Summer 2020

We want to wish everyone a Happy Pride Month—a time to honor the strength, creativity and resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community, and to push for social change. We recognize the history of Pride as a protest led by lesbian and trans women of color during the Stonewall uprising in 1969, and we believe that celebrating Pride must include a commitment to undoing racism and amplifying the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color voices in the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond.

Today, we also wish all our alumni a happy Juneteenth and ask that we all contemplate the significance of the day. If you are unfamiliar with Juneteenth, we recommend you read the reflections and resources about the day that Tilda Kapuya, UHS director of equity and community, sent to UHS students, families, faculty and staff June 12 here. 

 

In this newsletter we take this opportunity to offer additional educational and support resources on the topic of racial and social justice curated by faculty and staff who have been leading equity and community work at University High School.

 

Dear Alumni,

 

On Monday, June 1, 109 members of the Class of 2020 and over 1,000 of their family members celebrated graduation, virtually. We were sad to not all be together in person at Davies Symphony Hall, but in many ways the online ceremony was even more intimate. Friends and family who would not have been able to travel to San Francisco for the commencement ceremony were able to hear Head of School Julia Russell Eells's welcome remarks including a live statement in support of Black Lives Matter on Zoom before breaking to view this incredible 70 minute video featuring every one of our seniors and some surprise guests. Our only regret is that the video was made before news of George Floyd's murder became widely known, and student and faculty speakers were not able to acknowledge the tragedy and injustice in their recorded remarks. We hope you had a chance to read this email from the faculty, staff and administration of UHS, sent to the school community June 2 in support of Black Lives Matter.

 

Now more than ever we commit to seeking and enrolling students from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and meeting their financial needs to ensure that they can engage fully in the UHS experience. Thanks to all those who made a contribution benefiting financial aid to Keeping our UHS Community Whole, including many alums who made their very first donation to our school. This initiative was launched in support of our students who participate in the financial aid program, many of whose families are experiencing particular uncertainty and instability brought on by the COVID-19 crisis. Though we are still unsure of the full impact this crisis will have on the school and the way we are able to facilitate learning, what we do know is there will be at least a 10% increase in requests for financial aid next school year. And we extend our gratitude to Jen Huret Dulski '89 and her husband Len, who pledged a $25,000 matching gift toward this initiative, inspiring others to give and doubling our reach.

 

We would like to take this opportunity to offer educational and support resources on the topic of racial and social justice curated by faculty and staff who have been leading equity and community work at University High School. The following is by no means an exhaustive list, and we are pleased to be sharing additional resources on our website, here. And in the spirit of continuing the conversation, our Director of Equity and Community, Tilda Kapuya, has generously offered to remain available throughout the month of June to answer individual questions or share more curated resources with our alumni community as needed. Feel free to reach out to her at tilda.kapuya@sfuhs.org if you need additional support (please note that Tilda will be on maternity leave starting in August).

 

READ

• If you are just getting started:
  • “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh
  • Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
  • White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
  • Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji
  • You can explore your own implicit biases by taking Implicit Association Tests on this site.
• If you are looking to dig deeper:
  • “The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture” by Kenneth Jones & Tema Okun
  • “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Ibram X. Kendi
  • Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
  • The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
  • Racism Without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
  • Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
  • Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Dr. Monique W. Morris (‘90, P ‘19)
  • The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale
     

WATCH 

• Trevor Noah Breaks Down Reparations & White Privilege (4:01)
• “The Urgency of Intersectionality” by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw (TED Talk)
• 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
• When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
• I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin documentary by Raoul Peck) — Netflix
• Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton, based on the book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson) —available for free during the month of June
• Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Dr. Monique W. Morris (‘90, P ‘19) — Netflix
• Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent
• If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
   

LISTEN

• NPR’s Code Switch
• 1619 (New York Times)
• About Race
• Seeing White
   

FOLLOW 

• Color Of Change: Twitter| Instagram | Facebook
• Colorlines: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• The Conscious Kid: Twitter| Instagram | Facebook
• Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram| Facebook
• Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter| Instagram | Facebook
• Check your Privilege @ckyourprivilege on Instagram
• The Great Unlearn @thegreatunlearn on Instagram
• Layla Saad @laylafsaadon Instagram
• Ibram X. Kendi @DrIbram on Twitter
• Brittany Packnett Cunningham @MsPackyetti on Twitter
• Paul Gorski—Equity Literacy Institute @pgorskion Twitter
• Ijeoma Oluo @IjeomaOluo on Twitter
• Ava DuVernay @ava on Twitter
   

We also want to share with everyone who needs some guidance on self-care in challenging times, especially our Black alumni, this 21-Day Equity Challenge for Self-Care. This resource dedicated to emotional and mental health was curated by Eddie Moore, Jr., Debby Irving, June Christian and Tilda Kapuya. 

 

Going forward, we'll dedicate space in every Alumni Newsletter with links to these resources so you can always find the most current offering. The annual Runway Lecture held in the fall will continue to be dedicated to topics of social justice. If you know of a member of our community doing important work in this arena, please let us know so we can feature them on our website or in an upcoming UHS Journal.

 

 

Loyally,

 

Julia Angeles '11, SB '07; Margaret Charnas '76, P '09; Leonard Chung '98; Matt Farron '98, SB '94; Oscar Flores '89, SB '84, P '13; Louise Greenspan MD '86, P '23; Katie Hultquist '92; Mariana Maguire '00; Sherief Meleis '88; Claire Myers '86; Suniqua Thomas '97, SB '93; Clayton Timbrell '00; Julayne Virgil '94; Lareina Yee 91, P '21.