Eating Dogs and Other Immigrant Slurs
September 13, 2024
Mom never learned to speak Italian even though her parents, immigrants from Italy in the early 20th Century, knew little English. As a child in north Philadelphia she experienced vicious taunts against Italians for her darker look, her parents’ accents, the family culture. She felt ashamed and tried to distance herself from her heritage. When she married an Irish fella during World War II, both families considered it a scandal… a “mixed marriage” with enough prejudice and hurt to go around. Irish immigrants, too, suffered vicious stereotyping — portrayed as drunks, thugs, violent semi-humans. And Catholics… the ugly stereotypes about Catholic ethnic immigrants fueled violence and hatred for generations.
(Photo left: My mother and her mom outside Uncle Al’s barber shop in the 1920’s in Philadelphia)
When Donald Trump went on a rant full of falsehoods and utterly despicable comments about Haitian immigrants in Ohio “eating dogs, eating cats, eating pets” during last week’s presidential debate, he was not merely riffing on something that just popped into his head. Nor was he simply repeating an outright lie that he heard on some television station. In fact he was assuming the centuries-old mantle of the Know Nothings, the nativist political movement from the early 19th Century comprised of Christian (not Catholic) whites who exerted rabid hatred against immigrants who were entering the United States in large numbers — from Europe. These immigrants were also white Christians (but largely Catholic, a distinctive difference), but the stereotypes denouncing them were ripped right out of the slave-holding playbook — they were stereotyped in language and images that demeaned and diminished immigrants as lesser beings, semi-human, unworthy of respect, dangerous creatures who needed to be controlled if not eradicated. (The cartoon image below, right, shows a typical Irish caricature in the 19th century — drunk, violent, distorted features.) Note that Asian immigrants, too, were long accused of eating dogs and other completely false tropes. Demeaning immigrants is, sadly, an old American story.
The Black population of America, of course, knew all about this hatred against “the other” — slavery might have been abolished with Emancipation in 1865 but the stereotypes, contempt, vicious hatred of Black persons continued unabated — and the whites who perpetrated the ugly racial stereotypes used those same ideas against the ethnic whites who were — not necessarily “pouring across the border” but entering largely through Ellis Island. Italians, Irish, Poles, Slovaks — the white Christian Know Nothings portrayed white ethnic immigrants as akin to the Black persons who were so feared and reviled.
And so the struggle for mastery of the American soul continues even today on the subject of race and ethnicity and ownership of this great nation. What is so hypocritical in the current moment, however, is the fact that we all know the ugly history; most of our families experienced some form of the rampant discrimination against immigrants in the 19th and 20th Centuries. And yet too many Americans — Irish, Italian, Polish, German, Catholic — have embraced the stereotypes and racism against immigrants that once plagued our own families. Too many Americans who are just a generation or two away from the poverty and sorrow of the immigrant experience now tolerate the terrible offenses against human dignity hurled against other people, sins committed against the moral values we should be proclaiming as a supposedly advanced nation proclaiming “liberty and justice for all.” Except you, the Haitians, the Hondurans, the Mexicans, the Ethiopians, the Salvadoreans… the “others.”
It’s certainly obvious that the greatest hatred against immigrants today extends mostly toward immigrants of color — Hispanic and Black immigrants from Mexico, central America, the Caribbean, Haiti, Africa. Immigrants fleeing oppressive regimes and great violence in their native countries. We don’t hear much about white immigrants coming across the northern border or arriving through JFK or LAX.
Where is our moral outrage? When a candidate for president of the United States stands up at the debate podium and spews so much venom, why do we still tolerate the rhetoric? Why do we look away, slightly embarrassed, maybe chuckling because it’s so weirdly ridiculous.
It’s not ridiculous or funny or excusable. It’s not nuts. It’s outrageous in a way that should have all of us on our feet demanding an end to the blatant racist assaults on human dignity.
Yes, immigration policy is a mess, and has been. Yes, let’s have the debate about the best way to solve the immigration crisis! But nothing gets solved through the repeated, deliberate and horrific trashing of people who came to this country seeking a better life, just as my grandparents did, and probably yours, too.
It’s time for all of us to put our collective foot down to say, “Stop! Stop the trash talk, the disparagement of other people, the vicious stereotyping and lies about immigrants!” The anti-immigrant rhetoric is a scandal to this nation and the world.
We can and must do better, America.
Continue reading →Read comments (0) Add CommentSeptember 11: Why We Remember
September 11, 2024September 11. The very invocation of the name of this day evokes memories of sadness, horror, anger, fear. That day was terrible for our nation and all those who lost loved ones in the terrible acts of terrorism in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
But today, 23 years on, we must move from sorrow to action. This day should goad all of us who are educators into renewing our commitment to educate new generations of citizen leaders, courageous women and men who can rise up to heal the many divisions in this country, who can bring their intellectual power and moral fortitude to the critical tasks of working to build a greater sense of common good throughout the world.
September 11 has had ramifications that continue to this very day. The divisions in this nation, the rise of racial and ethnic hatred, the desire on the part of some citizens to install a tyrant as president — these are all symptoms of the brokenness that September 11 brought to our body politic. We must work even harder in this critical election year to raise up leaders who can advocate for peace, for hope and a pathway through to a better society.
We remember all those who lost their lives on that terrible day, and in the days and years thereafter, and the families who suffered so much for so long. And we say “never again!” not as empty rhetoric but through the power of our example and advocacy for justice.
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All the Childless Ladies
September 2, 2024
(Cat Ladies)
In today’s bitter political culture, there’s a school of thought that says that college presidents should have nothing to say about any important political issues. This effort to repress our freedom of speech comes from claims that college presidents are so intimidating that any expression of opinions on our part will cause students to lock themselves trembling in their dorm rooms and faculty will cower under their desks in fear. As. If.
So! I’ll play along and not express any opinions on the current candidates for high office in the United States. I will not say that, among flawed choices all the way around, I will vote for the candidate who espouses policies that are most likely to help people — especially those who are marginalized in our society — the candidate who stands for justice, equity and freedom for all. Not saying who I will vote for! And I am not saying that I will not vote for a candidate who is a convicted felon. Not saying who I will not vote for!!
But I do feel compelled to say something about a candidate for the second highest office in the land who trashes me and women like me. I am compelled to state unequivocally that a candidate who trashes childless women has no business being on a national ticket. Indeed, that candidate should slink away in shame and disgrace. Such an ignorant misogynist cannot possibly be part of the leadership structure of this nation.
Now, it’s true that at first I let it go when I heard that this candidate first complained about “childless cat ladies” running the country. I don’t have children and I also don’t have cats. (I do have mice, and perhaps a few cats would fix that problem! But that’s a story for another day…)
A stupid, throw-away taunt like that did not seem worth dignifying with a response.
But now it seems that the same candidate at another time said that childless women are “all fundamentally atheist or agnostic…they have no real value system” except to promote gender and racial equity “stuff” that he likens to a disease. And, such women, he claims, are “miserable.”
And, by the way, he seems especially perturbed that such childless women are teaching children – “brainwashing our children” was his phrase for childless women who are teachers.
Tell that to Sr. Bridgeta, Sr. Mary Richard, Sr. Joseph Miriam, Sr. Rosario, Sr. Juanita, Sr. Antoinette Marie, Sr. Mary, Sr. Margaret, Sr. Martha, Sr. Ann, Sr. Lucille, Sr. Marcella, Sr. Gertrude Marie, Sr. Regina and all of the great nuns who taught me and millions of Catholic school children across the generations. All childless women. Yes, indeed, they did “indoctrinate” us – on right from wrong, how to behave, what to believe, showing respect for others, doing the right thing even when no one was watching. Oh, and diagramming sentences, calculating diameters and reciting Latin declensions.
They certainly were not atheists, and most seemed happy at least most of the time (except when Wayne threw spitballs that day in third grade and we all had to kneel and pray for his redemption).
Many of us, their students, followed in their footsteps to become teachers and school leaders. Some of us are women who happen not to have children — a fact that actually gives us a lot more time to care for other people’s children! Far from being “childless” in a cold, bitter, vacuous way, our lives are quite full with children and young adults every day! Far from being miserable, most of us are quite happy with our choices, especially in the ways we are able to help “other people’s children” grow and thrive.
The candidate who has made such insulting, ridiculous statements is not ignorant. Rather, he is deliberately and perniciously denigrating women’s life choices. This insidious denigration of women’s agency to make life choices is at the heart of some of the most curdled contemporary political strategies. To be sure, motherhood is a wonderful choice and something we encourage, admire and extol — we all celebrate our mothers and the mothers among us!!. But not all women choose motherhood, and their life choices are also worthy and important for our society, and life-giving for millions of children in their care.
