8 APRIL 22, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Archbishop Molloy High School town hall refl ects on Black
identity, excellence and professionalism in the workplace
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
In the wake of the Black Lives
Matter Movement, Archbishop
Molloy High School’s new Diversity
and Inclusion Council was
established as a response to instances
of racial insensitivity and
discrimination that have impacted
Molloy students in the past, present,
inside the school classroom and in
society more broadly, according to
its mission statement.
The council — consisting of faculty,
staff, alumni and parents — was announced
in October 2020 serving to
create an intellectually diverse, equitable
and inclusive community for
learning and teaching. The group’s
vision is to “create, develop and
nurture a more inclusive culture,”
thus transforming the experiences
of its current students and future
students.
In March, the Molloy Diversity
and Inclusion Council held its first
of many events, The Black Excellence
Town Hall, that featured panelists
— most of whom are Molloy
alumni — leading a conversation
about Black identity and professionalism
and how they contributed
to their successes and the obstacles
they overcame to be the person they
are today.
According to Tenisha McDonald,
chair of the Council for Diversity
and Inclusion and a 2007 Molloy
alumni, the town hall was a part of
a series of culminated events organized
by Molloy for Black History
Month.
“When it comes to matters of race
and African American identity, one
thing that the council wanted to do
is celebrate that,” said McDonald,
who is currently pursuing her Ph.D.
at Princeton University. “We were
founded after the murder of George
Floyd — we emerged out of deeply
troubling times in the Black community
and community at large, especially
since this murder occurred in
the middle of a pandemic. There’s a
lot of tragedy when it comes to Black
history and the discrimination that
Black people experience on an everyday
basis.”
During the virtual town hall, panelists
were asked how race impacted
their professional journeys, and the
importance of mentorships during
Archbishop Molloy High School’s new Council of Diversity and Inclusion hosted its fi rst inaugural Black
Excellence Town Hall, a discussion about Black identity and professionalism led by several panelists.
Courtesy of Molloy High School
the course of their career. Based
on their personal experiences, the
panelists discussed what resources
are needed in Black communities to
gain more professional opportunities
and what kind of support system
should businesses and institutions
provide to support Black professionals,
according to McDonald.
“We wanted Black students to feel
validated. We wanted to validate
their experiences because most
of the panelists that presented
are alumni,” McDonald said. “We
wanted to show them that we were
in the same position that they are
in as Molloy students at one point
in time.”
According to McDonald, they
wanted to leave students with their
own personal roadmaps on how they
navigated their career, while also establishing
a line of communication
for future mentorships in a certain
career industry.
As a Black female entrepreneur
who founded her own content writing
and editing company based in
New York City called Writers Ink
NYC, McDonald shared her own
experiences in her professional
life to obtain equal footing for an
opportunity.
“Funding the business has been
something that’s been really difficult
going through venture capitalists
and looking for people willing to
invest,” McDonald said. “And being
the only Black woman in the room
and one of few women in the room,
I feel like I need to work harder to
make my presence and voice heard
in that room.”
While the panelists were asked,
“What does Black excellence mean
to them?” McDonald said it means
making the best out of the resources
that she’s provided with, and acknowledging
the daily obstacles that
she faces because of race, choosing
to move forward despite that, especially
as a Black woman.
For McDonald, it’s extremely
important to have representation
in professional fields, even more so
in leadership positions.
“If you’re an employee, you only
have so much power, even if you do
have people on the same level as you
who look like you,” McDonald said.
“What we need is representation
specifically in positions of power
because that’s where all of the gatekeeping
happens, and we need more
diversity in those roles. It’s important
for students to see people who
look like them in those roles.”
Based on a survey, McDonald
said Molloy students wanted to see
more professional workshops, and
it’s something that the council will
continue to work on in the future,
among other developments.
“It’s been a pleasure putting on
this event at Molloy and working
with the administration at Molloy
and also members of the Council of
Diversity and Inclusion,” McDonald
said. “Everyone on both ends demonstrated
a willingness to go above and
beyond to live up to the inclusive
culture that we want to see at Molloy,
and an event like this wouldn’t
be possible if it weren’t for a true
collaboration between the school’s
administration and council.”
Molloy Principal Dr. Darius Penikas
said the town hall was a new
kind of conversation and an important
milestone for the school.
“This forum provided an important
educational opportunity for
students, faculty and our broader
community,” Penikas said. “Molloy
looks forward to offering these types
of opportunities in the future.”
2022
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