BUILDING TRANSFORMATIVE ALUMNI CONNECTIONS
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those yet to come . As our Head of School John Botti wrote in his invitation to participants : “ Independent schools were largely founded as places for the privileged with exclusionary practices and remain places where members of the community feel unheard , unwelcome , and unaccepted ... we recognize that there is much we can do to heal these wounds . We also recognize that we need your help to do this .”
Some alums of color were understandably suspicious that this unexpected outreach was merely designed to head off an embarrassing social media firestorm . The first Black graduate of our school , Dennis Coleman ‘ 72 , reached out to accept the invitation , but then , as he shared in an interview
The subsequent report prepared by Pollyanna showed a group of men , from retirement age to recent graduates , who had both a love for Browning and a desire to see our school become a place where all boys could feel as though they really belonged .
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” for our Winter 2021 Buzzer Magazine , “ got cold feet .” It was only when our alumni relations director called him to confirm his attendance that he realized that Browning was serious about hearing his views . Other alumni noted in that article that they appreciated having a safe arena for this dialogue , and even ones who had not had much contact with their alma mater were intrigued enough to participate . In the end , 17 Black alumni attended the first focus group and additional alums of color came to one a couple of weeks later .
The subsequent report prepared by Pollyanna showed a group of men , from retirement age to recent graduates , who had both a love for Browning and a desire to see our school become a place where all boys could feel as though they really belonged . The men felt the bonds of brotherhood strongly , and they all praised the quality of the education , yet could still remember microaggressions that occurred decades earlier , and recalled an environment that could be at turns completely embracing yet blind to the impact of words and deeds on young men who did not fit the mold of the typical student who lived within walking distance of our school ’ s Upper East Side location . Some noted with sadness that incidents that occurred almost 50 years ago were markedly similar to ones occurring today .
What could have ended with our school leaders ’ gratitude and promise to address
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