It’s a short hop-skip-jump from denigrating women’s choices about careers and families to threatening women’s right to make choices at the ballot box. A century ago, women could not vote in presidential elections in the United States. In the 21st Century, we thought the days of the suffragette struggles were long gone, but in fact, the struggle for women’s political rights and autonomy has only taken on other forms.
It’s no secret in American political life that powerful political women make some opponents nuts and trigger personal attacks of appalling ugliness. We remember the treatment of Hillary Clinton, the nation’s first female candidate for president. The demonization of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Trinity ’62) was legendary, but her steel spine and determination to exercise her leadership for the nation made her power through every assault against her.
Today, another woman is running for president as her party’s nominee, and the long misogynistic knives are out once more. This candidate also happens to be a woman of color, adding to the backlash. She is a stepmother to two children, but has no biological children of her own, thus making her the object of some of the “childless” contemptuous attacks along with attacks on her racial identity.
To her credit, she is ignoring the vituperative rhetoric of her opponents. But others among us can and should respond.
This should finally be the election where women’s voices, choices and power rise up for the future of our nation and the democracy we steward. We have choices, and we are free to make them as we wish. We should exercise our votes mindful of the children of future American generations — whether our own children or “other people’s children” who will depend on our choices for their ability to live in justice, peace and freedom.
My sisters, you have choices! Vote for the candidate of your choice…. but VOTE!
(Photo credit for image at top of this blog: Three lioness resting together, heads aligned, on a mound in Masai Mara.)
Continue reading →Read comments (1) Add CommentWelcome, Class of 2028 and All New Students!
August 23, 2024
(Dean Michele Bowie leads Class of 2028 and New Students into Notre Dame Chapel for the New Student Convocation, August 23, 2024)
Remarks of President Patricia McGuire at the New Student Convocation
Good morning! I am so pleased to welcome you, the Class of 2028 and all new students in the College of Arts & Sciences to our 2024 New Student Convocation, a ceremony marking the end of your orientation period and your official welcome into the Trinity community. During this ceremony, you will sign the Honor Pledge and receive your Trinity medals, special symbols of your new lives as Trinity Women. Congratulations!
I want to start by telling you a little bit about … YOU! We are welcoming more than 500 new students in all Trinity programs this fall, and of that number, more than 300 are new in the College of Arts and Sciences, Trinity’s historic women’s college. You are a Red Class, continuing a strong tradition of class colors dating back to our very first class — the Red Class of 1904. Some of you have transferred from other colleges, and depending on your class, your colors are (green if you are juniors, blue if you are seniors, and gold for the sophomores)… and if you are still not sure, you are always correct to wear purple and gold, Trinity’s school colors!
You come from many different states, with 63% from DC and 24% from Maryland.
While most of you were born in the United States, you also hail from more than 20 other countries including:
El Salvador Mexico Ethiopia Honduras Guatemala Nigeria Haiti Cameroon Thailand Togo Liberia Peru Brazil Colombia Dominica Ecuador Gambia UK Saudi Arabia Equatorial Guinea
14 of you are Dreamer Scholars through our partnership with TheDream.US
21 of you are Conway Scholars in Nursing, a very prestigious scholarship
8 of you earned your associate degree in May as part of our Early College Academy with Coolidge High School. We have a number of other students from Coolidge as well.
Other schools that are well-represented in this class include:
Jackson Reed Capital City PCS Theodore Roosevelt Columbia Heights
Banneker DC International Thurgood Marshall EL Haynes
Eastern Dunbar Friendship Collegiate KIPP DC
H.D. Woodson Springbrook Largo Montgomery Blair
Ballou Cardozo Eleanor Roosevelt McKinley Tech
Duval Northwestern Washington Leadership Paul PCS
35% of you want to study Nursing and other healthcare fields like Occupational Therapy, Health Services and Social Work.
21% of you are just about evenly split between wanting to pursue Psychology or Business.
12% of you want to major in STEM disciplines including Biology, Biochemistry, Forensic Science and Mathematics.
5% aspire to be teachers, wanting to major in one of our Education specialties.
You may well change your mind about what you want to study as you move through your first and second years, that’s normal, and we encourage you to explore all of the subjects in our curriculum so you can discover new ideas while developing your future plans.
