The Friends School of Atlanta

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Stories of Identity and Belonging: Diwali

Sunday, November 12 was Diwali, a festival of lights celebrated by many Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains in India and around the world. Last week, I sat down with Tara Ghei Nayak, FSA parent and co-clerk of FSA AAPI Families + Allies. We talked about what the holiday means to her family and how AAPI Families + Allies plans to increase awareness of cultural holidays like Diwali at FSA. 

When asked how she would describe Diwali to someone who had never heard of it, Tara said, “Diwali is a festival that celebrates good over evil. The way that it was originally explained to me very simply when I was a kid was that it was the Indian New Year, Festival of Lights. And then my parents would always say, ‘just like all the other religions have their own festival of lights, like Hanukkah, Christmas.’” Tara described how Diwali is the celebration of good over evil and light over darkness. She described the mythology around Diwali and the other festivals leading up to the holiday. She said, “We use mythology to personify good and evil through storytelling around gods and goddesses…Each state celebrates different festivals that lead up to Diwali. One of the festivals that my family celebrates is called Dussehra… Dussehra is not celebrated by all Indians; it is regional and family-specific.”

Tara’s family celebrates Diwali by cleaning the house, gathering with loved ones, eating delicious food, and enjoying fireworks. Tara said, “The mythology that goes along with [Diwali] is that you want to make sure your house is cleaned and lit up with diyas (oil lamps) or in our case twinkly lights so that Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, can find her way in the darkness and bless your house for the next year. So that’s the story behind why Diwali is this festival of lights. And then we have a gathering of friends. We eat good food. The kids get presents…This year we’re going to a friend’s home and they’re going to have a big Diwali celebration with good food, lots of sweets and then fireworks.” 

Tara’s family is interfaith (Hindu and Jain). While she perceives Diwali as primarily a cultural (as opposed to a religious) holiday, her family does participate in prayer on this day. She said, “It’s more of a cultural holiday versus a religious holiday to some degree, but we do a prayer ceremony (puja) at home. Some people go to the temple. We generally don’t.”

While Hindus and Jains are religious minorities at FSA, Tara sees similarities between the Quaker values (SPICES) highlighted at FSA and the philosophies of Hinduism and Jainism. She said, “The philosophies that the Quakers have embodied are very much the philosophies that we embody in Hinduism and Jainism. And so there doesn’t seem to be any sort of disruption in the kids’ lives as they learn the SPICES… One of the big tenets of Jainism is nonviolence. And so when you think about peace and even simplicity they are aligned with tenets of Jainism…Definitely equality and community are big in both Jainism and Hinduism. And so I would say that every single one [of the SPICES]… is similar to Hindu and Jain philosophy.”

Tara described a desire to increase awareness of the festivals associated with religions like Hinduism and Jainism as one way to amplify the voices of FSA’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. That desire was part of the impetus for forming FSA AAPI Families + Allies, a new group for parents/caregivers that started this fall. The group’s stated mission is to, “enhance and celebrate the cultural diversity of Asian-American families and children at FSA by promoting educational, social and cultural events” and to “ensure that the unique voices and identity of the AAPI diaspora and allies are elevated in a safe and inclusive way within the FSA community.” When describing her interest in starting this group, Tara said, “Every place I go I’m always trying to find some semblance of community in different ways…When I came to the Friends School one of the things that I saw was there weren’t a ton of Asian families. So I thought if I’m going to build community here that’s a little bit different than the rest of my life. I think trying to help build community with a focus on AAPI is important so that my kids see that there are other kids like them at school… And I think more education leads to more appreciation. So if there are ways that we can do that, not just for the Indian and South Asian population but for the entire AAPI population, I think that’s important.”  

This year, FSA AAPI Families + Allies wrote a description of Diwali to include in the LQN as part of their broader mission to educate about and celebrate the experiences of Asian American families. Tara also helped plan a middle school choice activity; students who selected the Diwali choice on Friday were able to sample laddus as well as spicy treats while watching a video about Diwali and reflecting on their view of the triumph of “light over darkness, good over evil.”  

When asked why FSA AAPI Families + Allies wanted to highlight Diwali, Tara said, “Diwali is really for us in the U.S. and then also in India an important holiday where you really come together with family and friends…For me it’s really exciting because I’m always up for celebrating renewal, new beginnings and things like that. I don’t believe the school has the ability to celebrate all cultural and religious holidays, but highlighting these festivals is a great way to bring exposure to a community and uplift community voices in a fun way.”

