BUILDING TRANSFORMATIVE ALUMNI CONNECTIONS these concerns in the future , instead turned into something much deeper . Aided by the ubiquity of Zoom due to the pandemic , a group of these men , who soon named themselves The Panther Mentors , began meeting weekly in support and fellowship . They quickly realized that they wanted to take a more active role in the school ’ s future . “ We thought , are we going to sit back and let Browning set the tone , or as Black men , can we also take initiative and bring information to the table ?” asked Samora Legros ‘ 03 . The men quickly developed a “ list of asks ” for the school , ranging from increasing the number of faculty and trustees of color , to examining the curriculum and mandating anti-bias training for community members .
They were “ stunned by Browning ’ s reaction ,” in Coleman ’ s words , as he noted that it only took nine days for our school to respond to the requests . The written response gave the alumni greater insight into our DEIB efforts , and committed the school to important inclusion initiatives , such as working with the Panther Mentors to allow opportunities for meaningful interaction between them and students , families and prospective families ; creating hiring protocols designed to make that process more
Photo by Naledi Semela
equitable and increase access for a wide variety of candidates ; providing extensive diversity training for families ; establishing a parent equity council within the Parents Association ; and bringing greater diversity to our Board of Trustees . Since its formation in 2020 , two of the Panther Mentors have joined the Board of Trustees , and a scholarship to be awarded each year to a student of color has been created in Coleman ’ s name .
The Panther Mentors are fully embraced by our community , entering Lower School classrooms for read-alouds , engaging with prospective families at admission events , and mentoring students interested in
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CSEE Connections Summer 2022 Page 5