So, that’s a little bit about you. Now, we are going to have a ceremony in which you take the Honor Pledge and receive your Trinity medals. At the end of the ceremony I will have more to say about you.
(Dean Bowie leads students in reciting the Honor Pledge)
THE HONOR AGREEMENT AND MEDAL CEREMONY
The Honor Agreement has been our tradition since the founding of Trinity. We expect you to live lives of honor and integrity, and to help each other to do so. This sets Trinity apart from many other schools and many places of business today.
You are starting your academic lives at Trinity in a time fraught with national concern over racial hatred and symbols of egregious racism, over the treatment of immigrants and extreme bias against persons for other reasons — Muslims, gay or transgender individuals, persons whose beliefs, language, culture customs, skin color or political beliefs seem different from those who claim center stage. The mission and values of Trinity, as embodied in our Honor System, reject any and all acts and words of hatred against other individuals; we welcome, honor and respect everyone here at Trinity and we expect you to treat every other person you encounter here with the respect and dignity they deserve.
This is the essence of the Honor Code, along with, of course, a deep commitment to being truthful in everything.
As part of this ceremony you will also receive the Trinity Medal, a symbol of your entrance into the Trinity community and commitment to the values of the Honor System.
The Trinity Medal has, on its front, the image of Our Lady – Notre Dame – the patron of the Sisters of Notre Dame who founded Trinity in 1897. In those days, women did not have the opportunity to go to college in Washington, D.C. The Sisters of Notre Dame saw that was wrong, a grave injustice, so they worked hard to establish Trinity. Your Trinity Medals are symbols — symbols of the power of women to change the world. Wear them well, wear them with pride, never do anything to disgrace them, show the world why you have the distinction as a woman of power to wear this medal starting today and every day henceforth!
To conduct this part of the program, I am pleased to recognize Sr. Ann Howard is a Sister of Notre Dame who is the Director of Campus Ministry and she will bless you and your medals. Dean of Students Meechie Bowie will lead you in the Honor Pledge.
(Director of Campus Ministry Sr. Ann Howard, SND, addresses the new students and blesses their Trinity medals)
Greetings and Blessing by Sr. Ann Howard, SND, Campus Minister
Good morning, students who are new to Trinity! Buenos dias y bienvenito!
Welcome to Notre Dame Chapel. We are celebrating 100 years since the dedication of this beautiful chapel which took place in 1924. There are so many parts to this chapel we want to make known to you, so please come for a tour once you get your feet on the ground. One statue I will point out to you is this one… of St. Julie Billiart… she lived in France and Belgium, she started the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, she is shown here standing with a young girl while pointing to the Bible, signifying her love of God and her belief in the education of girls and women. St. Julie had a saying, “Ah! Qu’il est bon, le bon Dieu!” which, translated, means, “Oh! How Good God is!”
God is so good! God’s goodness and beauty and truth lives in each one of you, and in all of the Trinity community. Julie Billiart and her friend, Francois Blin de Bourdon lived in the time of the Reign of Terror in France and, once they established schools and a congregation, their love for God remained their stronghold. Years later, in 1897, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur built Trinity College in Washington DC, and then Emmanuel College in Boston and Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont CA. Also, in Okayama, Japan, Seishen University was built by our Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, and is very active today. Another thing about the SNDdeN which will interest you is that we have a Representative at the United Nations, Sr. Isabelle, and she worked with Professor Allen Pietrobon last year to organize a group of Trinity students to visit the UN. We are mindful of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and grateful for their continuing contributions to the good works at Trinity. As President McGuire told you, already, this is Trinity’s 125th year of being! God is so good!
Attending classes in Payden Academic Center, you might get the impression that you are joining a new and shining institution, filled with the latest technology and research capability; please let the wooden floors and marble corridors of Main Hall and this Chapel—remind you of the long herstory, prestigious reputation and visionary mission that Trinity holds throughout these many years.
Starting out at Trinity, prioritize your goals, focus on your academic success: you may have a job to perform, a family to support, volunteer service commitments, friendships to nurture, relationships that call on your time and energy, but attending class and doing the work involved in full-time study is your responsibility at this juncture of your life. May I remind you that the responsibility of a college student is first and foremost to cultivate the tender shoot of your college experience and focus on your academic goals for academic success and graduation.
Now, let us bless your medals and may the Good God bless you, one and all.