While Diwali has now passed, Tara offered some advice for families who may be interested in learning more about or celebrating Diwali next year. She said, “We want to share the holiday. We want you to join in. I would definitely say the way to do it is maybe to find a friend who celebrates and go and do it with your friend. Don’t be afraid to ask ‘how can I celebrate with you?’” Tara also mentioned local celebrations at places like Global Mall, Chai Pani, or temples; these celebrations are open to the broader community.  

FSA wishes a Happy Diwali to all who celebrated yesterday; we hope you had a joyous holiday. If you are interested in being part of FSA AAPI Families + Allies, helping plan future Diwali celebrations, and enhancing and celebrating the cultural diversity of Asian American families and children at FSA, please reach out to the group’s co-clerks Tara Nayak and Amy Yeung. The next meeting is Monday, November 27 from 8:00-9:00 am.

Written by Kristen Clayton, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

This land is your land; this land is my land.

Within the Americas, and particularly here in Georgia, the concept of shared ownership conveyed in these lyrics is entangled with complex historical truths. Who rightfully claims ownership of this land, and what obligations do we bear toward it?

Last week, Cate’s and Pam’s third-grade students, along with Alex’s 7th and 8th graders, seized the opportunity presented by Indigenous People’s Day on October 9, 2023, to delve into these important questions and anchor our exploration in the real-life experiences of the Muscogee Creek people, who are the original inhabitants or First People of this land.

Land Acknowledgment

Friends School of Atlanta acknowledges that the land we live on was taken by force from the Muscogee people who are its traditional inhabitants. We understand that we have a big responsibility to take care of this land because it is not ours. We can honor the Muscogee by caring for and respecting the land we occupy.

At Friends School, students begin learning about the Muscogee in Carie and Jillian’s second grade class. This includes learning about their forced removal and migration on the Trail of Tears in 1836 to Oklahoma, an act of genocide that resulted in a 40% reduction in the Muscogee Creek population just one generation later.

Our collective inquiry opened a path for us to stand in solidarity with the Muscogee Creek and act as advocates and allies. For decades, both indigenous and non-indigenous activists in middle Georgia have been pushing for the elevation of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Monument’s status to become the 64th National Park in the United States and the sole full-fledged National Park in Georgia.

Students learned about the numerous advantages, such as economic, environmental, and quality-of-life benefits, that such an upgrade would bring to our nation, state, and the Muscogee Creek people. Most notably, this proposal would establish Ocmulgee as the first National Park in the country to be co-managed with an indigenous group. This elevation in park status would serve as a meaningful gesture of reconciliation, acknowledging the historical injustices suffered by the Muscogee Creek people.

So, how can we secure this elevated designation? It will require an act of Congress to vote on the proposal.

According to the native-led organization, the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Initiative, the best way to support this effort and boost the park’s status is to reach out to Deb Haaland, US Secretary of the Interior; Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks; and Charles F. “Chuck” Sams, III, the Director of the National Park Service. We should urge them to contact influential members of Congress to facilitate the vote.

In this collaborative effort, the third graders designed postcards featuring native Georgia plants, which were distributed to students throughout the school and their families to mail. Our 7th and 8th graders honed their critical thinking and argumentation skills by composing persuasive letters to these federal officials.

Written by Alex Zinnes

 

Video Resources:

Indigenous Land Acknowledgements, Their Purpose, and How to Make Them Meaningful (CBC Kids News)

Supporters Say Macon’s Ocmulgee Worthy of National Park Designation (13WMAZ)

Postcards:

Third graders designed the artwork for these fabulous postcards asking senior members of the Department of the Interior to urge members of Congress to schedule the issue of upgrading the designation of Ocmulgee Mounds for a vote. These are available for classes and their families.

Resources:

Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240

Shannon A. Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks
U.S. Fish and Wildlife & Parks
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240

Charles F. “Chuck” Sams, III, National Park Services Director
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240

Stories of Identity and Belonging: Latinx Heritage at FSA

This Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, we are highlighting the contributions and cultural backgrounds of some of our Latinx faculty. Today we highlight Yvonne Rodriguez, language arts and Latin teacher and middle school librarian.  I sat down with Yvonne for an interview about her Hispanic identity, its impact on her work as a teacher and librarian, and her thoughts on Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month.

