A Day in the Life of a Community

At ten am today in Owen Brown there will be a celebration of the life of Jane Dembner.

At 12 pm there will be an “Opposition Walk” in Downtown Columbia to protest the Superintendent ‘s plan for redistricting.

The painful irony of the juxtaposition of these two events is not lost on me.

The Columbia that Ms. Dembner believed in and worked for was welcoming and inclusive. She cared about community that was for everyone. Her vision wasn’t simply pools, parks, and pathways. Her Columbia, and, in relationship, Howard County, was a place where attitudes could be changed and fair and affordable housing welcomed those who needed it.

I thought of Jane when we opened our school year with this book, All Are Welcome. Some samplings from the text by Alexandra Penfold:

No matter how you start your day./ What you wear when you play./ Or if you come from far away./ All are welcome here.

Then, further along:

You have a place here. / You have a space here. / You are welcome here.

And, most of all:

We’re part of a community/ Our strength is our diversity./ A shelter from adversity

All are welcome here.

Whatever is happening “at the Mall” today is most definitely not a message of inclusion. Whether motivated by outright racism, polite suburban “don’t say it out loud” racism, or a sense of affluent entitlement, it is a rejection of what community really means. It is an unwillingness to zoom out and see the bigger picture.

The responsibility of schools is to meet the needs of the larger community. Today’s event shows how desperately some people want to think small, live small, be small. I take a dim view of the habit some people have of saying that Jim Rouse is rolling over in his grave. But honestly, folks, today he may actually be wincing.

Where will I be today?

Celebrating Jane. Grateful for her life. Grateful for her family and friends and colleagues with whom she did so many good things.

We’re part of a community/ Our strength is our diversity./ A shelter from adversity

All are welcome here.

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