DEMANDING CHANGE
Memphis private school alumni want end to ‘culture of racism’ before class resumes
Black alumni of a private Christian school in Memphis confronted administrators over the summer, describing racism they experienced as students and a lack of action among school leaders to address it.
They are demanding that Evangelical Christian School make specific policy changes for the new school year, expected to begin later this month.
More than 700 have signed an online petition of demands, spurred by the stories of several Black alumni who described their experiences at the school: At the time of former President Barack Obama’s election, for example, a student walked into a classroom to see a skeleton with the president’s name hanging from a noose. Several others remember white students casually using the N-word. Students weren’t disciplined for racist behavior, they said, which meant Black students didn’t feel supported by teachers or their administrators. One former teacher called for the school to more urgently make changes.
Current and former students at schools across the country formed online communities to address cultures of racism at their schools as thousands took to the streets to protest for racial justice this summer. They are speaking out about environments that, at best, are generally not inclusive of Black students and, at worst, make them feel unsafe at school.
Former ECS students described having about 10 Black students for a graduating class of more than 100. The demographics were similar in the lower grades of the K-12 school, which had smaller class sizes.
The head of the Cordova private school has said he is listening to the concerns and is eager to implement changes to become more welcoming to students of color.
But after more than a dozen alumni met with him for an hour, many said they don’t feel heard or taken seriously. Instead, they left wondering if the majority-white faculty will meaningfully address the plight of Black students.
Alumni gather on social media
The reckoning, like many others this summer, began when former students shared their experiences on social media.
Kenya Morris, a Black student who attended the school from kindergarten through her high school graduation in 2011, detailed her experiences – hearing other students use the N-word around her or talking in class about bringing slavery back, as two examples.
Morris invited other students to share their experiences in the post, which she said was a call to action for the school to address issues its Black students faced.
The post received nearly 100 comments.
Kandace Walker wrote about the time, in 2008, when she walked into a classroom at ECS to see an anatomy project. Skeletons were dangling from the ceiling.
She noticed most were attached with a clear string, like fishing line. But one skeleton hung from a twine noose.
That one’s name tag read “Obama,” Walker wrote.
And that skeleton stayed up with the others for a couple of days, she said, until Walker told her father and her teacher about it.
Tensions between ECS’ Black students and its white students and teachers were high the year of Obama’s election.
The school responded, alumni said, by having meetings with students and with parents of Black students.
Walker described the response to The Commercial Appeal as “a slight apology, and then things were, you know, went back to whatever normal was at that time.”
Daisha Jiles, a 2016 graduate, said she felt culture shock from the first week she stepped into ECS.
In the eighth grade, she was called the N-word for the first time by a classmate.
That student, Jiles said, was not punished.
She said that having teachers allow that behavior affected the way she participated in class.
“They (teachers) wouldn’t intervene, they would just let things run their course. And so that made me, as a student, not want to talk in class. I didn’t want to share my opinion. I just wanted to stay quiet,” she said. “Because no teacher was going to stand up for me.”
Head of school meets with former students
Equipped with stories from former students like Walker and Jiles, alumni began demanding change from their alma mater.
The school should institute a zerotolerance policy for racism, the group said. Among other demands, the group has called for a public apology and increased diversity of faculty, staff and student body.
The head of the school, Braxton Brady, responded to the former students first in a June 10 email, which ECS shared with The Commercial Appeal in response to an inquiry for this story.
“The present-day events in our country have been heavy on my heart,” Brady wrote. “I have been particularly grieved to hear accounts of some ECS alumni who are people of color who endured hurtful treatment while they were students at ECS. Racism in any form stands in direct opposition to our Christ-centered, biblically directed educational mission.”
Brady, who first came to ECS two years ago, said the school, situated across two campuses in Memphis, was making progress. He wrote in the email that the school plans to appoint its first African American to its board of trustees. He said ECS would “continue its commitment to hiring more people of color” along with other steps.
He also agreed to meet with the group to talk about their experiences and what could be done to make the school a more welcoming place for students of color. The meeting, held later in June, lasted an hour.
During the meeting, Brady offered personal anecdotes. And though he was trying to make a connection, the former students who were present said Brady missed the mark.
A recording of the meeting was shared with The Commercial Appeal.
At one point on the recording, Brady can be heard talking about how he chose to live in the Binghampton neighborhood “intentionally” for a decade while