The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lighting, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
This poem, which adorns the Statue of Liberty, is much loved and oft taught and if you are a fourth grader or are related to a fourth grader at LREI you have spent considerable time reading and thinking about The New Colossus. If you attended this week’s amazing Winter Concert, you heard the musical version being sung by the combined lower school, middle school, and high school choruses. For nearly two decades as I have spent time in my local park, I see “Lady Liberty” guarding the harbor, a beacon of freedom for generations of immigrants, my admiration beginning early in my life, having been taught that my grandparents were welcomed to this country by this guardian.
Little did I know that the gift of the Statue of Liberty by the French was meant to commemorate the freeing of enslaved peoples from Africa and to encourage democracy and liberty. It was much later that the opening of Ellis Island and the connection to the Emma Lazarus poem solidified the role of Lady Liberty as a symbol of welcome and refuge. (You can read more about the statue here.)
How did I not know the connection between the Statue and abolition? How did I not know this part of history? How did I not consider the impact that this ignorance might have on others? Well, I wasn’t taught the more common narrative and I did not look further. It is important to note that even as the majority of American schools taught one narrative, there were, clearly, many who knew the real story. The more I read, the more I interact with much of what we are teaching our students, the more I see that we need to reconsider what we share as history, as the truth.
Late this past summer, in observance of the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans to be brought to the Colonies, the New York Times published a series of articles focusing on the truth of the history of the enslavement of countless people and the lasting impact thereof. Many members of our community – adults and students – have read these articles or listened to the accompanying podcasts.
In the New Year, I invite you to join a short series of conversations about the 1619 Project. We will have two meetings, the first one repeated twice. For the first meeting, I ask that you visit the interactive website and read a few of the articles. If you scroll almost to the end of this “exhibit” there is a long piece on the history of enslavement that is worth reading. Or, if you prefer, please listen to at least the first two episodes. You can find the series here or wherever you get your podcasts.
These discussions, we hope, will be just that, discussions. We will convene the group and ask a few initiating questions and hope that the conversation will go from there. There will not be a presentation at these gatherings.
Discussions:
Discussion 1 – Friday, January 17th, 8:30a.m. – 9:30a.m., Sixth Avenue Cafeteria
Discussion 1 – Monday, January 27th, 6:30p.m. – 7:30p.m., 40 Charlton Street
(These two conversations will cover the same material.)
Discussion 2 – Friday, February 14th, 8:30a.m. – 9:30a.m., Sixth Avenue Cafeteria
I look forward to seeing you at these gatherings,
Phil