Message from Dr. Lisa Waller Regarding Derek Chauvin Verdict

Dear Berkeley Carroll Community,

In the aftermath of the guilty verdicts delivered by the jury in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd I want to share a few thoughts.

Last May, I wrote of the anger and sorrow that so many felt in the face of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. I also spoke of the intensifying vilification and violence experienced by Asian Americans in the halls of power and in our streets. At the time, I felt depleted, having written so many letters and spoken so often about the loss of life and liberty without redress that I have seen as a member Black community and a student of the Black experience.

Yesterday there were several references to the murder of 14-year old Emmett Till in 1955. I grew up frightened by this story, just as my mother’s community was terrorized both by Till’s abduction and killing and by the acquittals of his torturers. The men who murdered Mamie Till’s son were well known in my mother’s hometown and she wanted me to be aware of what they had done and how it had marked her community. Over time I also began to focus on Ms. Till’s unfathomable strength and her resolve. Her insistence on an open casket funeral so that the world could bear witness to the wrenching violence of white supremacy was a catalyst that propelled mass participation in the midcentury Civil Rights Movement. Last year, video, including one taken by a 17-year old, allowed the world to bear witness once more, fueling a racial reckoning and an historic multigenerational, multiracial protest movement.

Many were afraid to hope that our system would turn away from the all too familiar experience of “justice denied” that has attended anti-blackness in this society. Concurrently, we yearned for a different outcome this time because we have seen more recognition of and resistance to both individual and systemic racism in these times. Yesterday, in Minneapolis and elsewhere, there was a sense of relief and hope among those who truly want to see the moral arc of the universe bend toward justice. Here at Berkeley Carroll we will continue the work of building a school grounded in equity and empathy. We will continue nurturing students who, with determination, integrity, and fortitude, will change our communities, this nation, and the world.

Sincerely,

Lisa Yvette Waller, Ph.D.
Head of School