How We Show Courage
Maureen Yusuf Morales, founding Principal of East Harlem Scholars Academy Middle School
Recent events have made many of us feel helpless, but I can only imagine how helpless our scholars feel. They’re not of voting age yet, so it’s not exactly clear what actions they can take to express how they feel or to show their support for others. This banner gave them something tangible to do just that, and it showed them how we can practice our core values in a concrete way.
It’s critical that the banner exhorts people to build love. To me, building love is the opposite of building walls. So it’s about opening up and welcoming people in. At EHTP, we build love by pushing ourselves to be on the edge of what traditional schools or organizations do when it comes to building community — with our staff, our scholars, and our families. We do this in innovative and very brave ways. I think hanging this banner outside of our school shows a lot of courage. It highlights the school as a safe haven and a place where folks can come and know that they’ll be accepted and know that their immigration status won’t be questioned.
As an immigrant and a member of a Muslim family, recent times have been very challenging for me personally, but when I found out that we were going to be working on this banner, it solidified for me that I was at the right school — a place that really validated me and my experiences as an American.
#BuildLove is a project of East Harlem Tutorial Program, which has supported students to graduate college and realize their best possible selves through our network of community after-school programs and schools. Sign up here to get the latest EHTP news.
