Cultural Diversity & Equity
March 2021 Newsletter
In This Issue
- Diversity Department Updates
- Shout-Out to our Students
- Women's History Month
- Irish American Heritage Month
- Upcoming Events
- Commemorative Observances
- Happy Holidays!
Cultural Proficiency Team
At our district-wide Cultural Proficiency training on March, 24th staff will receive and review this information for our LGBTQ Admin Guidelines as well.
If you want to learn more, click here.
New Training Opportunity
The series is called Anti-Racism Professional Educator Webinar Series, and consists of 9 separate workshops that teachers make register for and receive licensure renewal credit!
If this is something that interests you, click here to take a look at their offerings!
*Registration is free to teachers seeking licensure renewal credit
Iowa City Community Climate Action Grant
This is a competitive grant, with a pool of $60,000, and funding opportunities for Iowa City-based businesses, non-profit and community organizations and groups available up to $10,000. *New this year*, Iowa City youth, kindergarten through 12th grade, are eligible for grants up to $500. The application period is until April 1, 2021 and funds will be available July 1, 2021.
The City is seeking creative ideas and solutions of all sizes, to reduce energy use, encourage walking, biking, and transit, and enhance our quality of life in Iowa City. See more about the grant in the attached flyer or visit/apply at www.icgov.org/climateactiongrants
Shout-out To Our Students!
ICCSD students are pretty awesome! So, we'd like to shine a spotlight on a student this month who is doing BIG and AMAZING things in our community.
Khairah Wright:
10th Grader Khairah Wright is keeping busy at Elizabeth Tate High School this year! She has been identified as a consistent leader and student advocate for her peers. Recently she has published her work in the Tate Student/Parent Newsletter and is currently working on A Day in the Life Project that will appear in future newsletters. Khairah is also the Tate representative on the School Improvement Committee! We love your passion and commitment to your school, keep up the good work Khairah!
To check out Khairah's work, and take a peek at the Tate High School Newsletter, click here!
The PusHer Initiative
This month we'd like to bring attention to an initiative lead by Assistant Principal Kimberly Fitten!
"Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
~PusHer Philippians 2:4
The PusHer Initiative serves to support, encourage, build up, and equip women to walk in their greatness. What would our world look like if everyone knew how necessary they are and felt empowered to leave their indelible mark on the earth? I do not believe anyone can deny that we live life differently when we know where we are needed and operate in our giftings and expertise. PusHer exists to cheer on those women striving to make the world better. We believe in supporting those who provide tools to help others live a balanced life. It's not enough for one of us to win, I want to see a community of winners. A life lived uplifting others is a reflection of the heart of God.
I PusHER to awareness
I PusHER to manifest
I PusHER to believe
I PusHER to succeed
I PusHER to unlimited Greatness
Are you a PusHER?
Latinx Woman Makes History in ICCSD
Maria Martin, mother of two ICCSD secondary students, Mexican (American) immigrant, 4th daughter of 7 children raised in inner-city Chicago; naturalized U.S. citizen, 1st generation college graduate, and Interim-Principal at Grant Wood Elementary.
Maria's resilience and perseverance through life have placed her in the unique position of being the 1st Latinx Female Principal in the history of the ICCSD. Maria's commitment to education and improving the schooling experience for ALL has guided her throughout her professional career.
Maria has consistently carried out her roles in education with a "how can I serve" mindset and although she has many accomplishments, she is only driven by helping others and improving the quality of education for all. It was during the unrest of 2020 that Maria experienced an internal struggle to determine how she could not just serve but better serve our community.
It was in the summer of 2020 that Maria was deemed the Interim-Principal for Grant Wood Elementary. She has not only been a champion but a warrior that works to better serve all of our community, especially those who find it challenging to feel included and/or heard.
Women's History Month has been observed in March since 1987 and is dedicated to reflecting on contributions of women to United States history, but it wasn't always a month-long observance. Before 1987, states developed their own ways of celebrating women's history which caught on nationally, and in 1980 President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8th as National Women's History Week. Six years later, the National Women's History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand to the entire month!
Racism in the Suffrage Movement
Although women have been fighting for their rights for hundreds of years, U.S history often attributes the beginning of the Women's Rights movement or Women's Liberation movement with fighting for the right to vote.
Suffrage is the right or privilege to vote and in the United States. But this right was not always afforded to everyone.
Until the 15th amendment was ratified in 1870, only white male citizens could vote in political elections. The 15th amendment prohibited states from denying a male citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". This amendment did not include a person's sex, so women were still intelligible to vote.
It wasn't until 1920 that the 19th amendment was passed, stating that the right to vote, "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." So did this amendment mean that women were immediately able to vote in elections?
Well, yes and no.
Before we can fully understand how things like racism and white supremacy factor into the Women's Suffrage movement, we first need to learn about Intersectionality.
- Intersectionality - the theory that the overlap of various social identities, as race, gender, sexuality, and class, contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual.
Using the above definition to guide us, we can begin to see how there is diversity within diversity, and even though suffragettes fought for the rights of women, they did not always fight for all women.
