Dear Peter Hobart Families,
Last evening I, along with my white sons and husband, went to the SLP George Floyd protest. I was overwhelmed by the number of Peter Hobart staff, students and families lining the sidewalks of Minnetonka Boulevard and Hwy 100 bridge. With masks on, they raised their arms, held signs, and chanted in solidarity to honor Mr. George Floyd and demand action for his murder. As car horns sounded, I was reminded of the beauty of our community in St. Louis Park. This is just one of the many reasons why I loved growing up in SLP and continue to make it my home. I feel safe, seen and loved. That being said, work desperately needs to be done to change the lived experiences of our students, families, and staff of color.
To our families and staff of color, we will fight to change this system that makes society unsafe for you to live in your full humanity. May your bodies and souls be healed from centuries of inequities. We see, hear, and love you. We are with you.
To our white families, we reach out to you as allies and implore you to work with us to change a system that is unjust. We need your privilege, influence, and voice to create a better and more peaceful world. We see, hear, and love you. We are with you.
Please remember, both the white male police officer perpetrator Derek Chauvin and the black male victim George Floyd were once children in homes, classrooms, and communities like ours. Collectively, through our actions, we can disrupt the pattern of racism to ensure that the beauty and brilliance of all of our students are recognized.
To support you, members of the Peter Hobart staff have created a collaborative read aloud and are providing additional resources connected to the book to help your family process the loss of a member of our St. Louis Park community. White staff members have done this work to model ways that white families can use their voices to stop the cycle of silence that has become a norm in our society.
It is our hope that this activity (and others) will spark further discussions within your family, neighborhood, and larger community about the role race plays in
all
of our lives. Our families of color are telling the story of George Floyd to their children, white families need to as well. In the end, silence will only lead to more racism.
Thank you for leaning into this work to build an anti-racist future for ALL our children.
In solidarity,
Kari Schwietering
Principal