This is the last episode of a three-part series that aims to provide a brief timeline of race relations at Choate. Research about the history of Choate Rosemary Hall is an ongoing process; if you are curious about learning more, please visit the Archives.
On May 25, 2020, the modern day lynching of George Floyd shocked the world. A horrific video of the event was recorded by onlookers pleading to stop the in-stance of police brutality, a practice that has become overly normalized. As a community, Choate has learned a great deal from the murder of George Floyd and the worldwide Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that followed. Like those in other institutions across the nation, Black students, alumni, and faculty made their voices heard about their experiences with racism and prejudice during their time at Choate.
On June 3, 2020, over 40 students of color, with faculty assistance, wrote an open letter to the Choate community demanding more from the Administration and the student body. Notably, the letter stressed the need to retain teachers of color, educate individuals in and out of the classroom on Black issues, share stories, and more.
In the same month, the Instagram account @blackatchoateofficial posted for the first time. The account was created for past and current Black students of Choate to voice their experiences as students of color. Hundreds of posts were shared in a short span of time, highlighting past and current issues of the School that made for unpleasant memories for Black Choate students, such as the visit from Matthew Hale, a self-proclaimed white supremacist and neo-Nazi, to the Wallingford Public Library.
The Administration’s immediate response was to create a day of conversation and reflection for the Choate community on June 5. Although the event was impactful and necessary, students criticized its non-mandatory status, which made it easy for non-Black students to avoid participation. The Administration took time to listen and reflect on these concerns, following up with attempts to create tangible changes. Efforts at Choate included the incorporation of Community Conversations into daily schedules, donations to nonprofits for racial justice, and the establishment of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) task force.
The DEI task force was formed in the summer of 2020 to address the inequities at Choate and the concerns raised by students. The committee consists of 11 members, including the Dean of Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Rachel Myers. On July 16, 2020, information about the task force and its mission was emailed to the community. There were three phases to its system: collecting and organizing data and feedback, developing and hosting workshops for the community, and writing a formal assessment analyzing the workshops and creating plans to implement the feedback. Some ideas from the second phase included the Bias Incident Report form, created and implemented in 2021, and an identity-based slur policy, implemented in the 2020-2021 handbook, that would enact consequences such as probation, suspension, or dismissal as a result of using derogatory language towards others.
The establishment of the DEI task force paralleled the growth of the Current Events Resource Group (CERG). CERG was established at Choate in 2017 to help the community understand and respond to events that impact the world. The presence of this group grew after June 2020, as it provided information and support to students during moments like the January 6 insurrection and the eventual conviction of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who murdered George Floyd.
On November 7, 2020, Dr. Curtis sent an email to the Choate community informing them of the anonymous threat made to Black-identifying Choate students. Details of the threat and its intentions were not announced at first, per advice given by law enforcement. However, the many actions taken to ensure student safety were detailed.
A few days later, on November 11, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found the threat to be non-credible, concluded that the goal of the email was to terrorize the community, and used a search warrant to continue their investigation into the perpetrators.
Throughout the event, the School provided separate affinity spaces for Black students, students of color, and white-identifying students. Advisers, teachers, and the counseling team also provided student support.
However, not all Black students felt fully supported by the community. The Administration canceled homework assignments that week to relieve some of the pressure from the threat, but, because of differences in racial background and levels of ignorance, not all students had appropriate reactions.
Dylan Allen ’22, a member of the BIPOC community, appreciated the cancellation of homework but wished “there was a mandatory Zoom for the School explaining the appropriate way to react to no work.”
In addition, Allen spoke of the long-lasting impact of the threat. Not only were her previous feelings of safety on campus jeopardized, but it also took time for her to understand how to approach her feelings. “The summer gave me the chance to reset my brain and realize my life could be threatened anywhere in the world, not just on campus,” she concluded.
Throughout these crises, students voiced changes to be made by the School, such as increasing the level of Black representation in faculty and improving the at-tempts to support students of col-or. Like many other institutions, Choate Rosemary Hall isn’t exempt from change, but the Administration has recently responded to crises more proactively and taken more initiative in supporting students. These actions are proof of Choate’s desire to foster a more equitable environment.
