Afro-Latino Exonian Society Confesses

Sometimes, and sadly so, the past ventures its way into the present in troubling and educative ways. There have been many responses from parts of Phillips Exeter regarding why ALES hosted a closed meeting with black and Latin@ students, faculty and staff this past Saturday. Before we address why, let’s look back, in the spirit of Black History Month, in order to move forward together.

During slavery in Virginia, laws made it illegal for blacks to congregate secretly or in numbers deemed dubious by whites in power, by whites with less power invested in their whiteness and by black slaves who garnered their white masters’ approval over that of their peers. This tradition of blacks congregating to foster common causes and bonds and the disruption of such meetings was also seen in Brazil. Afro-Brazilian slaves met covertly in order to commune and to practice the martial art of capoeira. When the white master, white overseer and/or Afro-Brazilian informer intervened, they pretended to samba to avoid uncovering that they were practicing how to defend their lives and aspire to freedom. In short, gatherings like these, unfortunately, had to be legitimized by the dominant culture: power.

Again, the past often reveals comparably disturbing elements at present. Many of the students ALES represents share stories about their desire to build with their “folk.” They also speak about how white students concern themselves with why black and Latin@ students sit together in the dining hall or when they flock to each other at special events, especially with black and Latin@ students visiting from neighboring campuses. Those are special moments because they are rare occasions and necessary for sustaining us. In thinking about our white and non-white peers’ anxious responses, we aren’t sure if Dr. Beverly Tatum, former President of Spelman College and author of the acclaimed book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, would be proud that her work still holds value nearly 15 years later or that many students and adults at Phillips Exeter are late to understand her work and its implications in all of our daily lives.

Because we are students of history, the ALES Board anticipated the backlash to our forum. Disinviting our white allies and friends, students and faculty, along with other non-black and Latin@ students was tough, but essential. Our main goal was to create a space where black and Latin@ students, faculty and staff could share freely, disagree collegially and discover pathways to move forward as a community. We are happy to say this was often the case during our two hour meeting.

There have been confessions claiming that we could have had the same conversation with other students and adults present. The ALES Board fundamentally disagrees and rejects the need to justify our decision to meet in the fashion we did, though we will in brief. We needed that time together to see, hear and focus on each other and our experiences, many common and others not so much. Had there been other students or faculty members there, we recognize that the frankness needed toward change would have been stifled; feelings would be quickly dismissed. There would not have been a balance of intellectualizing and sharing our feelings of anger, pain and longing for a more constructive experience at Phillips Exeter.

ALES understands that Phillips Exeter was never made for us, nor the majority of students and adults on this campus. Yet we are here and demand that we experience equity and inclusion soon. And we have questions in this regard that will help. Did you know that if Phillips Exeter actively recruited five black or Latin@ faculty it would match the percentage of black and Latin@ students on campus? That’s more connections and differing lenses to the world for all of us. And why is it that most independent schools across the United States have Deans of diversity, equity, social justice, multiculturalism, etc that work collaboratively and report directly to the principal, but we don’t? Is that our version of excellence? How come many of our peer schools mandate cultural humility training, as Princeton Professor Ruha Benjamin calls it, for their faculty, staff and administrators—and often their students—but not at Phillips Exeter? We all need answers to these questions and others.

If ALES had to change one aspect in the planning of our forum we would have originally restricted it to black and Latin@ identified affinity groups. Additionally, the email sent to black and Latin@ students would have used that language and not “brown.” We are keenly aware that “brown” indicates the Asian diaspora, not solely Latin@s, yet the latter are directly associated with our membership and mission. We also know that white Latin@s sometimes identify as “brown.” What’s strange, though, is backlash for our decision would have arisen regardless. Usually, no one cares about what we do and think until it makes them anxious. Our plans are to speak more frequently, so hopefully that anxiety will transform into understanding, if not empathy.

We don’t believe that the concern over having a closed meeting was a missed opportunity to build alliances as much as to disrupt and shut down what was a productive moment for those who attended. Again, our overall experience along with many black and Latin@ alumni who have survived through Phillips Exeter has proven this true. Too often, our concerns with race relations, white supremacy, systemic racism and a desire for institutional commitment on campus to address these issues are quickly turned into defensive battles. The conversations are derailed and become about paranoia, affirmative action, “reverse racism” and an undertone of how we should feel privileged that we are at Phillips Exeter in the first place. We are actively challenging this narrative and demand change that benefits all on this campus.

Lastly, and for the record, ALES is not an affinity group. We take pride in being a more-or-less umbrella organization for multiple black and Latin@ affinity groups at Phillips Exeter. We are composed of a predominantly black and Latin@ membership with multiracial-, multiethnic-, white-, Asian-identified members, amongst others. Our chosen responsibility to Phillips Exeter is to educate the broader campus and ourselves about the black and Latin@ diaspora, past and present. Again, the forum was meant to better galvanize our constituency toward these and greater ends. We recognize that given we are unapologetically black and Latin@, this can be disconcerting for some. Many of our peers still respect us anyhow. We have begun to build bridges with different communities on campus such as the Gay-Straight Alliance and the Bicultural Asians and Pacific Islanders. We value diversity of thought and experience and look forward to building with you. In the future, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us respectfully. We will reach back in kind.