On Friday, June 5 from 5:30pm – 7:00pm, MVRHS in collaboration with MVPCS hosted a Virtual Panel and MVRHS/MVPCS Community Dialogue to provide students, parents, faculty and staff a safe and supportive space to discuss the tragedy which has befallen George Floyd, and far too many men and women of color.
This is just the beginning of what we hope to be an ongoing series around these topics and many others. We understand these conversations are difficult and impact each of us in our own way.
Introductory Remarks by Amy Lilavois
(These aren’t included in the recording)
My name is Amy Lilavois and I am one of the school adjustment counselors at the Regional HS. I want to welcome our panel members and our audience to what I hope will be one of many dialogues we have as a community around the topics of race, social justice and stepping in.
Like many of us here when I heard of the murder of George Floyd my mind starting spinning about what I, one person living on an island, could do to make a difference. I quickly realized I should just do what I think I do best, talk to people, start conversations as difficult as they might be and most importantly listen.
I reached out to Dhakir as my friend to check in with him about the chaos of the world and because I knew he would support this idea I had percolating. Within minutes we had this night outlined in our minds.
I feel so strongly that this is an opportunity for me, for you, for all of us to create a new normal when it comes to talking about race and the social injustices people of color have endured for centuries.
I’m sure that prospect is uncomfortable for many of you but I have vowed to step into that feeling, to dig deep and to allow myself to be vulnerable and I ask all of you to do the same.
As moderators Dhakir and I will manage the questions in the chat and ask the panelists in the order they are received. We do reserve the right to not ask questions we feel would create an unsafe space.
Tonight is just the start. This can not be a one and done. We all need to be a part of the solution and commit to showing up for as long as it takes.
We have a wonderful panel of presenters tonight so I’m going to get this started by having them introduce themselves.
Panelists:
- Eric Blake, Chief, Oak Bluffs Police Department and President, MV NAACP
- Mathea Morais, MVPCS Teacher, Author and Parent
- John Forte, Grammy Award Winning Producer, Musician and Social Justice Activist
- Amanda Finizio, 8th grade Social Studies Teacher, Christa Mcauliffe Charter School, Framingham MA, Anti-Racism Advocate and White Ally
- Tripp Hopkins, Student MVRHS Class of 2020
- Graysen Kirk, MVRHS Class of 2023, Student Social Justice Advocate
Moderators:
- Amy Lilavois, MVRHS Adjustment Coordinator
- Dhakir Warren, MVRHS Director of Student Affairs