Dear Mercy Parent,
Last Thursday evening the Mercy administration along with Board of Trustee members attended an online Alumnae Forum led by Laura Merritt Everett '98, Mercy's Director of Alumnae Relations, and Sommer Woods '95, 2016 Mercy Distinguished Alumna of the Year. Over 530 individuals attended, and alumnae representing all decades courageously and openly described interactions with administrators, faculty and fellow students that underscored explicit examples of anti-Black racism and a culture exhibiting micro-aggressions.
It is important that our Black community know that the staff of Mercy High School acknowledges and assumes responsibility for the ways our actions, words and policies failed our students and parents, who trusted us to provide a learning environment free from racism. We also call on students to acknowledge and assume responsibility for their actions and words, whether in-person or on Social Media, that brought a culture of racism to our environment. These overt racist actions and micro-aggressions will no longer be tolerated within our Mercy community.
We want you to be aware of measures being taken to create a just and equitable environment for all students. The Council On Racial Equity (CORE), made up of alumnae and parents, is immediately being formed under the leadership of Sommer Woods. This group is tasked to review all aspects of Mercy student life and administrative policy through the lens of racial equity and awareness. Recommendations will be made to the administration, and we will work in partnership to enact approved changes. Information about the CORE application process will be communicated this Friday, June 19.
Concurrently, the Board of Trustees is forming a task force to address lasting systemic change that will assure Mercy is a school living its values and the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy on a daily basis. Additionally, we will be hiring a full time diversity, racial equity and inclusion staff person to help with further professional and curricular growth and student support.
There is an urgency to this call for action. We are committed to ensuring our incoming Mercy girls and all current students experience an education that reflects Mercy values in an environment free of racism and social injustices. Every Mercy girl should feel welcome and that Mercy is her home.
"
The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them
." - Ida B. Wells
In Mercy,