Even though the 15th amendment had been passed 50 years prior, there was a blatant disregard for these regulations, and things like poll taxes, gerrymandering, and Jim Crow laws disenfranchised the majority of African American citizens. So by the time the 19th amendment was passed, African American, Asian American, Latinx, and Native American women were still not being afforded the right to vote as promised. Even though these women of color fought for their rights alongside white women, structural racism and white supremacy stopped the movement from ever being truly equal.
For people of color, their fight did not stop at the 19th amendment but continued on in the Civil Rights movement, and more recently the Black Lives Matter movement. This is why it is important to learn our complicated history, so we can understand the structural inequity that still exists, and make positive change.
To learn more about racism in the Women's Suffrage Movement:
and
Correction: In a previous version of this newsletter it was implied that only African American women were affected by racism in the suffrage movement. This has been corrected to include Asian American, Latinx, and Native American women, as this more accurately represents history.
Dr. Christine Grant
Iowa City's own Dr. Christine Grant has played an important role in women's history. In 1973 Dr. Grant became the first women's athletic director at the University of Iowa, and she held this post until her retirement in 2000. After her retirement, Iowa merged its men's and women's athletic departments.
Dr. Grant built her career around fighting for gender equity in athletics. She was honored by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators, the Women’s Basketball Association, the Women’s Sports Foundation, and the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport. She is a national leader and expert in gender equity in athletics. She testified before Congress and was a consultant for the Civil Rights Title IX Task Force. She also held international leadership positions in sports.
To learn more about Dr. Chistine Grant:
Click Here and Click Here!
Celebrating All Women: Marsha P. Johnson
Let's take a look at the life of Marsha P. Johnson, an amazing and complicated activist who challenged what it meant to be a woman.
Marsha P. Johnson was a Black trans woman, activist, self-identified drag queen, survivor, and so much more. She was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement in New York City and played a pivotal role in the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. Johnson protested oppressive policing and helped to create safe spaces for transgender and homeless youth. She advocated for sex workers, prisoners, and people with HIV/AIDS when these groups had virtually no support in this country.
Marsha dedicated her life to lifting up others and giving them a voice, but her work still lives on.
To learn more about the extraordinary life of Marsha P. Johnson, click here.
Can you guess if these statements are True or False?
1. The 19th Amendment immediately gave all women the right to vote in the United States
2. In 1916 Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the US House of Representatives.
3. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is famous for being the first woman to serve as a justice of the United States Supreme Court.
4. American Women’s rights began with the right to vote, granted in 1920
5. Some 19th-century doctors thought that education was hazardous to women’s health.
6. In the early 1900’s Madam C. J. Walker made her fortune by developing a successful line of cosmetics for African American women.
Want to celebrate Women's History Month in your classroom? Here are some resources to get your started!
Above photo text: Irish American Heritage Month
Irish American's Rights, like we've learned above about Women's Rights has been complicated in the United States. When Irish immigrants were first traveling to this country, they faced harsh discrimination, poverty, and laws that keep them from bettering themselves and their families. Many stores and businesses did not allow Irish Citizens to enter, and they were considered lesser than their other white counterparts simply because of the country that they were born in.
Watch the video below to learn more about American's evolving relationship with Irish-Americans.
Still need more? Click here to learn about the Irish Refugee Crisis.
Check out some fun (and free!) resources to celebrate Irish-American Heritage Month
Upcoming Events
Smithsonian Social Studies Online: Women's History Month
Sponsor: American History Museum
Venue: American History Museum
Event Location: Online
Cost: Free
Details:
Join the National Museum of American History for an online exploration into key social studies topics, featuring museum resources from the Smithsonian. This episode will focus on Women's History Month.
Check out more Social Studies Online resources and episodes at learninglab.si.edu….
Thursday, Mar 4, 2021, 11:00 AM
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NWHM Presents! And She Could Be Next Film Screening, Episode 1
Episode One: Meet the candidates and organizers who are fighting for a more just and inclusive America in And She Could Be Next.
About this Event
Join the National Women's History Museum for a special two-part screening of And She Could Be Next, POV’s first broadcast miniseries, in honor of International Women's Day, March 8th.
And She Could Be Next tells the story of a defiant group of women of color—candidates and organizers—who are transforming politics from the ground up. Filmed throughout 2018 and into 2019, by a team of women filmmakers of color, the two-part miniseries features a dynamic slate of history-makers including: Stacey Abrams (GA), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Lucy McBath (GA), Veronica Escobar (TX), Maria Elena Durazo (CA), and Bushra Amiwala (IL).
And She Could Be Next asks whether democracy itself can be preserved—and made stronger—by those most marginalized.
Join the filmmakers afterwards for a live Q&A session with the audience.
NWHM will host a screening for the first episode on March 8th. Please join us for the second episode screening on March 15th (separate registration required).
