Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Brightworks aspires to be a place where students and staff of all racial, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds feel seen, empowered and celebrated. We believe in fostering a positive sense of personal identity, as well as respect for the differences among us.
Welcome to our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) page. This page will provide you with a variety of resources and information that highlight our truth and current efforts in creating an environment of care, representation, and resilience.
In addressing diversity, it’s important to acknowledge and face our deficiencies with full humility – only then can we begin to hold ourselves accountable and move away from a space of inactivity and performativity, and towards a space of social justice.
“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it. ”
As a predominantly white institution BWX continues to uphold and preserve structures and ideologies that celebrate and emit characteristics of whiteness. Therefore, we accept and admit that our negligence in addressing racial inequities at BWX is a functionality, and preservation of white supremacy.
With a commitment towards mitigating the dominance of whiteness at Brightworks, we are implementing various strategies to begin thwarting and challenging our ideologies and frameworks that inhibit us from achieving social justice.
These strategies are a three-pronged approach and serve as a collectivized system to support our overall commitment towards DEI. We view and define the BWX community as faculty, students and families - in other words - our DEI strategies work towards supporting each of these groups with distinct initiatives and outcomes.
To learn more about these efforts and how each facet of BWX is working towards a more just and equitable learning environment, please visit our DEI Strategic Plan page for more information.
Integral to these initiatives and efforts is the Power & Privilege (P&P) Committee.
Brightworks collaborators featured here during an impactful restorative justice training with Amplify RJ’s own DeMointe Wesley.
The P&P committee is predominantly BIPOC-led and composed of family members, leadership, faculty, administrators and students. Following the work of Dr. Darlene Hall, the committee is tasked with examining how Power & Privilege impacts and dictates the various layers of brightworks.
At the heart of this committee is its ability and positionality to hold brightworks accountable to its DEI efforts and initiatives. To this end, the P&P committee is also tasked with leading all restorative justice efforts and training.
Brightworks has committed itself to steer away from punitive practices by imbedding efforts centered around communal healing and awareness. The P&P committee has also identified the need to further support and coach our collaborators in developing culturally aware and responsive curriculum and learning spaces. The curriculum and collaborator support committee is teacher led and meets bi-weekly.
Celebrating our Rich Diversity
When everyone in our community feels empowered and celebrated, we all thrive.
Brightworks is intentional around honoring its diverse communities in deep and affirming ways. Several times in the school year, we transform our space to highlight and showcase the many cultures represented in our community. These celebrative transformations center learning and understanding through music, food, and art.
By honoring and celebrating diversity, our students learn about the lives of their school community, the larger world around them, and the importance of practicing empathy and understanding the experiences of each individual.
We look forward to expanding this work and continuing to honor the cultures of our school community.
If you are interested in learning more about our efforts or are interested in providing a cultural learning experience for BWX, please contact Kenya, our director of DEI.
Resources
This link is a compilation of resources for community members, parents and students of all ages and demographics to further explore and learn.
Updates and cultural events
