TOWER The Masters School
49 Clinton Avenue
Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522
VOLUME 76, SPECIAL ISSUE
JANUARY 19, 2021
Let those silenced resound
T
he late John Lewis once said, âWhen you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something. To do something.â At Masters, we as a community have an obligation to say something when we see something unjust, something that is not right. The beauty of our community is that within it exists so many unique perspectivesââpeople of all ethnicities, racial identities, sexual orientations, gender identities, socioeconomic statuses and backgrounds. As a result, we each âseeâ our own unique injustices. We are all learning to speak upâbut the
Editorial
truth of the matter is that not everyone is heard in the same way. Black students in the community werenât truly listened to until an Instagram account demanded the attention their voices had so long deserved. On the other hand, some voices in our community are loud and often heard. It is so easy for many of us to talk on and on into oblivion, without any real regard for those who are never given a chance to step up to the podium. It is time for those whose voices have been amplified time and time again to sit back, and to listenâwith intention. As a communityâand as a school newspaperâit is our job to step up and
do everything in our power to create opportunities for those who are seldom heard. That was the theme of this yearâs MLK celebration. And itâs what this special edition is all aboutâand something that Tower has committed to for the future. The theme of last yearâs MLK day was âSpeaking, Hearing and Opening Up Together,â and what that sentiment must further address is that some people are rarely given the opportunity to stand up, speak, and be heard. These unheard voices arenât off lurking somewhere in mysterious shadows, they are sitting right next to you.
Ellen Cowhey/TOWER PROTESTORS AT A BLACK Lives Matter rally in Dobbs Ferry in early summer kneeled in honor of those lives lost at the hands of police. Alum Leron Dugan (pictured above) spoke about his own formative experiences growing up as a Black man in America. The @blackattms Instagram account was created as protests raged across the nation.
Uncovering overlooked history: An African Studies Course at Masters
M
any Masters students feel they have only heard the Americanized version of African history: colonization, imperialism, slavery and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The school offers electives such as European History, US History, and American Studies. So, students have asked, where is the African Studies course? Senior Kristie Sears expressed her frustration with the
absence of a structured African history curriculum. âItâs not in Mastersâ goal. Itâs not in their agenda,â she said. Sears said an African Studies would be beneficial because most classes only address slavery and the civil rights era in America when discussing African history. âIt would tell a history thatâs been forgotten,â she said. According to an informal Tower sur-
vey, 74 percent of the 92 people who answered said they would be interested in taking an African Studies course at Masters if it was made available. Though the schoolâs administration see potential challenges, including finding an experienced teacher, and a possible lack of interest in the course, which has happened in the past with Asian and Latin American history courses that were developed but didnât run due to low interest, Associate Head of the Upper School Sara Thorn said that an African Studies course wouldnât detract from the schoolâs current program of studies. âThere is definitely a place in the current curriculum for a course like that,â Thorn said. A few teachers have already begun to integrate African history beyond the lens of the American perspective into their respective courses. Upper School History teacher Brendon Barrios developed a unit on African narratives for his International Relations class five years ago, after one of his students, Kintashe Mainsah â17, mentioned that she had not once learned about Africa or its history in high school. Barrios acknowledged Mainsahâs suggestion. âThere is a real lack of understanding and historical knowledge about Africa,â Barrios said. Now, Barrios asks his International Relations class each year which global viewpoint they feel they
ELLIE YANG/TOWER
havenât seen. This yearâs class is looking at media literacy in relation to African history and modern-day Africa. âI would argue that this unit is probably one of the most eye opening units, with how unfamiliar the [students] actually are with Africa outside of the context of slavery. Most of them have no knowledge of it whatsoever,â Barrios said. Senior Shamira Guillaume, a student in Barriosâ International Relations class, learned a lot during the African narratives unit, including reading a book based on the traditions and lifestyles of the Igbo people, a tribe located in southeastern Nigeria. âI think [the book is] really different from what we usually learn in school about African culture,â Guillaume said. Sears said that it is important for Masters to teach history through a global lens, rather than focusing on just a few perspectives. âWe have had students from Africa come here and what do they see? The Eurocentric, white version of [African] history,â Sears said. Guillaume believes a full African Studies course would provide important insight that students may not get elsewhere during high school. âIt will allow Masters students to have a more well rounded point of view,â she said. Masters alumna Nana Yaa Asante â19 cited initiatives like the @blackattms account as possible jumpstarters for curriculum expansion. During her time at Masters, Asante didnât have any exposure to African history or culture. As an international student from Ghana, she just thought that was the case for all âAmerican schools.â Currently a sopho-
more in college, she sees the importance of offering high school students an opportunity to learn about new cultures. âA lot of people describe America as this melting pot of cultures, so itâs hard not to learn about oneâs [history] without bringing in another,â Asante said. At Masters, Asante and another international student from Africa started a club called âStudents of Africa.â She remembers a student creating an entire project based on the possibility of an African Studies course. As an African and a member of the Masters community, she believes all students would be able to take something positive away from this type of course. â[There are] so many stereotypes about Africa as a continent, so by hearing about the [real history] and cultures, thereâs no way you wonât learn something from this class,â she said.
SPECIAL ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS: Maia Barantsevitch Gisele Cestaro Mitch Fink Sophie Grand Andrew Mitchell Carol Queiroz Kira Ratan Hanna Schiciano Logan Schiciano Ethan Schlapp Kwynne Schlossman Kate Sibery Ella Tang Sophia Van Beek Sabrina Wolfson Ellie Yang