A Statement from NDI

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our dear friend and NDI president, David Summergrad.

David was a tireless advocate for inclusivity, equity, love and kindness amongst all peoples. He cast a wide net with his heart and mind - inspiring, encouraging and educating in Needham and in multiple communities beyond. He will be missed by the Needham Diversity Initiative and all the other communities he contributed so much to. 

In this week of turmoil, we pause for a moment to pay tribute to those that did so much before us. But to honor their memories, we cannot help but make this absolute pledge. 

David Summergrad, today we mourn, but tomorrow we continue the fight. 

Rest in peace, dear brother.

Updated 9/27/20
Parents, there is work to be done.  In a time of violence and civil unrest and seeing the fissures if racial inequality to clearly, let is all take action and make a difference. Here is how:
1. Teach our children to be upstanders, not bystanders (and then model this ourselves)
​2. Call out racism (conscious and unconscious) when we see and hear it, and do this in a public way that our children can see
3. Teach, teach, teach them - and read together, a book like: Between the World and Me - by Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. Remind children (and ourselves) that we can make a difference in our respective spheres of influence. If we can affect only one life we have contributed toward the change we hope to see
  • Children should be encouraged by parents to open discussions about race, bias and difference at home and with friends
  • Children can inspire conversation by asking their teachers questions to help them and their peers better process issues about race, difference and bias
  • Allow kids to practice advocacy/speaking up in a safe space at home with examples of different scenarios - we used episodes of ABC's What Would You Do? with John Quinones as the stimulus for family conversations about standing up for others
  • For teens, there's Young Revolutionary: A Teen's Guide to Activism - a book for teens by a teen, for tangible actions kids can take when they want to speak up and take action, including developing social change campaigns 

Needham’s Lived Experiences Project

Have you heard about the Lived Experiences Project (LEP), Needham's grassroots "stories for change" initiative? If you have experienced racism or identity-based violence, please participate. All stories are anonymous and can be shared confidentially. Participants can share a story on behalf of themselves or someone else. LEP's first report, drawing on aggregate story data, comes out in September.
            If yes, please tell us your story.

NDI Stands With Marvin Henry

Read about the incident:

Resources:

For more, visit our resources page
Articles: Podcasts/Recordings: More resources:
Anti-racism Actions for White Allies
Activism & Allyship Resource Guide (from Airbnb)
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
This Book is Antiracist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell
How to Deconstruct Racism One Headline at a Time - TED Talk by Baratunde Thurston/April 2019
How We Can Make Racism a Solvable Problem - and Improve Police Brutality - TED Talk by Phillip Atiba Goff/April 2019
We Need to Talk about an Injustice - TED Talk by Bryan Stevenson
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (United Nations) - March 21, 2020 - background and related links
International Decade for People of African Descent - reports and resources
European Network Against Racism - background and action items
Bearing Witness: The Death of George Floyd by Facing History & Ourselves - research, actionable tasks
Antidefamation League's What is Racism? definitions, additional resource links
Racism is a health issue: How it affects kids, what parents can do
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​​WITH SUPPORT FROM:
100 Women Who Care of Needham
 Needham Human Rights Committee
Needham Cultural Council
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Needham Baha'i Community
Needham Congregational Church
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church
Needham Community Education
and the Needham Public Schools
 (c)2018 Needham Diversity Initiative