On Wednesday, January 18, United South End Settlements (USES) hosted the Harriet Tubman Forum on Race and Education with a full-house of over 125 people. The event was moderated by Maicharia Weir Lytle, USES President and CEO, with panelists Marie St. Fleur, Education Leader and Former State Representative, Rahn Dorsey, Chief Education Officer and Education Advisor to Mayor Martin J. Walsh, and Robert Lewis Jr., Founder and CEO of The BASE.

The panelists began the discussion by sharing their personal education experiences and those of their children, noting that added layers of immigrant status, economics, time, and place mean that Black Americans experience the education system in vastly different ways.

The conversation then turned to the issue of urgency, recognizing that in the months that have followed the election, many Americans have experienced a heightened awareness of social justice issues and have felt a strong call to action. Lewis Jr. urged us to remember that the issues we are seeing in a new light have existed for a long time, and that "for people who are struggling every day, they did not feel that shock on the day after the election."

Additionally, the panelists urged the audience to educate themselves on both the systemic issues and the personal lenses that perpetuate inequality and inequity. "Equality and equity are not the same thing," stated Dorsey. "To level the playing field and get to equity, you have to re-negotiate privilege." St. Fleur added that "the world is not constructed for you to interact with people who are not like you. We have to create new social structures so that when we have these conversations about equity, we can see ourselves in each other."

The panel concluded with a discussion of how we, as a community, need to create space for the conversation about the ways that race impacts the opportunity gap for our youth. Audience member and Admissions Director at Cristo Rey Boston High School, Victor Martinez, spoke about the importance of engaging young people directly: "We need to provide our youth with guidance and support so that they take action and make the communities they live in their own." All the panelists noted the importance of, yet lack of, youth opportunities for engaging in these conversations and moving themselves forward.

Weir Lytle reflected on the evening, "in the South End, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city, there is a real opportunity to build bridges with neighbors and forge connections that disrupt the systems that prevent equity and equality. We have an obligation to lead on this front as a community, to set an example. This conversation cannot end here tonight."

To build relationships and advance a community-wide dialogue, USES President and CEO, Maicharia Weir Lytle, is hosting and moderating a series of four Harriet Tubman Forums on Race. These events are made possible by a sponsorship from The Boston Foundation.

A recording of the Harriet Tubman Forum on Race and Education will be made available online through The Forum Network, a public media service of WGBH.

To learn more about the Harriet Tubman Forums on Race, contact Nikki Stewart, Vice President of Development, at nstewart@uses.org or 617-375-8132.