AIH, Notre Dame Chapel
First Year Convocation
August 23, 2024
FINAL REFLECTIONS by President McGuire
Before we conclude our ceremony, I want to say a few more words about you. I will be quoting from some of your application essays — not by name, and I have taken out references that might identify you. But your words are powerful to inspire us as we start our new lives together.
You have had more than your share of challenges. You have crossed borders and confronted prejudice and ethnic hatred, you have survived earthquakes and homelessness. You have lost parents and loved ones, suffered your own illnesses, dealt with families torn apart by violence, incarceration, deportation.
And yet, you have triumphed. You are now Trinity Women! In spite of all these hardships, setbacks and doubts, you powered on through, you showed a level of courage and resilience well beyond your years.
(All paragraphs below in quotes and italics are taken from entering student essays, slightly edited to preserve anonymity.)
Many of you write about your passion to improve the lives of children and families in your neighborhoods.
This student wants to study Early Childhood Education for a great reason:
“Every kid, in my opinion, should have access to a safe, nurturing environment where they may play, explore, and grow into their unique abilities. … Growing up in D.C influenced this a lot … My heart breaks watching the younger kids in my neighborhood walking around alone with no parents at such young ages, and struggling with simple skill sets. By starting a daycare, I would have the opportunity to positively impact the lives of children and their families, helping them navigate their early years and providing a foundation for their future success.”
And this one:
“I am interested in Early Childhood Education because I have come to the realization that my purpose in life is to teach, nurture and make a difference in young children’s schooling. As a young girl, I always dreamed of being an influential role model to young people. I also chose this career program because as a little girl, I did not have the nurturing and understanding that I do now have for young children. As times change, I believe we as a society have to change the way we nurture and teach our children of today and I strongly believe I can help make that difference.”
This student experienced oppression and violence in her native country and now wants to raise up the need for improved mental health services:
“I come from a community with a vibrant blend of history, culture, and unwavering spirit. However, the existence of mental health issues is rarely acknowledged. My passion for becoming a psychologist got engraved in my heart as early as my freshman year of high school when my eyes were opened to how much people were suffering with the lack of knowledge of what they were suffering from.”
This student sees Occupational Therapy as a way to help others:
“In high school I ran track and managed my basketball team. I enjoyed learning about the sport and being able to witness all of the work that gets put in by the players and coaches behind the scenes to make a good team. Since then I knew I wanted to have a career that allowed me to be hands on and help people. With the occupational therapy program at Trinity Washington I see an opportunity to have that career.”
Nearly half of you want to be nurses, and this student’s essay succinctly explains why:
“This nursing program will give me the opportunity to make decisions that will change people lives. I am dedicated to the cause, and I believe that nursing is more than a career path, it is a calling for select superheroes who will never wear capes.”
And another:
“Nursing is one of the most important jobs one can choose. It is a profession not for those motivated by money but by care and concern for others’ lives and well-being. Nursing provides the opportunity to demonstrate human compassion to others in their time of need. You connect with people you would never have known and see the world from someone else’s perspective. You advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves, and you see firsthand how a small act of kindness—as small as holding someone’s hand—can make a world of difference in someone’s day and recovery. As Maya Angelou said, “They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” ”
This student wants to make her contributions in science and research:
“As I stand at the threshold of my academic journey, I am filled with an intense passion to embark on the path of becoming a research scientist. Growing up and being drawn to investigative properties or wanting to gain knowledge on science-based issues has always been exciting and intriguing. The prospect of delving into the unknown, pushing the boundaries of knowledge, and making meaningful contributions to society through scientific inquiry ignites a fire within me that propels me forward.”
You have learned to conquer fears and academic as well as personal challenges:
This student had a fear of public speaking:
“Overcoming this challenge was not only crucial for academic success but also for building self-confidence, improving communication skills, and developing the ability to convey my thoughts effectively. …Through resilience, a growth mindset, self-awareness, perseverance, and adaptability, I was able to overcome my fear and develop effective communication skills. These lessons will serve me well in college and beyond…”
This student wants to prove the naysayers wrong:
“My grandparents are not college graduates, and neither are my parents so I would love to achieve this and become a trailblazer in my family. I want to make my parents, my grandparents, and my siblings proud of my accomplishments and prove negative naysayers wrong. There is a stigma in the African American community that implies that young ladies with my cultural background and young ladies whose parents are not college graduates will not graduate high school or college and more than likely will become statistics. I am determined to not only exceed my parents’ high expectations, but I would love to prove society wrong. ”
This student wants to start her own business to serve Black Women who are under-served in local communities:
“I am fortunate to have been influenced by powerful black women that continuously inspired dignity, determination, and hope in me. Therefore, I want to show the world that a black woman like me who lives on the margins can own a thriving business that supports her community and become very successful. … My success will enable me to help change the trajectory of women by providing them confidence and hope so that they too can be an example for the next generation. … I will use my time in college to get my bachelor’s degree in business and build a network of peers driven to break the glass ceiling as black female business owners. It is my belief that together we can change the institutional racism, sexism, and separatism that prevents talented people from realizing their dreams.”
