participants in their integrity, or chastising anyone for commenting on this petition. Love from the bottom of my heart to you all. Second, I’d like to clarify that my intention in posting is to initiate a thoughtful dialogue about the movement, our collective responsibility to it, our personal responsibility to it, and the ways we can be most effective in our protest of systemic inequality. The Kirby community is often described as an echo-chamber or microcosm. With a mostly liberal student population, we believe that we stan for equality and acceptance. While our goals should be celebrated, the dangers of this echo effect should not be ignored- for some cries ring louder than others, louder perhaps in some instances than the voices that should instead be amplified. This is often the case when a dialogue about race is being held within a classroom of mostly white students. We all hopefully agree that black lives matter, and it’s mostly just taken for granted that we aren’t racist. This assumption maybe accounts for intentional discrimination, but not the societal foundations upon which these discriminatory traditions are transmitted to each of us and upheld with complacency. The true

disappointed that there needs to be a petition for this... i agree with everyone else that this is very overdue

I’m an alum from 2015 and I’m incredibly disappointed to hear that no statement has been made - a statement should be made ASAP, along with an apology and commitment to teach the history of BIPOC in this country (history and english classes did not do enough of this while I was in attendance). Thank you.