Black History Month at Westtown

In celebration of Black History Month, the workshop series Black Excellence at Westtown highlighted the achievements of Black faculty and staff who serve as mirrors and windows for our students. Each presenter visited a Lower School classroom to share what their roles are at Westtown, how their life experiences impacted their professions, and then did an activity with the students to help them understand their work in our school. Thank you to presenters: Marissa Colston, Jay Farrow ’75, DeVon Jackson, Dwayne Morris, Janiel Samuels, Courtnay Tyus, Tejan Walcott, and Domi Waldron for sharing their professional journeys with our students, and to Kelly Yiadom, Director of Equity, Justice, and Belonging for Lower and Middle School, for creating this workshop series!

In the Middle School, students learned from four panelists who spoke to Middle School students for the Black Women in Excellence workshop. Their presentations highlighted the achievements of professional Black women during Black History Month. The speakers – Alice Palmer, Attorney Team Lead at Lincoln Financial; Dr. Nicole Aqui, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Penn Medicine; Dr. Nelly Silva, CEO at Advanced Dentistry of Collegeville; and Teleicia Dambreville, In-House Counsel of Burlington Store, held workshop-style presentations that highlighted their expertise in their professions, their journeys, and the path students can take if they are interested in the profession being presented.

In the Upper School, Black History Month events began with an assembly featuring a panel of Black Quakers who shared their experiences, the influence of Quakerism in their lives, and the connection between their identities and Quakerism. It was an engaging and fruitful presentation and we are grateful to the panelists for talking with our students. Our thanks to (from left): Lee Payton, Upper School Principal Friends Central School; Veda Robinson, Upper School Principal, Westtown School, Karyn Payton, Lower School Principal, Westtown School; Emma Lapsansky-Werner PhD, Professor Emeritus of History and Visiting Professor in the Writing Program and Quaker Studies at Haverford College; Domi Waldron, Director of Alum Engagement, Westtown School; Francisco Burgos, Executive Director of Pendle Hill, member of the Board of Trustees, Westtown School; and, DeVon Jackson, Upper School Director of Equity, Justice, and Belonging, Westtown School, who organized this event.

Throughout the month, our student affinity groups —Black Women Affinity Group, In the Know (Black Male Affinity Group), Black Student Union, and the Multiracial Student Union—hosted programming during Meetings for Worship and Community Collection. Black history month celebrations concluded with a Community Dinner with a delicious special menu as well as an amazing performance by the Westtown Community Choir!