Virtual UnSilenced to be Held as Fundraiser
With seniors Alisha Simmons and Kileidria Aguilar, Voices of Color, an Instagram account featuring student perspectives, will host a virtual UnSilenced to raise money for the Black Lives Matter movement. Below is a statement from the organizers.
The failure of the school to properly acknowledge the blatant racism and injustices towards Black communities in America has pushed us, as students, to once again take the initiative. The school did not say “Black” or “Black Lives Matter” in public statements until after both students and alumni sent numerous emails and left hundreds of comments on the Phillips Exeter Academy Instagram. This is a large disappointment and has sparked frustration throughout the entire Exeter community. The school also has not raised any money for Black Lives Matter, and so yet again[,] it is left in the students’ hands to do the adult work.
[Seniors] Kileidria Aguilar, Alisha Simmons and Voices of Color PEA, led by [uppers] Audrey Yin and Erin Choi, are sponsoring a virtual UnSilenced Fundraiser tomorrow, Saturday, June 6, at 8p.m. Eastern Standard Time. This event is not related to the [Martin Luther King, Jr. Day] Committee, although both Aguilar and Simmons have headed the event in the past and have gotten permission to use the title from the committee. This event is sponsored by Voices of Color, a student-led [organization] not officially affiliated with Exeter.
Voices of Color was created by Choi and Yin to be a platform for students of color to share how COVID-19 has impacted their lives, since the pandemic has proven to disproportionately affect [Black, indigenous and people of color]. Simmons and Aguilar reached out to VOCPEA with the idea of creating an online fundraising event in light of the recent protests. With a preexisting social media presence, VOCPEA’s Instagram was a fitting platform to advertise for and host UnSilenced.
“We wanted to use the ‘UnSilenced’ tagline because it is a well known event that happens every year before MLK Day at Exeter, and it properly represents the core values of the Black Lives Matter movement; that silenced voices need to be heard.” Simmons stated.
Experienced with organizing performances on campus, Simmons, Aguilar, Choi and Yin reached out to talented Exonians, past and present, to put together a virtual concert. Featuring current students as well as alumni, the concert is meant to highlight voices of color through music and spoken word. The concert will premiere on YouTube on Saturday at 8p.m., and a link will be sent out earlier that day for people to access the video.
The main goal of the event is to raise money for the Black Lives Matter movement, as viewers will be encouraged to donate to the VOCPEA’s Venmo (@vocpea) and/or GoFundMe (gf.me/u/x7cnaq) throughout the event. 100% of the proceeds will go to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Innocence Project, Black Lives Matter and Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB). Follow the @vocpea Instagram page and the Voices of Color YouTube page (https://tinyurl.com/yabf9lvv) for updates.