In Solidarity and Action

QAE was built from a belief that we are concerned, confident, and compassionate citizens of the world, that we learn everywhere; we learn together. The ongoing examples of racism are devastating and unacceptable and calls to all of us to live our pillars.

As our school year starts to wind down, our role as parents, educators and learners continue. The pillars of QAE will be ongoing pillars to live by each day even after the school calendar ends.  

We are thankful to our:

• QAE staff for sharing resources of how to talk with our children, no matter the age/grade
• QAE teachers for incorporating anti-racist and Black Lives Matter learning into the curriculum
• QAE PTSA for funding anti-racist and anti-bias education 
• QAE Families of Color Director who drives the everyday conversation of race and people of color in all aspects of our decision making and community
• And our QAE students, past/present/future, for finding their voices to advocate for Rainier Beach High School Freedom School in 2016, hosting the annual Black Lives Matters Week that goes beyond the study of history but to acknowledge the present climate of racism, in 2018 for a group of students of color coming together each week to share their thoughts in a safe space. 

We are thankful for all that we’ve done, but also acknowledge that we have made mistakes and missteps. What we have done is not perfect, but we are committed to learning, growing, and doing better. We know our school and community comes from a place of many different privileges. We know these privileges require us to do the extra work for ourselves, our children, and our community. We must do this extra work for everyone. We need to ask ourselves, how can we do better at centering, amplifying, and uplifting Black lives and Black voices? How can we do a better job of supporting and uplifting Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color? 

A Call to Action
We know that this means moving past our own discomforts. We understand we must be actively intentional to undo racism and dismantle racial oppression and use our privileged voices and spaces to demand a more equal world. 

The QAE PTSA is committed to doing this work by continuing our support of the QAE Families of Color (FOC). We encourage all QAE community members to engage with the QAE Families of Color and their efforts to support an anti-racist and anti-bias culture at QAE. QAE FOC’s goals are centered around community, curriculum, capacity, and culture. 
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• Cultivating community – Support for students of color and parents of color, so that our children can see and connect with other children of color. Encourage and support efforts to increase diversity in the student body and recruiting staff that reflects society at large. (QAE Students of Color)
• Curriculum/Pedagogy in QAE – Develop language for QAE students to use in order to have discourse on topic of discrimination and equality. Support culturally responsive instruction.
• Capacity Build Capacity for FOC – Engage in QAE parent education and cultural awareness and anti-racist development.
• Culture - Meaningful and active engagement at QAE, where we are intentional of our presence in the culture of the school through being present and representing our voices and in an environment grounded in anti-racism and anti-bias. 

The FOC sponsored events, parent trainings, and teacher trainings are intended to further these goals, but QAE FOC needs your help! We invite all families of color to connect with other families of color to create community, uplift our students of color, and continue QAE FOC’s efforts.  We invite white families to connect with and support QAE Families of Color to ensure that the needs of all students are met. We know the future seems uncertain with COVID-19, but planning for the future starts now. 

If you’d like more information on how you can engage with the QAE Families of Color, please email Director Kay Dumlao Doherty at foc1@qaeptsa.org 

The PTSA is looking to our community for new volunteers to join our Board in a variety of positions. Whatever your background and availability, we would welcome your help—we truly believe this is a way YOU can make a difference in the lives of our kids and support our community. Interested? Write to the PTSA Board at board@qaeptsa.org

Resources
We’ve also provided some suggested resources below. Please note, this list is not exhaustive, as there are many others out there, but it can be a starting point for your student’s and family’s journey.

For the Kids
See this resource for Distance Learning Activities related to Black Lives Matters.

For the Adult Reader (also available in Audio from the Seattle Public Library)

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

Organizations to Engage with or Donate to:

• Black Lives Matter - Founded in 2013 after the murder of Trayvon Martin, this organization is fighting for change by advocating for an end to violence against Black Americans.
• Families of Color Seattle (FOCS)  - A non-profit organization that specializes in community dialogues, workshops, and consulting on race, family engagement, and anti-bias education. Over the years, FOCS has been integral in the QAE’s journey by facilitating a number of community trainings. 
• Coalition for Anti-Racist Whites – Non-profit community organization that educates, organizes, and mobilizes white people to show up powerfully for radical justice and collective liberation.
• Washington State Ethnic Studies Now - A volunteer organization that seeks to have Ethnic Studies in every classroom of WA State taught by anti-racist educators committed to centering the history and lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and people of Color. 
• Teaching Tolerance – A program emphasizing social justice and anti-bias. To help teachers and schools educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy. (A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)
• Black Table Arts - A home for Black artists in Minnesota, this organization holds conferences, teaches classes and leads professional development for Black communities.

We thank you for your continued support and encourage you to continue the conversations with your students, family, and friends.  It’s OK if the action feels uncomfortable – that’s part of the journey. It’s OK if our voice is not perfect - we will make mistakes! But we can’t be afraid to learn from them (remember, mistakes are welcome at QAE). But, it’s NOT OK to ignore it. In this historic movement, we want our students to remember how they were active agents of change. 

If you want more information about how QAE PTSA supports QAE FOC, please contact officers@qaeptsa.org

In solidarity,

Sandra Shu Nanney & Kay Dumlao Doherty
QAE PTSA President & QAE PTSA Families of Color Director
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