During her visit, Rev. White-Hammond facilitated conversations on activism.
At a time when Choate, the United States, and the world at large face a lot of division, Rev. Mariama White-Hammond came to Choate to discuss the importance of understanding and finding commonalities with others. During school meeting on Wednesday, March 24, Choate students and faculty listened to social activist Rev. White-Hammond, speak briefly about activism and understanding each other’s differences. This talk excited many students and faculty members into attending her forum that evening. Rev. White-Hammond discussed her life and work as an activist and ecological minister, and took time to answer questions from students and engage with the audience.
At the evening forum in Elman Auditorium, Rev. White-Hammond began by sharing a Bible verse titled, “The Judgement of Solomon.” The moral of the story was that some people are motivated by love and others by loss. In the end, the character that was inspired by love was more prosperous than the one that wasn’t. This idea was a segue into a major theme of the forum: In order to achieve a goal one must not be propelled by the ruin of others.
Dr. Keith Hinderlie, Director of Equity and Inclusion, was primarily responsible for organizing Rev. White-Hammond’s time on campus and worked closely with the recently established Current Events Resource Group. In February, the group coordinated a similar forum with Attorney and Yale Professor, Michael Wishnie who spoke on the immigrant ban. The event was a success and Dr. Hinderlie saw that “students wanted to talk more about activism.”
In the midst of deciding on a good candidate to facilitate a conversation about activism, Rev. White-Hammond surfaced as a possibility. She and Dr. Hinderlie had known each other for many years, and he was aware of her compelling ideas and incredible speaking abilities to potentially share with the Choate community.
From Boston, Massachusetts, Rev. White-Hammond has a long history of social activism. She spoke recently at the Women’s March in Boston and has served as the Executive Director of Project HIP-HOP, an organization that allows young individuals to enhance their critical thinking, artistic production, and community organizing. Today, Rev. White-Hammond is an Ecological Justice Minister at Bethel AME Church in Boston.
Upon deciding to invite her to campus, Dr. Hinderlie described the difficulty the coordinators had when selecting a convenient date. Choate was fortunate to have her spend a full day on campus in addition to the evening forum. While on campus, Rev. White-Hammond attended classes and meet with various student groups, as well speaking during school-meeting. She was also available during lunch and dinner hours to talk with community members.
During the evening forum, Rev. White-Hammond mentioned that “People feel better about themselves when somebody else is persecuted.” However, as she explained throughout the forum, a successful activist cannot be motivated by loss.
She described how in the world today there is deep disagreement between many distinct factions. She noted that “places of disagreement are not what we think they are,” and emphasized that we are more alike than we are different.
Rev. White-Hammond then described how best to overcome those differences. She mentioned the importance of real dialogue and deep, authentic listening. She herself experienced the effectiveness of this strategy. During her travels, she once encountered a man from a rural, conservative community, unlike her own. However, after having a conversation with him, she realized that they were alike in the sense that they each desired similar change in their communities. Again, the importance of understanding one another was stressed as a key solution in overcoming any unhealthy disagreement. Above all, she emphasized that effective activists understand others.
Noah Hermes de Boor ’18 said, “I found her speaking abilities impressive and was fully engaged.”
Rev. White-Hammond’s talk was the second successful forum organized by the Current Events Resource Group. Dr. Hinderlie said,“this forum will point the direction to the next.” Dr. Hinderlie plans on gathering the opinions of community members for future discussion topics. In addition, Dr. Hinderlie believed that Rev. White-Hammond’s ideas are applicable at Choate. “She didn’t talk about one topic. She incorporated politics, the climate, religion, and more.”
