Inspired by Mercy nuns, a teacher responds to racism
Harbingers of the 2020 school year transformed from new notebooks and haircuts to masks and safety protocols. Words pop up in conversations about how school now includes both in-person and remote learning, reflecting a reality that only six months ago belonged to a science fiction world of imagination. As a Newtown High School teacher, however, I am aware that adjusting to hybrid education is just one of the challenges confronting my students and me.
We must also find ways to deal more effectively with racial injustice, a reality that, until the deaths of George Floyd and other African Americans this year, too many white members of our community had not paid enough attention to — including me.
As an associate of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, I take heart from nuns who renewed their commitment to anti-racism work and other justice issues on Sept. 24 — what they call Mercy Day, the anniversary of their founding. They have taught me to confront my own complicity in racism.
Newtown High’s published school profile identifies 11 percent of the student population as minority, with most from Asian and Hispanic backgrounds. At a June Black Lives Matter rally in Newtown, graduates and current students spoke of racial discrimination they experienced at the school. As the summer went on, they shared more horrific experiences on Instagram, recounting such abuse as classmates’ using epithets and making hateful statements about people of color. According to these social media accounts, teachers and administrators stayed silent.
As I listened and read with incredulity, I was in anguish. I wondered: How did racist incidents at the school happen on my watch? What did I miss? How could I miss it? Did any of the behaviors shared through the anonymous posts occur in my room?
In my soul searching, I turned to the Sisters of Mercy, who have made overcoming racism a cornerstone of their mission. I spent my summer ambitiously working my way through documentaries, books, and articles about racism that they recommended. I read “So You Want to Talk About Race,” by Ijeoma Oluo. As Iwalked, I listened to “How to be an Antiracist,” by Ibram X. Kendi. I watched Netflix’s “a documentary about race, justice, and mass incarceration. Honestly, I overate at the buffet of offerings. All that I’ve learned is rattling around in me, splicing together in new patterns I am just beginning to understand.
As my 37th year at Newtown High School gets underway, I not only own my complicity in racism, but I also seek to overcome it.
I joined the Sisters of Mercy in Mercy Day prayer last week on Zoom. As we will pray for antiracist transformation, I will also reflect on the first time I witnessed the nuns confront the sin of racism. It was in 2011, at an international gathering the sisters held to set their future direction. I was struck by their willingness to accept responsibility for racism in themselves, their institutions, and the larger society. In a public statement, they proclaimed, “Even as we acknowledge our complicity [in racism], we contemplate the gift of God’s Mercy.”
It’s time for me to take my anti-racism learning and to “contemplate the gift of God’s Mercy.” I need to be merciful and empathetic to those who have experienced racist abuse. I must help educate those who are racist and act out of ignorance, fear or hatred.
I’m just one person who has internalized the Sisters of Mercy’s commitment to address and eradicate racism. But I share their belief that racism has been hidden under the surface by white people for far too long.
My 14-year-old freshmen come to school in masks. They have been distance learning since March but are no strangers to trauma. Now I must help them see the urgency of coming together, appreciating their differences, and authentically learning how to move forward in true equality.
This year, 2020, has changed our lives forever. May God help me change the hearts of those who need change, including mine.