We began the PACE Project four years ago to create a winter-long experience of learning about each other. We live in a world today where it is challenging to have conversations around topics like racism, sexism, identity, religion, and politics. The objective is to be able to have difficult conversations that open our minds and our hearts to new viewpoints rather than staying silent and maintaining our current mindset. Hyde's mission has always been about believing in the dignity and worth of each individual. Today, that mission guides us in everything we do. The goals of the Pace Project are to:
- Learn about each other's backgrounds
- Be the change that we want to see in the world
- Connect our learning to a character framework
Some of the learning will include:
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Classes on the history of race in our country
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Sharing our upbringing in our Discovery groups
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Speakers who will share their journey with achieving their vision and goals despite facing adversity along the way
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Activities that will help enlighten us on how we show up in the world
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School meetings and individual presentations
This week, Malcolm Gauld '72 led a school-wide class on "Race in America." He focused on the following:
- Jim Crow Laws: including actual literacy tests from Louisana in 1964
- Definitions: prejudice versus racism
- Segregation: de jure vs. de facto
- Freedom: ideals and realities
- History: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
- Hank Aaron and the racism he had to endure
- Bill Russell and his legacy
Malcolm told the school, "Much of what we discussed today happened in my lifetime. While we always have work to do, we have seen change and need to build on that." As one senior said, "Thank you for teaching some of this; it helped me to look at what I can do."
Laura D. Gauld '76