CHARLEMONT — Students at The Academy at Charlemont participated in an exploration into other cultures last week during a series of workshops and a panel discussion focusing on the BIPOC community (Black, Indigenous and people of color).
The program, “Understanding Local BIPOC Historical and Contemporary Culture,” saw students engage in workshops with local leaders representing different cultures and identities. The panel discussion gave students a chance to ask questions while panelists addressed stereotypes, cultural appropriation, community organizing and more.
Panelists and workshop leaders included Jennifer Lee, a member of the Northern Narragansett tribe and Nolumbeka Project board member; Patricia Montoya, Spanish teacher at the academy; Sarah Workneh, co-executive director of Sky High Farm in Pine Plains, New York; and Katelynn Cruz and Zaire Burton-King of Pa’Lante Transformative Justice Center of Holyoke. Moderating the discussion was Nora Bates Zale, co-head of school for community at The Academy at Charlemont.
To help audiences get a sense of what challenges the BIPOC community faces locally, panelists shared a range of impacts, like the “false idea of progress” when it comes to how society perceives efforts toward equal rights and equity for people of color, Workneh said.
“I think the perception is that progress is made and the work is done, when, in actuality, the work continues to reveal itself over time,” she said.
Another discussion point centered around cultural appropriation versus appreciation, with Zale noting how the discussion of BIPOC history and culture was being shared with a school of predominantly white students.
Panelists shared how the invitation from a member of the culture to participate, and the recognition of the origin of the practice, without co-opting it, are ways to appreciate, and not appropriate. Additionally, asking questions in earnest to learn, and not to copy from cultures, is a tool that panelists recommended.
“You don’t touch their hair, you don’t touch their jewelry,” Lee said, sharing her perspective as a Native American. She added that questions about the culture are valid. “But you don’t touch their stuff. If you happen to be in a ceremony or a Native prayer, you don’t take that home and do that yourself. You have to be part of the community, and somebody shares that with you and says, ‘You can teach this.'”
Toward the end of the discussion, students had a chance to ask their own questions. One student asked about how to navigate saying something that could potentially offend someone, even if the intention wasn’t to cause harm.
“It is a brave question, and I think it’s important that if you say something ‘wrong,’ to be willing to hear and not shut down from it,” Workneh shared. “We all have to be learning at all times, so being open to that is important.”
Montoya mentioned the need to break down the separation between cultures, saying that a shared environment provides an opportunity for people to listen to each other.
Panelists said they felt the nearly hour-long conversation was productive.
“It’s always an interesting position to be in to speak on behalf of BIPOC identities, so I think that what’s important about that is unlearning and relearning, and I saw some of the beginning stages of that in the room,” Cruz said, reflecting on the panel discussion. “I really appreciated that, and the vulnerable questions.”