Bay View Academy Community,
The end of our school year means that we are busy, distracted, and fully occupied with report cards, graduations and preparations for reopening our campus in August. We welcome these responsibilities because we are passionate about supporting our students.
But there is another pandemic ravaging our country, one that is routinely dismissed and quickly forgotten despite its lethal nature: systemic racism. Many Bay View Academy community members are suffering from these violent reminders that their lives are not protected from the consequences of hatred and brutality. Members of our community are experiencing trauma and fear for their loved ones’ lives.
Bay View Academy stands in solidarity with Black educators, Black students, parents and the entire Black community. We stand for social justice and an end to systemic racism that attempts to silence the voices of disenfranchised communities. We believe that Black Lives Matter.
Each of us needs to ask what changes we—as individuals and as institutions—are capable of making to bring about the world we want and our children deserve. We must reflect on our own biases, actions, and inactions. Then, we must set about making those changes. We must act with a sense of urgency. Lives depend on it.
Please join me in holding space for all those impacted by these tragedies and in recommitting ourselves to standing up and taking action against injustice in all its forms.
Thank you,
Karina
