5 minute read
Racial Respect
–Deacon Art Miller, The Archdiocese of Hartford
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History Has Its Eyes On You
The year 2020 brought the issue of racial injustice front and center. Although the quote by Deacon Miller was issued well before 2020, it certainly speaks to us today.
Xavier has long taught its students to treat each other with dignity and respect, that name-calling, bullying and hurtful language will never be tolerated.
“Xavier prides itself on being a school for everyone,” Headmaster Dave Eustis said. “Everyone has a voice and deserves the respect of the entire community. As our mission states, we focus on Christian values, and seek to support every student in his growth as a human being and to instill in him a sense of responsibility for the gifts which are his.”
Principal Brendan Donohue addressed students regarding racial respect during student orientations in September. Each class had a separate assembly at the start of the school year devoted specifically to Catholic social teaching, compassion, and respect for all in which Dean of Students Nick Cerreta and Principal Donohue addressed the students. Racial respect and compassion were communicated in a letter home to the parents from Principal Donohue.
“The death of George Floyd in May set off a series of events forcing us all to re-examine our own personal views on race and race relations, and the views of our nation as a whole,” Principal Donohue told the students as the school year opened. “The effects of the events that followed Mr. Floyd’s death and the deaths of several others have created significant civil unrest in our country, leaving many to wonder how we can help to begin to heal these divisions. We, as a Catholic and Xaverian community, are obliged to examine our own practices and prejudices and to ask ourselves if we are part of the problem or part of the solution.
“All of us are called to treat one another with respect and with the human dignity with which we were all created by God. This will be a major theme for our school this year, and I am calling on all of you to take on the mantle of racial respect for all and to make sure racism has no place in our community.”
Deacon Miller came to Xavier before the start of the school year to talk to the faculty and staff about racial respect. He previously spoke to students in 2019, challenging them, but in reality all of us.
“There’s a big difference in what we say we will do and then actually doing it,” Deacon Miller told the students that January day in 2019. “It’s easy to say may the peace of Christ be with you, but will you do it out there when no one is looking at you.”
He echoed that in a late September phone conversation, using a football analogy. He said that while we learn things in various ways, at home, in school, at church, that is in effect the locker room. But the game is not played in the locker room. The game is played on the field, in real life situations. That’s when you need to stand up. If you see or hear something wrong, say something, do something.
“It’s a lifestyle,” Deacon Miller said. “You need to be an advocate for anti-racism all the time. No matter where you are, you live that. It is not what you say, but who you are … and what you say comes from who you are.”
Xavier also started a new tradition this year, and will focus each year on one of the five Xaverian values. This year that value is compassion, defined in part by the XBSS network as the “tenderness of heart” that helps us “to see and hear the needs of all.” Compassion was chosen in part due to the racial tension in the country.
One of the initiatives for the Academic Council this year is to examine each department’s curriculum regarding racial respect and make changes deemed necessary; Campus Ministry will address racial respect in retreat programs; and the Cultural Diversity Committee will work toward monitoring and enhancing racial respect programming throughout the school environment.
In July the school administration met with three black Xavier alums, Bernie Hallums ’81, a member of the Board of Directors and a retired Manchester police officer; Alondre Rush ’07, a financial planner and assistant football coach at Xavier; and Parrish Holloman ’15, president of the Middlesex County NAACP Youth Council; to talk about ways of engaging the Xavier community on the issue of racial respect. Those meetings are ongoing.
Holloman says he keeps going back to the phrase, “See me as me.”
“Don’t look at people based on their circumstances, treat them as human beings, help them, don’t assume,” Holloman said. “They say ignorance is bliss, but not when it comes to racial respect. Even if you are afforded the chance not to have to deal with this, we need advocates. We need people to say, ‘I have this privilege. I don’t understand. People are not racist toward me, but I want to help people who go through this.’ We need people to be active.”
Hallums said it is important for Xavier students to realize “you are part of an environment that will give you more tools in your life skills toolbox. Take advantage of them, understand that Xavier is inclusive of everyone, and let that education take you through the rest if your life.”
Hallums also said people need to look at themselves.
“How are we raising our children, and what are we teaching … that there are some visual differences but we’re all the same, or are we doing something opposite of that?” Hallums said.
Rush hopes that we, as a country, stop reacting and become proactive.
“Most people are wired to react, but this is such an important time to switch the script and say, when the lights are off, now what are we doing,” Rush said. “When things are not in the news, what are we doing? Are we trying to make our communities better, leading by example, educating people?”
Donohue reminded students at orientation of the song “History Has Its Eyes On You” from the Broadway musical “Hamilton.” Amid racial issues and COVID-19, Donohue told the students that our nation and our community face several challenges.
“We are called by God to rise to the occasion, to answer the call and take a stand to make our world a better place,” Donohue said. “History has it eyes on you. How will you respond?”
