Open Discussions: A RARE Treasure

RARE’s Open Discussions are quarterly Zoom sessions that have been part of RARE from day one.

In fact, RARE began in the summer of 2020 as an open discussion on a Zoom call of Roosevelt High School alums, most of whom hailed from the class of 1971. That discussion begot the James Davis, Jr. Scholarship and the nonprofit organization, Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity.

Aside from its website, Open Discussions are the faces and voices of RARE, where Board, Committee Members, and guests meet, share their stories, ask questions, and share ideas as how to make education more equitable for those who have historically been marginalized, if not failed, by our schools. Over the course of the last five years RARE’s Open Discussions Committee has brought in guest speakers whose works have been impactful in advancing racial equity.

The list is impressive.

One of Open Discussions’ first guests was Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent of the Seattle School District. Dr. Jones spoke and took question for close to 90 minutes in June of 2021. He spoke of improving outcomes for all students, but especially Black males. Dr. Jones pledged to seek out the barriers that hold many of those students back.

Delving further into the inequities in education, particularly discipline in education, Open Discussions hosted Tori Hazelton, an educator and at that time a doctoral candidate at Lewis & Clark College. She spoke on “Exclusionary Discipline” (the removal of students from the classroom) and its disproportionate use and the stifling effects it has had on  predominantly Black students. She presented statistics and stories that lay bare what has become known as the school to prison pipeline.

Tori also presented possible solutions: first by suggesting that educators bring race into their conversations and second to “examine  their own racial personalities”. She advocated for bringing students into the conversation when creating discipline policy. And she advocated for restorative justice practices.

Racial inequities in education extend far beyond graduation rates. They exist in curriculum: what is and what is not taught in schools. As racial equity efforts expanded across the country after the senseless, brutal  police murder of George Floyd, so did efforts to suppress them. Several Republican-led states’ lawmakers cited Critical Race Theory, an obscure postulate formed by mostly white scholars nearly a century ago, as a red-herring piece of propaganda designed to inflame anti-white sentiment and make white school children feel guilty about their country’s role in slavery. History had entered the culture wars.

Open Discussions reached out to Dr. Quintard Taylor, Professor Emeritus of the University of Washington who joined an OD session in November of 2021. Setting the record straight, Professor Taylor fully explained CRT and stated how history and truth will always supersede propaganda. He said that America’s students need accurate, inclusive history.

RARE’s Open Discussion Committee has brought in speakers who have given presentations that have included impactful though largely unknown history. UW Professor Emeritus Dr. Cherry Banks joined an Open Discussion, explaining the origins of America’s Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and enlightening the RARE audience of the many contributions of the song’s co-author, James Weldon Johnson, a true American Renaissance Man— in the arts, in law, and in the struggle for civil rights—who is unknown to most of America.

There have been other enlightening Open Discussion guests. Dr. Kyle Kinoshita spoke about the Asian American experience and the myth surrounding the “model minority that has overcome racism”, and how that myth has been weaponized against other minorities.

Educator and author Erin Jones spoke on pertinent issues and her experiences as a biracial American. The following year a panel of of recent Roosevelt graduates and RARE’s TaRessa Stovall shared their thoughts on their biracial experiences while offering encouragement to biracial youth who sometimes see race as a daily issue. “You belong,” said Quincy Purcell. “There’s a reason you’re here.” Teshika Hatch added: “Fully embrace all of you.”

Only by discussing issues, problems, as well as successes, can solutions arise. This past January a panel of current Seattle high school students and a college freshman shared their thoughts as students in the gun epidemic era. They acknowledged the anxieties and the sadness. And they told of remedies such as counseling and mentorships that can alleviate the stress and anger many of today’s youth feel. Seattle Academy student  Fiona Berthane said, “A lot of gun violence stems from not being heard-being misunderstood. Having someone to listen to you is a tremendous help.”

RARE began as a discussion in June of 2020 and throughout its five year history the discussions have continued. Open Discussions has hosted some famous guests such as mayoral candidates Bruce Harrell and Lorena Gonzalez in 2021 and Black Panther legend Elmer Dixon in 2024. Though not nearly as famous, some of the best Open Discussions have featured RARE board members. Early on it was Les Young recounting his years as a state patrol officer at a time when Black troopers were rare. Months later, Robin Uchida Lange told of her family’s history, presented with an array of engaging photographs that detailed immigration, assimilation, internment, and Japanese ancestral heritage. Those sessions were riveting.

At a recent Open Discussions Committee Meeting, TaRessa Stovall noted that one of RARE’s top assets were the Board and people who make up RARE. It was with those early sessions in mind that the committee decided to have two of the quarterly Open Discussions feature members of the RARE family. These “Come As You Are” sessions are designed as informal Zoom gatherings for RARE Board and Committee members to share their stories and their insights.  The first of these sessions took place last May and proved to be enlightening and inspiring.

The camaraderie established in these Open Discussions over the past five years between the diverse group of Roosevelt alums who were once far more distant classmates has been priceless.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was once said, “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”

The Open Discussions Committee at RARE takes Dr. King’s words to heart by promoting discussions that raise awareness of and solutions to inequities in education and our culture that can only disappear when people talk, when people listen, and when people act.