LYNN — Racial disparities in the Lynn Public Schools, lack of representation in the arts community and ideas on how to inspire Black and other children of color were among the topics addressed at the North Shore Juneteenth Association’s virtual celebration of local Black excellence on Thursday night.
Lynn native Nicole Mcclain, founder of the North Shore Juneteenth Association, hosted the event alongside her moderators, Raven Coleman, a graduate of Lynn Vocational Technical Institute and a member of Diverse People United, and Bolaji Odusanya, a Lynn Classical graduate currently attending Bentley University.
The panel included Lynn Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, Director of Lynn Museum/LynnArts Doneeca Thurston, Marshunda Smith, a cellist, music teacher and mentor, and Tony Seaforth, founder of the Seaforth Movement.
The forum addressed questions regarding representation of people of color, mentorship and experiences. Panelists discussed their personal views on representation and when they realized they wanted to use their experiences and skills to mentor others.
Tutwiler began the forum by acknowledging the racial disparities in the Lynn Public Schools, stating that the teaching force in Lynn is about 90 percent white, but 90 percent of the student population is made up of students of color. He said that if a student of color has one Black teacher before the third grade, the likelihood of them graduating high school and going to college is higher.
“This speaks to the power of what representation in that realm can really do for students of color,” said Tutwiler, noting that he would like to see the pendulum shift back to a place where there are more teachers of color. “I want to see a stronger effort to entice and inspire our current students of color to become teachers.”
Thurston also acknowledged the lack of representation of people of color in the art community. She said that she is the first director of color at the Lynn Museum/LynnArts organization.
When she attended college at Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pa., she said she experienced a culture shock, since she was now living in a predominantly white community and had encountered people who had never had a conversation with a person of color before. She said that it is important to encourage young people of color and let them know what the realities of life are going to be like.
Smith encounters this every day in her line of work. She is a cellist, a music teacher and conductor and says that people often assume that she is a gospel singer.
“It is what it is,” she said. “I will always be the minority in my world and I get it and it’s OK.”
Seaforth commented that a little Black or brown girl may see Smith post a photo of herself playing the cello and see it as inspiration. He stated that it is important for people of color to be in a position like this to mentor kids of color and put resources from the community into people that are trying to do this.
“Sure we can look up to LeBron James and Denzel Washington, but it’s also important for the local celebrities, who went through the process and made it despite all of the obstacles, and (kids) can see in real time that it’s possible to make it out of whatever situation they’re in,” said Seaforth.
Seaforth, Smith and Thurston encouraged younger people of color to embrace themselves and their community because it plays an important part in their upbringing. They advised their mentees to own their image and to never sell themselves short.
“This is something that I have to constantly remind myself of, especially in this field where I am oftentimes the only person of color in the room,” said Thurston. “Museums are still very much a white field and sometimes that feels invalidating, like I’m not meant to be here.”
She reminds herself, and encourages others, that even though she may sometimes feel invisible, she is where she is for a reason and that is because she has the necessary experience and has a vision and purpose that she is in her role to execute.
Seaforth said the piece of advice that sticks with him is “don’t forget where you came from.”
He said attending Bentley University, another campus that is predominantly white, made him realize that he could maneuver in more crowds than most of his classmates could.
“I understood the Hispanic kids, the white kids and the Black kids,” he said. “A lot of times when people look at Lynn they think of only the bad, but there’s a lot of good that comes out of the city.”
The panel guests encouraged younger kids of color to showcase who they are and see the different experiences the world has to offer. They believe that arts and culture can open up opportunities to empower young people of color and support personal exploration in this category.
Mcclain said the forum was a great example of “representation in action.” It highlighted the successes of four Black leaders in New England, showing that it may not always be easy but it is important to be true to yourself, embrace who you are and know your worth.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].