In Your Opinion: CJCP Creates Racial Equity Committee To Combat Systemic Racism

By Dr. Namik Sercan.

The CJCP Board of Trustees, administration, and staff are devastated by recent incidents of police brutality and racial violence in several communities around our nation. It is a very emotional and problematic time in our  country right now, which requires immediate and tangible actions from all segments of our community in unity  and solidarity. Just like the ones that happened throughout centuries, the recent  murders, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery, are direct results of  long-time systemic  racism, oppression, and inconceivable criminal justice policies that have failed to address chronic racial injustice and inequity taking place in our society.

As educators, we realize the complexity of our reality. We stay true to our mission and are committed to educating a whole child here at our school, which entails teaching our students the history behind their identity,  the language behind their culture, and the geography from where they came. We take Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision to the heart. He says, “the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” Therefore, we promote acceptance in our diverse learning community through open conversations, understanding, and empathy for one another. We continuously put concerted effort to help our students develop a skill set to see the world through different viewpoints and coexist in harmony. The culmination of such efforts brought us national recognition that we recently celebrated being a National Character School. But, we have realized that we could domore!