Monday, Mar 8, 2021, 05:00 PM
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Native Lands: Belonging and Reclaiming — An Obermann Conversation
Shelley Buffalo and Carrie Schuettpelz share their experiences as indigenous women who have thought hard about issues of belonging. Together, they'll consider what it means to belong to a Native American tribe, in terms of relationship to the land, the notorious blood quantum system for "measuring" someone's right to membership, and Indian cards. As people who have traveled far from home, living across the U.S. and abroad, they'll wonder together about how far and how long one can wander from home and still return. We'll talk about the purpose of land acknowledgements and what it means for three of the four tribes that still have land trusts in Iowa to have them in the form of a casino. And we'll dive into definitions of "land sovereignty" and the obstacles indigenous farmers face in reclaiming land.
Shelley Buffalo is Coordinator of the Meskwaki Food Sovereignty Initiative. She was born near the Settlement and much of her extended family still lives in Tama County, but her own journey has led her away and back more than a dozen times. She is a trained visual artist who has a longtime identification with punk rock, as well as a deep dedication to restoring ancestral foods, including Meskwaki's Tama Flint Corn.
Carrie Schuettpelz is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and is at work on a book tentatively titled The Indian Card. Carrie is currently a Fellow of Practice in the UI's Public Policy Center and a Faculty Lecturer in the Rhetoric Department. She directs the Iowa First Nations Summer Program, an academic camp held at the UI, and is the Vice President of the UI's Native American Council. From 2009–2016, she was a homelessness policy advisor in the Obama Administration. She is a trained storyteller and teaches digital storytelling at a variety of levels.
This virtual event is free and open to all, but registration is required.
REGISTER at https://bit.ly/3u3qGTK.
Co-sponsored by the Iowa City Public Library.
Wednesday, Mar 10, 2021, 07:00 PM
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ICPL: Zoom Storytime: Celebrate Women's History!
Iowa City Public Library
Registration opens March 1, 2021 at 9:00 am.
We miss seeing your faces, so we will offer a monthly Zoom storytime with several Children's Librarians!
Join us this morning for a live Storytime in which we'll celebrate Women's History Month with some fun books, songs and rhymes. Please register for this event to receive the Zoom login info and a reminder before the Storytime.We'll see you there!
In addition to the Zoom Storytime, register to receive a "craftivity" to go along with this month's theme! To-go Storytime Craftivities can be picked up during our Lobby Grab and Go hours, Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm or Sunday 12-5pm. We just ask you to pick up the week of the event. We also offer Book Bundles (3-5 surprise books designed for specific age groups and reading preferences) for patrons to pick up from Lobby so you have some fun books to read on your own!
This event is open to the public.
Wednesday, Mar 24, 2021, 10:30 AM
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Commemorative Observances
This year we will acknowledge the various diverse cultures that are celebrated throughout the year. We understand that our calendar may not be all inclusive, so if you know about any cultural holidays of months of observance that we should know about, feel free to reach out and let us know.
African American History Month (February)
National African American History Month in February celebrates the contributions that African Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality and deepens our understanding of our Nation's history.
Women's History Month (March)
Women’s History Month honors and celebrates the struggles and achievements of American women throughout the history of the United States.
Irish-American Heritage Month (March)
Irish-American Heritage Month is a month to celebrate the contributions which Irish-Americans have made to the United States.
Jewish American Heritage Month (May)
Jewish American Heritage Month is a month to celebrate the contributions Jewish Americans have made to America since they first arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654.
Asian Pacific Heritage Month (May)
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is a month to celebrate the contributions Asian/Pacific Americans have made to American history, society and culture.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month (June)
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month commemorates the events of June 1969 and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for LGBTQ Americans.
National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)
National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates and recognizes the contributions Hispanic Americans have made to American society and culture and to honor five of our Central American neighbors who celebrate their Independence days in September.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (October)
National Disability Employment Awareness Month celebrates the accomplishments in the workplace of persons with disabilities and reaffirms the commitment to ensuring equal employment opportunities to all citizens.
American Indian Heritage Month (November)
National American Indian Heritage Month celebrates and recognizes the accomplishments of the peoples who were the original inhabitants, explorers and settlers of the United States.
By Month
https://www.loc.gov/law/help/commemorative-observations/index.php
Happy Holidays!
- Maha Shivaratri - Thursday, March 11th
- Lailat al Miraj - Thursday, March 11th
- St. Patrick's Day - Wednesday, March 17th
- St. Joseph's Day - Friday, March 19th
- Palm Sunday - Sunday, March 28th
- Holika Dahan - Sunday, March 28th
- Lailat al Bara'ah - Sunday, March 28th
- Passover (First Day) - Sunday, March 28th
- Hola Mohalla - Monday, March 29th
- Holi - Monday March 29th
- Athabascan Stickdance - One week every March
Who is in the Equity Department?
Laura Gray
Director of Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness
Charita Martin
Equity and Engagement Specialist
Andrea Jayne
Equity Program Facilitator
About Us
Non-Discrimination Policy
It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Jeremy Tabor, Director of Equity & Employee Relations
Email: tabor.jeremy@iowacityschools.org
Website: https://www.iowacityschools.org/domain/64
Location: 1725 N. Dodge St., Iowa City, IA 52245
Phone: (319) 688-1000