When describing her identity, Yvonne said, “I usually I call it Hispanic. I know there’s some trickiness in there. I go back and forth, but Hispanic is kind of [the term] I grew up with so that’s usually where that lands.” When asked to elaborate on the “trickiness” with the word Hispanic, Yvonne said, “I didn’t actually know for a while that Hispanic is a relatively new term I think from like the 60s. And it was a political thing for the sake of the Census…I don’t mind it and I know it can be very useful, although it’s so tricky because Hispanic means Spanish speaking countries. And there are [countries] that have Latinx people that don’t speak Spanish…But I know that it’s political and I know that it’s a cover-all, for kind of everybody…Because it’s political, I know that not everybody is very comfortable with it.” To learn more about the creation of the word “Hispanic,” click here. 

In addition to using the word “Hispanic,” Yvonne sometimes refers to herself as “Brown.”  When explaining why she uses the term Brown, Yvonne said, “I think that’s just the way I’ve kind of compartmentalized it because it’s a literal fact. I can go around and say that I’m a Brown person and thus people are going to see me and…this is what they see first. They might not know all those complicated background things, but I can’t, I don’t want to, hide the color of my skin. So, it tends to be the easiest way to just explain (laughs).”

The “complicated background things” Yvonne is referring to are her identity as a biracial woman (with a white mother and Hispanic father) and her connections to both Puerto Rican and Mexican identities. Yvonne described her background, saying “My mom is white. Her family is white. I do not identify as white at all… partly because I think I am not white. I do not present— I don’t think, anyway—-as white… I didn’t really have a chance to be a kid and be mistaken as a white person. That was just never going to happen. So I’ve always been a Brown person…I haven’t had balanced interactions with the white part of my family. So, all of my growing up has been from the Brown side. I don’t feel like I have a lot of things that I did as a kid that resonate as any kind of white background.” Despite having a white mother, Yvonne does not identify strongly as either white or biracial, instead thinking of herself as Hispanic or Brown. When describing her father’s background, Yvonne said, “He’s complicated in that his dad is Puerto Rican, and his mom was Mexican. And usually if I had to—not that you have to pick one— but I think that mostly the family edges towards the Mexican roots rather than Puerto Rican traditions. A lot of the people we knew that were family friends were Mexican. And his parents were the parents that came to the country. He was born here and his siblings were, but it’s not too far removed; we’re not too far removed from people that were not actually born in the country.”

 

While Yvonne has a family connection to Mexico, she was born and raised in California and identifies as American. She discussed the common (incorrect) assumption that most Hispanic people are immigrants and emphasized the importance of recognizing the diversity within the Hispanic population and the American identity of many Hispanic people. She said, “If somebody asked me ‘what are you?’(Which has happened), I wouldn’t necessarily say ‘I’m Mexican’ because I’m not. I grew up around a lot of people who were and I have a lot of that influence in the background and things like that, but I’m not. I’m American. I grew up here. And sometimes that caused conflict… I think that there can be— not necessarily in this space—but there can be an assumption that Hispanic people are all immigrants. And when people talk about immigration and they’re getting angry about it, that’s who they’re talking about. They’re talking about people who are usually coming up from the southern border. And, so a lot of times that’s just the assumption is that you’re not from here.”

When describing how her Hispanic background and identity influence her work as a teacher and librarian, Yvonne described how she’s able to connect with students who share a similar background, empathize with their experiences, and provide them with materials (e.g., books, access to historical information) that she wished she was exposed to as a child. She said, “I’ve been able to kind of just bring them in and acknowledge that those experiences that I’ve had that I don’t like, other people don’t need to have, at least around me, and to just sort of make that a little easier for people and bring in some things that maybe I didn’t have…like history and even just books with representation in them….I’ve been intentional about let’s go find some bilingual stuff…Let’s bring it in. Let’s make sure that…people…have something they can find themselves in because I didn’t and sometimes still don’t.”

Yvonne is passionate about curating diverse library collections where everyone can find a book that reflects their experiences. When asked if she has a favorite book that highlights Latinx voices and/or experiences, she mentioned several, including: Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez, and Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. 

 

When asked her thoughts on Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, Yvonne said, “It’s nice. I think it’s interesting that it’s from the 15th to the 15th because of those historical significances…It is nice to have a space where there are career opportunities or professional development opportunities that are like hey let’s go look at these people from these places that any other day of the week or any other month we might just not worry about too much. I think it’s a group that people have so many assumptions about and you can’t break them if you don’t learn about the truth. And having a dedicated space to learn about the truth can open up some eyes and challenge some of those stereotypes.”

This Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month Yvonne encourages others to pause and learn more about the Hispanic and Latinx community.  She said: “I would like people to not just hear all of these things and just move on. I think that the reason why there is a month is so that you can pause. And yeah we’re all busy, but when else are you going to pause? If you don’t actually take it in, you’re not learning anything. So actually paying attention to the emails or the festival or the highlights or the book thing, the YouTube series…. If you don’t take advantage of these things which are really only being highlighted now and won’t necessarily be highlighted later, you won’t get the chance to actually learn from them….People are handing it to you on a platter right now (laughs)…Take advantage of that!” 

Written by Kristen Clayton, DEI Director

Stories of Identity and Belonging: Latinx Heritage at FSA

This Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, we are highlighting the contributions and cultural backgrounds of some of our Latinx faculty. Today we highlight Dot López, Head of School at the Friends School of Atlanta (FSA). This is Dot’s first year at FSA. Dot comes to FSA from Moorestown Friends School, where she served in several teaching and leadership roles over her 15-year tenure; she taught mathematics and worked as the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, among other roles.

This week, I sat down with Dot for an interview about her Latina background and identity and its impact on her professional work. When

describing her racial and ethnic identities, Dot said, “I consider myself Black. I identify as a Black woman, but I also identify as Latina because my parents are from Panama. They came to this country in their late teenage years.”

Dot elaborated on her connection to Panama saying, “When my parents came to the US I think they really wanted to be American and really wanted to embrace the American culture. So my parents spoke Spanish, but they didn’t teach me Spanish. When I was in high school my grandparents lived in Panama, and I visited them one summer. But that was like in the 1980s, so I’ve never been back to Panama since then. So a lot of my culture, my Panamanian culture, comes from like foods that I eat, music, a lot of extended family, just learning about my identity through those people.” When describing culturally significant foods, she mentioned “plátanos, bacalao, and yuca” among other foods. She mentioned Salsa music and the importance of family.

Dot then described the feeling of being “on the margins” that sometimes resulted from being both Black and Latina in a country that often expects you to be just one or the other. She said, “I think that it was a really confusing time growing up for me, especially like when you had to check boxes. And I think those identifiers have evolved over time. But I remember asking my dad, ‘which box do I check?’ And he would always suggest that I check the Black box. And I think a lot of it had to do with how I was seen by people. So when people see me they see a Black woman, and he felt like that’s how I should represent myself… But yes…with growing up in New York City with other Latinx people I never felt like I was Latina enough because their parents spoke Spanish, they looked Latina per se. But then my Black African American friends would say that I wasn’t Black enough because I didn’t really— a lot of their experience didn’t resonate with me because that wasn’t something that my parents experienced.”

While she described growing up as Black and Latina as “a struggle” at times, she now embraces all aspects of her identity. She described the evolution of her identity over time, saying, “It wasn’t until I got older that I started to understand Black culture more and I felt like I evolved within my Latina identity because I recognized that there were parts of like African American culture that I didn’t necessarily experience because my parents weren’t American. And I recognize that as Black people we’re not a monolith, right? And I think I learned that I can be in a space where I could be Black and Latina….Now I embrace it all. And I’m comfortable as being a Black Latina and I think there are other people that are speaking up about being both Black and Latina which is really helpful.”

Dot’s experiences as a Black Latina woman in the United States impacts the way she approaches her work. Having felt like an outsider herself, she is committed to advocating for others who feel like they are on the margins within a school community. She said, “I felt like because I, in some ways, always lived on the margins, I felt like in my work I always wanted to advocate for students and other people in the community who were on the margins and give them a space to feel empowered and to use their voice to impact change in the community. So that’s always been a part of my identity and my purpose.”  

This Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, Dot encourages others to increase their awareness of the Hispanic and Latinx community and the diversity within it. She said, “I would encourage people to increase their awareness about what it means to be Hispanic or Latinx, to be more curious about the culture and to think beyond food and music and you know really expand their knowledge. Also, I really think it’s important for people to be empathetic about other people’s identities, to just listen, to understand what their experiences are like and to not put Latinx or Hispanic people in a box. Within that culture and identity I think we’re very diverse. So I would encourage people to just learn as much as they can about Hispanic and Latinx culture.”

Written by Kristen Clayton, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.