On Friday, December 7th, Upper School students filed into the Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium for a regularly scheduled Student Government plenary session to find Justin Brandon, Head of the Upper School, poised to speak. Although his presence was unusual, it was expected.

The previous evening, a thread of text messages containing racist content had circulated among Upper School students. Written three years ago, in a group chat of students from multiple Chicago high schools, screenshots of the messages showed a current Parker student spewing hateful speech.

The aforementioned Parker student joked about membership to the Klu Klux Klan, a desire to enslave black students, and referenced racial profanities.

Brandon’s address to the student body condemned this kind of language. “That kind of speech is not tolerated, it’s wrong, it shouldn’t happen,” Brandon said. “What was said in that thread should never be said… Let’s think about how we can support each other and process this.”

Friday evening, Brandon sent an Upper-School wide email containing both a statement of apology from the involved student, and a plan for “next steps.” Since his address, Brandon and other Upper School teachers and administrators have provided several students to discuss and process what has happened.

First, a lunch was hosted for students of color in order to discuss and process the messages, but also to call attention to some of the broader, less blatant issues involving race within the community. In this meeting, students shared experiences from their years at Parker in a safe, contained space.

Another lunch, hosted three days later, was open to the entire Upper School. A discussion moderated by Dr. Frank and Mr. Brandon, the idea of the lunch was to serve a similar purpose––create a space to talk about all issues of intolerance within the school building, and the specific instance of the text messages.

Emails from Dr. Frank and Mr. Brandon have flowed into the inboxes of students in recent days. A lunch for white students moderated by Ms. Zeller and Mr. Novick has been announced. In addition, the administration has set aside an MX, a graderoom, and several advisories to discuss the topic.

Walking through the third and fourth floors, whispers about these meetings and the incident itself have ceased. Although more than a hundred students attended the all-school lunch the Thursday following the incident, the topic seems to have already died for much of the Upper School.

We urge each and every Upper School student not to let this be the case. There are a multitude of racial issues at Parker that students in the majority have the privilege to either neglect or remain unaware of. However, the ability to ignore these issues does not justify doing so––on the other hand, it indicates even more of a need for understanding and action.

For much of the Upper School, these text messages were personal, and harmful. It is not possible to simply ‘move past’ something so derogatory, threatening, and full of hatred.

At Parker, we believe that when one member of the community is affected, the entire community suffers. It is the responsibility of each and every student within these walls to address, condemn, and acknowledge the issue on all scales.

An incident such as this one, however horrifying and despicable, needs to transform into a call to action for the Upper School. It cannot be the burden of people of color at Parker to call out everyday acts of racism and microaggressions of any nature.

In addition, members of the community need to respect all safe spaces within the school that allow members of any minority groups to come together in any capacity. If you do not identify as a person of color, don’t attend meetings designated for those who are.

Dr. Frank opened last Thursday’s all-school lunch by referencing the motto of this school. Parker is an institution that believes heavily in there being no place to look the other way. “When we see hatred, aggression, or other disgusting expressions,” he said, “this is not acceptable. This is not part of our motto. Looking away is hindering. If you stand up, witness something, and take action, that is helping.”

Each and every member of the Upper School needs to take the words of Dr. Frank and of Colonel Parker to heart, and hold themselves and one another accountable. The next time your friend casually brushes aside saying the n-word because ‘it’s in a song,’ say something.

If you think you are not a part of the problem, or issues such as this one ‘don’t involve you,’ you are wrong. This threat of texts stems from a systemic issue within the school, within the country, and within the world. Regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or any other factor, this is an issue that affects you and your community, and it needs to be treated as such.