• #IBelongWDMCS Message from Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
• Black History Month in WDMCS
• Save the Dates: March 23 Student Voice Symposium, April 9 Community Engagement Event
• March and April Calendar Observances
  

Reflect on the following questions when engaging with others:

• How am I feeling at this moment?
• What emotions might impact this interaction?
• How do my intersectional identities impact the way I see others, understand and interpret words and actions, and effectively engage with others?
• What assumptions am I making about others?
• How is my presence healing or harming those in this community?

WDMCS began Black History Month by commemorating the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, exploring Taste of the Junction's pop-up museum, and building community.

This year's Black History Month theme is "African Americans and the Arts." The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) said, "For centuries Western intellectuals denied or minimized the contributions of people of African descent to the arts as well as history, even as their artistry in many genres was mimicked and/or stolen.... In celebrating the entire history of African Americans and the arts, (ASALH) puts into the national spotlight the richness of the past and present with an eye towards what the rest of the twenty-first century will bring."

More about this year's theme:

• ASALH: "Black History Month Themes" >
• National Museum of African American History and Culture: "Art as a Platform for Social Justice" >

Students from West Des Moines Community Schools and neighboring districts will come together for the first annual Student Voice Symposium on Saturday, March 23, at Stilwell Junior High! They will experience a day of leadership and equity learning led by peers and adult leaders and build community, inspiring them to be and see themselves as equity-centered leaders and visionaries. Highlights of the symposium include:

• Keynote address from San Wong, director of the Iowa Department of Human Rights.
• Pop-up museum experience from Taste of the Junction.
• Showcase of youth performances including spoken word, music, and more.

If you are or know a student who would like to attend, please have the student contact their building principal to be added to the registration list.

Created by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department and the WDMCS intercultural outreach coordinator, the symposium is a collaboration between multiple district departments including Community Education, Teaching and Learning Services, and School/Community Relations, in partnership with community organizations and sponsors.

If you or your family would like to learn about upcoming national and international observances, you can start with these resources: