Dear members of the ICO community,
We have all witnessed painful things during this past week. My heartfelt sympathies go to the family of George Floyd, and also the countless other victims of brutality, racism and bigotry. I have tried several times to put my thoughts and reflections on these events into words; each time I have felt that my words were inadequate to share.
Our mission at ICO is to provide education so that minds can grow and learn and become healers of human ailments. In this process, we rely heavily upon experiential learning opportunities and serving our community. The community that we serve is primarily made up of people of color, good people that have endured experiences - that frankly most of us cannot comprehend. While we cannot change the past, we can commit to listening and to trying to understand those experiences, so that we might use our voices and our knowledge to help our society, and each other, to do better.
The experiences over the last week have been difficult for many of us to process, none more than our African American staff and community. As you may know, we started a DEI initiative earlier this Spring. This work has never been more important. Our friends from Morten Group will be assisting us by facilitating opportunities for you to talk about your concerns and hopes for the future. We are currently working to identify dates to come together in June for discussion and support.
Many of you have heard me use the phrase, “we can do better” when talking about various aspects of ICO. Simple words, but I think they also apply in this important area. Let’s all commit to better listening, better understanding and then taking actions with regard to the fact that Black Lives Matter. I believe that when we work together on these important issues; “we can do better” as a school, as a community and as a society.
Warmly,
Mark
