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THE ALLEYNIAN 709
VOICE. COMMUNITY. STRENGTH. DIVERSITY.
the sense that you access a place or its benefits on slightly different terms is not something that I want for my students. Essentially, without being grand or pompous about it, justice is important at several levels for me. I can’t really look students in the eye or teach them to think about morality or justice, which you need to do in a subject like mine, if I’m not trying to secure those things for myself and others, even through small acts. AAM: Do you feel that there is something problematic about a single-sex school, which is by its very nature, inherently uninclusive? Are there plans for greater inclusion of transgender children already at the school and cisgender women who might want to join? MRC : I think the debates around single-sex schools have strong arguments on each side. They do present challenges in terms of inclusion but if we agree that there is any rationale for them, and if we want to keep the alleged benefits of ‘single sex’ education, then schools will have to recognise that students who do not identify with established gender binaries exist, are finding their voice, and are not going to put up with a status quo that does not serve their interests. Nor should they have to. Schools will therefore need to accommodate those for whom a ‘boys ’ ’ school is still the best fit, or whose parents have chosen that school for them because it brings some specific benefits, but who identify differently in terms of gender identity. Increasingly, I would hope that schools will be inclusive of students who are trans, or transitioning, or non-binary; that they will allow them to access single- sex education equitably and without any detriment to their wellbeing or sense of belonging. These accommodations cost the schools nothing or very little, but can be life-changing for the individuals concerned. It’s to the benefit of the whole
are shared goals and shared values and that minoritised groups have more to gain by standing in solidarity with one another than apart from one another. You can’t stand against racism if you’re not going to stand against homophobia, or sexism, or prejudice against the disabled community. You can’t champion the rights of women or homosexuals if you don’t extend the same rights and make the same demands for trans people. Justice is only justice when it’s available to all. Otherwise, it’s something else: it’s privilege. Having said that, and while vulnerable communities and their needs are all important, there is an urgent call to respond to racism now. There’s also an opportunity, because it is on the public radar. It has been identified by many institutions and individuals, nationally, as a priority. It is right we take this opportunity
community to have people who identify differently in terms of gender within the community – because that’s a reflection of the world. I think the activism we are seeing now in the trans community resembles the activism we saw in the gay community two decades ago, perhaps. If it doesn’t happen out of their own free will, then I imagine that compliance will catch up with schools, and that there will be legal frameworks for them to work within.
now to reform our institutions and communities. But I am already seeing that the lessons we learn about building robust anti-racist cultures will help us build robust anti-sexist ones. Justice is not a finite resource. AAM: Do you feel that it is enough to have just one person in this role, rather than, for instance, a team working together? MRC : Well, we do have the Alliance, and I can’t overstate the value of that group. But I think that you’re absolutely right – they are volunteers, and while that’s rich and valuable and a testimony to their generous care of this community, it also means that there are limits to what we on the Alliance can each commit. I guess it comes down to resources. I would like to see a formalised team, and I would probably like to
see somebody at the level of Senior Manager hold diversity and inclusion as a specific responsibility. This raises its profile and ensures that the goals of inclusion are aligned with the resources and strategic goals of the institution. If you don’t get this, everything moves a lot more slowly. But I also think that inclusion is a growing space for schools, and as young people make their needs known and as schools recognise the benefits to them in all sorts of ways, there will be an increasing number of people charged with this work. There is an inevitability about this. We’re in the midst of a cultural revolution and it’s being led by young people who are far more intrepid than my generation. I am inspired by my students on a daily basis. The job of my generation is to facilitate the revolution, and to build some of the infrastructure for our inclusive futures.
AAM: How, if at all, is your work for people of colour at DC different from your work with LGBTQ+ members of the community or other groups – people who have disabilities, for example? MRC : I don’t think it is. I think that you cannot advocate for inclusion if you’re not prepared to be inclusive all the way through. I also believe that the history of intersectionality teaches us that while we want to acknowledge the specific needs of different groups and subgroups and not elide them into a generalised group, we also need to recognise that there
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