In October, dozens of Edina high school and middle school students joined together under the cover of night, sprinting through the Camp Ihduhapi forest, weaving between sharp branches. Why? “It put us in the shoes of others,” said Adriana Olivares, a senior who is a member of Dare To Be Real (D2BR). In this case, students were stepping into the shoes of runaway slaves. The group, now in its second year at the high school has a larger vision. “We are raising awareness [about racism] through our members. Every [member] is part of a different social circle, and that helps us reach out a little more,” explained senior Loïc Attikossie.
D2BR members, who are from many races and both genders, are working to “break the barrier of ignorance and colorblindness,” said Attikossie. “We are by no means the race-police,” he added.
EHS has a majority of white students, and tries to be a welcoming school that is open to all races. Junior Kelly Fogelson, a member of the group, explained that racism still occurs here. “Rarely at EHS do you see overt forms of racism where someone will say ‘you’re stupid because you’re black,’” she said. Fogelson explained, “Often times at school it is covert, meaning that kids that have been raised in Edina come to school with preconceived notions about different ethnic backgrounds that can unintentionally affect how they treat other kids.”
Kristin Benson, an EHS English teacher and one of the group’s advisers, explained the group’s mission to address this covert racism: “Dare To Be Real is a student leadership group whose mission is to discuss, understand, and affect change around issues of race, power, and privilege at EHS and in the world outside of high school.”
“Great,” is a perfect description of how this year’s Dare To Be Real retreat went, according to Sodexho employee and EHS staff member, Earl Smith, an adult mentor in the group. The annual retreat fosters a dialogue about racism. New members of the group, seniors Crystal Shoals and Brenda Palacios explained some of the activities at the retreat. “There was an Underground Railroad simulation where we got chased with gun shots in the background,” said Palacios. Shoals added, “It was really scary in a sense, you could hear dogs barking and you could hear chains moving around.” Also at the retreat, The group went through a “very emotional boards and steel activity,” said Shoals.
“Some people got boards, and the others got steel rods. People that received boards wrote about their fear, and then karate chopped the board. The people that got the steel rods thought of their fears, and bent the steel. Not a single person, including the adults, wasn’t crying,” Palacios said.
While the group attends an annual retreat to push them with their own racial understandings, they are also encouraging other people in the school and the community to revisit their awareness of racial equity. “Members have attended conferences over the years, spoken at EHS staff meetings, and have had assemblies at middle schools,” said Alec Fischer, an EHS senior and longtime D2BR member.
The group believes it is vital to spread the understanding of what is considered racist and offensive. The group members regularly attend staff meetings designed to address racism, and they work with the Dare To Be Real branch at South View Middle School. “We get involved with helping to lead the middle school Dare To Be Real retreats,” said Fogelson.
As for EHS? “We are very excited about this upcoming year! We are hoping to lead school lock-ins, which would be an overnight retreat-like experience where students will have the opportunity to learn about race and participate in activities that we do during Dare To Be Real retreats and meetings,” added Fogelson.
Want to join them on their fight for the end of racism at EHS? To be a member of the group, Fogelson explained, “[You have to be] referred by a teacher. From there, you fill out an application. If you were in Dare To Be Real in middle school, you can automatically transfer into the high school group. If you are interested in joining, but haven’t been referred by a teacher, you could express an interest to one of the teacher advisers such as Heidi Howard, a dean of students at EHS, or Ms. Benson and go from there to try to enter. It’s a somewhat selective group, but we all feel like family!”
