We are pleased to announce that on June 25th, we met with the majority of the John Carroll Administration.* The principal, Tom Durkin, was not present. During the meeting we were met with open ears and are happy to have spent time working with the Administration.  We are proud that our school was listening to the alumni on such an important human rights issue. 

 

          However, two days after the meeting (7/27), we were told that we may now only contact the Committee for Peace and Justice and not the JC Principal, President, or Vice Principal. 

 

          We heard nothing more from them. 

 

          We then reached out to the Committee for Peace and Justice via email on July 7th thanking them for a continued partnership in implementing this Petition. In that email, we sought a second meeting with the Administration, as requested at the end of our last meeting by members of the Administration themselves. We were denied due to their preoccupation with COVID-19 preparations and we were asked for patience. However, we were told that “meaningful progress” has been made, but we were not told what steps have been taken. 

 

          We have been updated by an alum that a date has not yet been set because “summer schedules are sometimes challenging” for the open forum coordinated by the Committee for Peace and Justice, as promised in the JC Response to our Petition on June 16th. (In our outline below of steps YOU can take, we request that you email the administration to have them implement a date.) 

 

          JC said that an update will be sent out in two weeks, which will be a month since our only meeting; 37 days since the Petition went public; and 58 days since George Floyd’s murder and the rise of this social movement. 

 

          We have been eagerly awaiting the JC update. However, we cannot wait idly. Please reflect on @BlackAtJohnCarroll on Instagram, created by an anonymous Patriot, which gives a glimpse into the environment created at the John Carroll School.

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^ Screenshot of a few of the Black Voices on the @BlackAtJohnCarroll Instagram account. ^

 

          This is why we cannot stop now. Overt racism persists and the current and future students are relying on all of our efforts. 

 

          A closely related school, Notre Dame Prep, has already met with their petition authors three times and has sent out multiple lines of communication. Another school similar to John Carroll (a small, predominantly white co-ed private Catholic high school in Delaware), Saint Marks, has hired an outside program to help implement anti-racist programs; has actively implemented open forums via an online platform for alumni and students, and has apologized for their past transgressions all the while navigating COVID-19. The entire country is navigating both COVID-19 and our crisis of systemic racism. Both can be deadly. We are looking for ongoing open communication and action from John Carroll. 

 

          We need to see that they are listening. Actions speak louder than words. 

 

          Since then, we have put together a committee that is assisting us with the work of this petition. If you would like to be a part of this, please fill out this form on the website at the bottom of the page. 

 

          Things the petition authors are working on to date: (1) newspaper articles in the Baltimore Sun, (2) a second sit-down meeting with administration, and (3) organizing a demonstration in solidarity. 

 

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But we need YOUR help: 

1. As mentioned in John Carroll’s Response to our Petition, there is to be an ‘open forum’ Peace and Justice Committee meeting. We ask that you email and request the meeting to be set. When a date is set, we ask that you join in support. 

2. On our website, we have a blog that you can submit your experiences of injustice at JC that lead you to sign this petition. We have a few responses on the website already, you can read them here. 

3. We also are encouraging you to call + email the administration directly requesting that your voice be heard and this petition be implemented: here’s a script and the phone numbers/emails on our website. 

 

FOLLOW us on Instagram @JCPetition_2020 and Facebook @JCPetition2020 to stay up to date. Also, check out @BlackAtJohnCarroll on Instagram which creates a platform for anonymous Black student voices to be heard. 

 

Thank you for your prayers, love, and kind words but most of all thank you for your action. 

Signing the petition is only step number one. 

 

Black Lives Matter. 

 

Kiana Miller ‘20, Allie Taylor ‘17, and Morgan Taylor ‘15

 

P.s. We have over 1,700 signatures!! 

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* (Assistant Principal and Co-Chair of the Peace & Justice Committee Danica Attanasio, Vice Principal Jake Hollin, President of the Board of Trustees Steve DiBiagio, and Co-Chair Peace & Justice Committee Tara Milburn)