Updates on Our Commitments to Black Lives Matter

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In June of 2020, we were all facing not just a global pandemic but also something that had become all too common—the murders of Black men and women. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and Nina Pop were killed senselessly. This was a reckoning for the country and companies across many industries came out with statements of solidarity. We were not unusual in this, and our full statement is available below. 

We want to make sure that we’re staying accountable, that these commitments are not marketing ploys or single moments in time without us following through in our actions. To that end, here is an update on our June commitments, so that we can be as transparent and inclusive in this process as possible. 

We have developed a two-pronged approach, so that we can transform both our company culture, in addition to our company impact. Our goal is to accomplish what we can immediately, while also building out a foundation that will allow this work to continue beyond this moment. 

Long-Term Diversity and Inclusion Actions:

  • We are creating a formal Diversity and Inclusion task force, responsible for assessing our current state of affairs, making recommendations to improve inclusivity internally and externally, in addition to executing against that work
  • We are in development of an unconscious bias training that will be mandatory for our instructors 
  • We are developing clear guidelines for our curriculum and media that address accessibility and take specific steps to ensure inclusivity

Immediate Action Items: 

  • Our parent organization has made a donation to the National Urban League
  • We have partnered with organizations like MLT and SEO in order to meet our commitment to 20 additional scholarships this year for color and underprivileged students (meet some of our scholars here)
  • We have expanded our existing scholarship; once, the scholarship focused on reducing the financial burden but our success metric has changed towards impact quality instead of scholarship award quantity. 
  • We created four events with the goal of representing more BIPOC student stories:

At Manhattan Prep, we believe in the transformational power of education. It has been our mission to create the highest quality teaching services and serve as many students as possible. But existing disparities based on race, class, and gender foster a marketplace and educational reality riddled with systemic injustices. These exist as a blocker to transformation and progress, and we believe that Manhattan Prep has a role in its eradication, especially as it is well-established that standardized tests, in particular, help to perpetuate inequality in multiple ways.

We know that the steps we have taken are not nearly enough but this is not the end of our commitment to continuing to do better. Thank you to the community and our partners who have kept us accountable, helped us make the right decisions in this work, and are also working to better our world. 

We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. – Elie Weisel

Our Original Email

June 5, 2020

The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and Nina Pop are only the most recent in a centuries-long history poisoned by anti-blackness.

We are heartsick; we feel the pain of the Black community and we ardently support Black Lives Matter in the work to radically change the world we share. As a company that works in education, we understand that the existing disparities based on race, class, and gender are some of the most devious parts of systemic injustice because they are blockers of generational change.

We acknowledge the depth of the work we have to do within the education system and in our society to eradicate racism and colorism. The events that have occurred over the last few weeks are another painful reminder to us all that violence and injustice is real. Though it will be long and difficult, we want to be part of the change and will refuse to be complacent. We are committed to positive change, and here are some of the steps we are taking:

  • We are making a donation to the National Urban League, and our employees are making individual contributions to some of the funds listed below
  • Our staff and teachers will undergo training on unconscious bias, privilege, and accessibility to improve our curriculum, media creation, student policies, and classroom experience
  • We’re expanding our 2020 Scholarship program and committing to donating 20 scholarships to nonprofits working to uplift communities of color and underprivileged students

We also commit to continuing our education so that we can be better allies. These are resources our team has found helpful, in both educating ourselves and in finding actionable ways to be involved:

RESOURCES TO STAY INFORMED:

RESOURCES FOR SELF CARE:

WAYS TO TAKE ACTION: 

Thank you for being part of our community. Please stay safe and take care of yourselves during this time.

Best,

Manhattan Prep