December 1st through the 4th. A week I will not forget.

Many of you may not even know what occurred that week. But, don’t fret, I’m here to tell you. Along with 4 other Bancroft students, I attended the Student Diversity and Leadership Conference sponsored by Independent Schools across the nation. 

In the conference, we spoke upon some heavy topics ranging from racism to lgbtq+ discrimination. To put it bluntly, we talked about the minorities in predominantly white, private institutions.

I will not be exaggerating when I tell you I have never been in a space as comfortable and inviting as SDLC. I can say confidently I will probably never have near half the conversations I had at SDLC at Bancroft School. 

SDLC provided a space where I was validated. 

To speak specifically on my behalf…

Sometimes, my race seems like it’s not truly accepted at this school or actually validated. 

The amount of racist comments I get from ignorant white students or simply rude people are insane.

At SDLC there were kids who looked like me, received the same comments as me, who felt like I did. I always knew what I heard at school was wrong, but when it’s all you hear and you don’t have many people at your school that go through what you do, it feels like it’s you against everyone else. SDLC was a space of kids who felt like this and it’s called being in a minority.

There were so many kids who felt alone and frankly discriminated against at their predominantly white school — whether it be because people didn’t accept their gender, sexuality, race, religion, etc. SDLC was a space where we all came together and talked about what we go through at our predominantly white schools and steps to move forward and fix it, to fix the cycle of oppression and discrimination. Believe it or not, it’s there and it’s happening in independent schools across the nation. However, school by school we can recognize it and be the change.