This Saturday the second annual fall Families of Color event went, like most gatherings this fall, virtual. Usually held in person with food, music, and families ranging from the Lower to Upper School, Director of Intercultural Life Naomi Taylor along with Upper School Assistant Aja Parham, still managed to host a very successful event despite all the obstacles.

Starting off the event, social justice educator and hip hop, visual, and spoken word artist SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE set the mood for the Zoom Room with three performances. SEE MORES PERSPECTIVE uses hip hop and art to communicate and connect the beauty of nature and mythology to the importance of embracing culture. In the first, SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE rapped his will and pride in embracing culture. He describes people as stardust and the cosmos as a place with infinite amount of potential. In the second performance, “Día De Los Muertos”, also known as the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday, SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE went on to rap about the connection between life and death. “To remember our ancestors, embrace our cultures. Death is a part of life. It is something we share it with everyone,” said SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE.

To close off, SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE performed “So Great”, a piece about gratitude, love, and life. SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE said, “We are distant but not that far away, we are in the same world facing the same opportunities to lift each other up, face the same challenges, struggles.”

Continuing on to the second portion of the event, Dr. Taylor introduced Affinity & Special Interest Groups that are available to the Lower, Middle, and Upper school. Affinity group leaders from ASA, Common Grounds, Black and Brown Girls, and Latinos Unidos also made introduction videos about their groups for all families participating in today’s event.

To wrap things up, the final half-hour of the event concluded with smaller breakout groups of 3-4 parents in each. This space was provided for parents to have a safe space in sharing their experiences, concerns, opinions on the SPA community, and connecting with other families of color.

Although not in person, the virtual Families of Color Event was still an excellent opportunity for community building. Put in the word of SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE, ” We can turn this [meeting] into something so much more.”