Photos by Tiffany Xiao/The Choate News
On the School’s 31st annual Diversity Day, renowned activist and scholar Dr. Angela Davis visited the Choate community to deliver a keynote speech, participate in a student-led Q&A session, and attend an affinity lunch with select students and faculty members as part of this year’s Diversity Day.
Dean of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Rachel Myers began the search for this year’s Diversity Day speaker last summer and managed to book Dr. Davis through the American Program Bureau (APB), an organization that specializes in pairing speakers with appropriate events. In accordance with this year’s Diversity Day theme, “Leveling Up: Black Power in the Next Generation,” Dr. Myers explained that Dr. Davis was selected to speak to the community, because her legacy has been a testament to what it means to “level up” and because of her iconic status as a social-justice activist.
“In the past few years, we’ve seen a lot of painful things,” said Dr. Myers, “Why not hear from somebody who understands the importance of promoting not just the painful parts, but also the powerful aspects of humanity.”
Dr. Davis began her talk by delving into the history of the abolition of slavery. She discussed how Haiti, the first nation to formally abolish slavery, is still one of the poorest countries in the world today. She went on to explain that freedom can never truly be achieved but encouraged the audience to always strive for more justice among oppressive institutions. Additionally, she stressed the importance of acknowledging the interdisciplinary nature of injustice.
Many members of the community resonated with Dr. Davis’s words. “The thing I really appreciated was Dr. Davis’ ability to explain something so meaningfully in a way that makes sense,” said Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion Mr. Filipe Camarotti. “I came out thinking, ‘That is the reason why I believe in the justice that she is preaching,’ and how it’s all interconnected internationally and intersected with environmental justice and our rights for other species and everything related to the slavery revolts and revolutions.”
College counsellor Ms. Michelle Thompson-Taylor said, “How we should be thinking more broadly about humanity — that struck home. The notion of humanity — it transcends borders, it transcends nationalities, it transcends countries and politics and government, and is something that links us regardless of where we reside, where we live, who we are, what color our skin is, and that point was probably an unexpected one but one that I think really resonated.”
Many also appreciated Dr. Davis’s comments on the pain that comes from discrimination, yet noted her optimism. Dr. Davis explained that she never would have predicted the advancements that have been made toward freedom in the past few years, but through practicing “hope as a discipline,” she believes that more progress is possible.
Joy Gao ’24 said, “When she said hope is something that is developed over time, not randomly found, it gave me inspiration to take initiative to change my outlook on what hope is and how I can acquire it.”
During the Q&A session that followed her talk, Dr. Davis touched on topics such as police brutality and tactics to better law enforcement, her views on the efficacy of structural and systemic reform versus abolition, and how these issues are entrenched in the capitalist heteropatriarchy.
Although the School understood that not everyone on campus would agree with Dr. Davis’s political positions, the event’s organizers hoped her visit would push community members to reflect on their perspectives.
Rohan Shivakumar ’22 said, “At Choate, we want to invite people with different perspectives, and if she’s a communist, I don’t care. Should we not listen to people because of their political opinions? That seems very [against] what our values are.”
Simone Johnson ’23 said, “There are a lot of people in the Choate community who don’t know all that she stands for and have written her off based on one part of her rather than judging her as a whole person and what she’s done.” Johnson was disappointed in students’ failure to utilize the provided resources on Dr. Davis’s history and writing, which she thinks would have provided more context for the talk.
Black-identifying community members were given the opportunity to enter a lottery to attend the affinity lunch with Dr. Davis following her lecture.
Fifth-form dean Mr. Will Gilyard ’98 who attended the lunch said, “The lunch with Angela Davis was fantastic. She moved from table to table to talk with folks, and so all of the students who were in attendance were able to connect with her on some level. In my conversation, we discussed the importance of having and intentionally building a community so that you have someone to lift you up when you fall.”
Johnson echoed such sentiments of gratitude. “I loved the lunch with Angela Davis,” she said. “It was very much like talking to your grandmother, in a sense where it’s someone who’s older than you, who’s lived through and experienced so much and you know that and you respect that.”
