Anti-Racism Committee
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The Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) seeks to engage the RIS community in meaningful discussions and conscious actions that promote racial equity and combat the many forms of racism.
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Check out these fun facts about the Chinese lunar new year, which is celebrated on February 10 in 2024.
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Connecticut Ballet's World of Dance
In May of 2024, the ARC and The Connecticut Ballet brought The World of Dance to RIS.
Featuring six performers embodying the spirits of Ireland, Spain, Peru, China, Japan, and Brazil, the program encouraged students to reflect on their own heritages and to appreciate our community's diversity. Students learned greetings in various languages and key dance movements. Students also explored an array of dance styles, immersed themselves in the rich tapestry of world music and dance, and engaged directly with accomplished dancers and musicians through an interactive assembly. Each artist's presentation culminated in a solo performance.
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Narrated by the Connecticut Ballet's Artistic Director, Brett Raphael, the program concluded with a question-and-answer session, allowing students to delve deeper into the lives and artistry of these professional dancers.
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Black History Month 2024
This year, we celebrated Black History Month by honoring the contributions of Black Americans to music, visual arts and literature.
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Check out our compilations:
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Week one, featuring Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Ken Carson, Audre Lorde and Jean-Michel Basquiat
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Week two, featuring Phillis Wheatley, Maya Angelou, Margaret Burroughs, Mae C. Jemison and Alma Thomas
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Week three featuring Louis Armstrong, Jacob Lawrence, Amanda Gorman, William H. Johnson and Kadir Nelson
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Week four, featuring Yvette Cole and Jemar Tisby
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Our playlist is available here.
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Virtual Hispanic Libraries
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month 2023, check out our virtual libraries honoring Hispanic arts, culture, stories and more.
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The RIS Community Cookbook
Our community cookbook is hot off the presses! It's only $10 and features more than 80 recipes from more than 30 countries and cultures represented at Rogers. Order yours today!
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Black History Month Video Project 2023
Once again, the ARC is working with student volunteers to create one-minute videos on important figures in Black history in honor of Black History Month. A new video will be posted every school day in February. Each day's video will be posted on the RIS website and on social media, or you can view all of them on the ARC YouTube channel.
This amazing project, which began in 2021, has been featured in SPS Shout-Outs and was covered by News Channel 12.
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• Black History Month 2021 and 2022 videos
• News Channel 12 feature
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Additional instructions are available here. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Erica Carryl at arc@rispto.org.
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Virtual AAPI Libraries
In honor of Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May, the Anti-Racism Committee has updated their lower and upper school virtual libraries to elevate the voices, stories, cultural traditions, and contributions of the diverse AAPI community.
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ARC Resources
We've put together a resource list for parents and children to further our efforts. It includes books, videos, podcasts and more and is available here. If you have a resource you'd like us to add or would like more information about our committee, please contact us at arc@rispto.org.
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About the ARC
The ARC will use the IB learner profile attributes to guide our work. Committee meetings take place monthly and are open to the entire RIS community. By sharing personal experiences and discussing anti-racist scholarship and ideas, the ARC aims to increase the community’s empathic knowledge regarding issues of racism and to explore tangible ways to apply these principles at RIS.
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