Students Attend Black Lives Matter Seacoast

By: Selim Kim, Minseo Kim, and Elina Yang

Preps, lowers and uppers were invited to attend a virtual town hall for the new Black Lives Matter (BLM) Seacoast Youth Division on Feb. 8. 

According to the BLM Seacoast website, BLM Seacoast’s purpose is “to dismantle anti-Blackness, fight against racial injustices and end police brutality” in the Seacoast areas of New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.

“The youth chapter was created because the youth in [New Hampshire] have a voice and they really need to be heard,” BLM Seacoast Youth Outreach Director and town hall organizer Camilla Thompson said. 

“In the summer of 2020 we watched the world come together in the fight for racial justice in the protest against the senseless killing of yet another unarmed Black man,” Thompson continued. “What we also saw was the power in the youth... we wanted to encourage that here in New Hampshire (NH), as well as encouraging a safe space... to connect with mentors that understand and find ‘hope’ within other students.”

Many Exeter students and faculty met to discuss their ideas and hopes for the Youth Division in a Zoom call before the town hall. The town hall itself was reserved for youth attendees and adult hosts, and adult participants were requested to leave after an introduction. Students from schools including Exeter High School and St. Paul’s School also attended the meeting.

“I know that sometimes with parents and educators present, teenagers hold back their true feelings,” Thompson said. “I wanted the youth to understand that this is a safe space for them with no judgement.” 

Hailing from different backgrounds, students joined the town hall for various reasons. “I feel as if I’ve been a bit too complacent with the way the world is at the moment,” upper Stella Shattuck said. “I don’t try to make any discernible changes and I want to fix that.”

“It’s honestly just like common sense for me because I’m from New York City and the movement was so big in the summer. I want to make sure that my classmates and people in the community feel safe walking around the neighborhood,” prep Sofia Novosad said.

Upper Siona Jain wanted to participate in advocacy beyond the “Exeter bubble.” 

“One thing I wanted to work on is trying to involve myself more with my surroundings,” Jain said. “In that spirit, I joined the town hall session to see what I could do outside of the campus walls.”

During the meeting, students discussed future initiatives they wanted to see with the Youth Division. 

“I found it interesting when the group began to talk about working with the younger kids,” Exeter High School junior Saniyah Bolton said. “Reading the books to them or viewing different documentaries with them would be very impactful.”

Upper Xavier Ross agreed. “From our experiences, BIPOC history is often not taught well or at all in the NH school system, and we want that to change,” Ross said.

Students also considered COVID-19 when discussing plans. “We took COVID-19 into account a lot, acknowledging that large fundraising events (toy drives, galas, ect.) can't really be held, but [we] discussed the fact that this does provide a good time to hold webinars to begin to bring awareness of subjects surrounding racism, implicit bias [and] racist systems,” lower Lucy Meyer-Braun said. 

Many students reported that the meeting went well. “I appreciated that our discussion was quite open-ended with Camilla,” Meyer-Braun said. “She created a space free from other adults, so that our aspirations and grievances were heard, acknowledged, and validated.”

“I thought it went well, but I hoped it would center students of color voices a bit more,” Jain said. “Others can disagree with me on this, but it sometimes felt a little more centered around white voice[s].”

Jain also noted the influence that BLM Seacoast and its Youth Division can have on the Academy's anti-racist work. “I want [the Academy] to listen,” Jain said. “Keep in mind that listening is the bare minimum, but I hope the Academy can take away how to divest from racist institutions, how to create a safe environment for Exonians, how to honor Black History Month without entirely relying on OMA to do the work, the list goes on.”

“I think BLM Seacoast has the potential to, if ever-so-gradually, make the greater Exeter community a safer, less traumatic and more welcoming area for BIPOC students,” upper Tommy Seidel said. “Citizens of Exeter have always viewed PEA as a big part of their town, so it makes sense that students can get involved in community organizations.”

According to Thompson, the next Youth Division meetings will continue to be virtual and will be dedicated to deciding on a leadership team, setting up group chats and starting the group’s first project.

Thompson, who grew up on the Academy campus because her mother was the former Dean of Multicultural Affairs, outlined the goals she hopes to accomplish with Exeter students in BLM Seacoast: “Watching the students really find comfort in being “free” to just be “Black" at the [Academy]… I watched them confide in my parents who understood them not just as faculty members but as second parents, and I hope to be a guiding light to students like they were.”