Graphic by Sesame Gaetsaloe/ The Choate News
Last spring, after George Floyd was killed by police officers in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor by officers in Louisville, Ky., and Ahmaud Arbery by armed civilians in Georgia, protests in support of Black lives and against systemic inequality and discrimination erupted across the country. The Choate community was not immune to widespread feelings of hurt, anger, and frustration in response to these and other acts of race-based trauma, and over the past several months both students and faculty have responded in a variety of ways.
One of the first actions taken by the School was the reconstitution of the Current Events Resource Group (CERG), which is dedicated to providing “resources and support to the Choate community when events in our local community, nation, and world prove challenging, divisive, or especially complex,” wrote Dean of Students Mr. Mike Velez ’00 in an all-school email on June 1.
The School also acknowledged the need for action beyond conversation. On June 4, Head of School Dr. Alex Curtis announced the creation of the Choate Fund for Justice, a restricted fund supported by individual donations. At the time of the announcement, the fund for justice had been seeded by a personal contribution from Dr. Curtis and donations from numerous members of the Board of Trustees. Donations to the Choate Fund for Justice will go exclusively to nonprofits that support racial justice initiatives.
