An almost all-white rural school district such as Hopkins is bound eventually to have issues in dealing with people of color, and a recent incident prompted school officials to do something about it.
The Hopkins Public Schools Diversity Committee and Superintendent Gary Wood put together a special inclusion and diversity seminar Monday night at the high school cafeteria, with about three dozen people in attendance.
Guest speaker was Kathryn Curry, a retired teacher and principal from the Muskegon area, who now works as a leadership coach to tackle these kinds of widespread problems.
Wood, on the district’s web site, last month reported the “N-word” was etched into the gym locker of one of Hopkins students. So he and the middle school principal met with a parent concerning the same term being used by a group of students.
He added, “Last year, several high school students were disciplined for racial harassment. We strongly condemn this behavior and in each instance, the district responded swiftly and appropriately with students responsible for these actions.
“The district will not tolerate such hate directed toward students. This is a frustrating situation for all and it will take our entire community to foster a more positive and safe culture for all of our students.”
Curry told attendees Monday evening, “We work together as a school and community to improve… We want an include environment for all, where all are welcome.”
She said she wanted to encourage Hopkins people to “embrace differences, share views and experiences and collectively commit to including everyone.”
Among the goals are to “listen to understand and share courageously, to challenge personal beliefs, take down constructed barriers and be open to opinions because all experiences matter.”
Curry said it’s been her experience that most racism is the outgrowth of biases and attitudes cultivated by parents, friends and media. The problem often arises in closed groups that have little or no experience interacting with those who are different.
“There are people who can only deal with those who look like them,” she said. “But everybody has had at least one experience when they’ve felt like an outsider.”
She said she believes 99.9% of people who say or do ridiculous things don’t really mean it.
She also discussed the difference between equity and equality. The former is assuring everyone has the chance to get what they need to be successful. The latter is the effort to enable equal chances to cross the finish line.
Along the way, she commented, we really need to get to know one another and show empathy.
“There are so many things we can learn just by getting to know someone who is different.”
She cautioned about those who say they don’t see any color, that they are color blind. They are being dishonest with themselves, they ignore racial issues and limit their ability to appreciate individuality.
“When we know better, we do better,” she said.
Hopkins has had minimal experience with people of color, with many of them student-athletes. For example, a few years ago Quincy Collings was a star football player and state champion in the high jump.
Jalen Kisner was a star defensive lineman of the football team and he went on to Northwood University to pick up a business degree and now is an inside sales person for the New York Mets.
Yet despite his athletic prowess, massive size and considerable popularity, he was the target of some ugly racist behavior with graffiti applied to his vehicle.
His family, the community and school system rallied behind Kisner, but many were shocked to learn it could happen here.
Nonetheless, the community and school system remain tasked with effectively turning away behavior many have believed was just an ancient relic from the troubled past in the Deep South.
