Hello Everyone,
Today marks the official end of the school year and the beginning of our graduation ceremonies. For our Kurn Hattin community this is a day of nostalgia and even a little sadness – for the loss of familiar celebrations and traditions due to this horrid pandemic, but it is also a day of joy and hope – for the accomplishments of all of our students (and staff), especially all of our graduates, during this dark time and the prospect of happy and successful days ahead! We should not let the losses and shadows blot out the transformations that have happened and the anticipation of bright futures! We wish our graduates nothing but success in their lives!!
Recognizing that Kurn Hattin is a community committed to transformation, hope, affirmation, equality, and openness, I feel I would be remiss not to also speak about the events surrounding us in the larger American community. Our nation finds itself in a time of turmoil, division, negativity, inequality, and confusion. We, as a set of “United” States, have allowed ourselves to be brought low by a false narrative and a system of injustice, that, in spite of pinpricks of light and progress over time, has yet to see the full sunlight of equality, equity, and justice. From these depths of division and disunity as a nation, we perhaps once again can see the sprouts of justice and harmony as our citizens call us to a better version of ourselves. Still, we should be cautious, because we have seen all too clearly that racial justice and harmony cannot grow without deliberate care and nurture. They cannot grow in the heat of the flames of violence and destruction nor in the weeds of neglect and ignorance. They need light. They need the cool flow of life-affirming attention and the careful nurture of enlightened care-takers. They need the protection of everyone around to keep them safe from being trampled upon or ground down by the knees of the careless and the vengeful. Racial justice and harmony need US to ensure their full blossoming in our society. WE need to write, to act, to speak up, to be watchful, and to protect. We need to live into the values that we espouse as a community committed to transformation through perseverance, nurturance, hope, compassion, and sense of worth and let these Core Values carry us onward into racial affirmation, equality, openness, and an abundance of hope. Let us work to become a true “United States” in an America that treats all of its citizens with dignity, respect, and true justice – not a caricature of greatness that has never fully been realized by our citizens of color. I truly believe we are at a crossroads in our history, and we all need to choose wisely to support all of our people.
Have a wonderful summer,
Steve Harrison,
Executive Director