Many of you wrote about the challenges you have faced as immigrants to the US:
“When I arrived in this country at the age of two, the challenge of picking up a new language became my early life’s adventure. …Leaving our homeland wasn’t just a change of scenery; it was our way of dodging poverty and an unequal education system. Picture this: every single day, my mom would nudge me to keep my cultural roots under wraps. Why? Well, the fear of being deported haunted us like a ghost, and keeping our immigrant status on the down-low became a daily ritual. Living as an undocumented immigrant has been my life’s Everest, shaping the way I see the world and pushing me to prove my value every step of the way.”
This student describes the feelings of disruption and loss that leaving her native country triggered in her:
“We left to come to the United States, and my life changed completely. We left everything behind my family, my friends, my country, my people. This journey made me realize that not everything was going to be easy. There were so many moments when I felt alone, and I felt like there wasn’t any motivation to keep fighting for my future. I just wanted to go back to my country, to the people and places I knew. …I’ve learned that moving out of your native country is not easy, but every day I wake up and remind myself why I’m here and why my family moved here. …Leaving my mother country was one of the hardest decisions my parents had to make, but I know that this was the best choice because it’s changed my life.”
Many of you are from El Salvador, and this student writes poetically of her vision of the present and hopes for the future:
“The spirit of my people perseveres in this delicate dance between hopelessness and will. As a Latina from El Salvador, I bear witness to these young souls, whose hopes and dreams are delicate butterflies waiting to take flight. I see glimpses of a better future in their eyes, one in which poverty and having to work to help family income will only be a thing of the past. …I too, am part of this intricate story, and it is my duty to sow the seeds of change…. We must not let the songs of these children go unheard, their dreams unfulfilled. It is up to us all to provide them with the opportunity to grow and flourish. In the heart of El Salvador, where the sun and moon play hide and seek, I discover my purpose. I am the weaver of a brighter future for the country I call home, the keeper of the hopes and dreams that the children in poverty have in their hearts.”
This student wants to study Criminal Justice so she can help young people stay out of trouble:
“ [After graduation] I would like to get a job as a juvenile probation officer. I want to become a juvenile probation officer because I want to be able to help juveniles be able to get back on track instead of going down a path that is not good for them. I want to be someone they can look up to show them that there are good things for them if they go down the right path. Also, I can help them realize that there are better things for them than what they are doing to end up in the presence of a probation officer. I want to be someone that can help them turn their life around instead of criticizing the decisions that they chose to make.”
You want to work for racial justice:
“From as far back as I can remember, I’ve always challenged why things in this world were done the way they were. …I soon found that every black person no matter their age had my same inquiries. It’d be quite peculiar to be black and not question our existence in this country. What role we play, what’s expected of us, and how to break out of this horrid monolith we find ourselves in. I dug deeper into law and that’s where my voice grows the loudest. …The amount of racism in legislation that goes unnoticed by most people hurts my heart. My curiosity turned history lesson was followed up with rebellion that now fuels my activism. There lies my love for Criminal Justice. There needs to be more black representation in a field where we are misrepresented. A voice that speaks up for us instead of against us.”
And so it is that you are starting your new academic lives at Trinity in Washington, in the nation’s capital, at a university with a long history of women’s public leadership, and at a time of tremendous political ferment, hope and opportunity for our nation and all of us. Our nation right now is engaged in what may well be the most remarkable presidential campaign in our history, a campaign that sets out stark choices for our future. Not one of us can sit back and be a bystander — if you are an American citizen, you must register to vote and then VOTE. If you are not a citizen, you can still be politically engaged and work for the candidate of your choice. Every single one of us has a choice, and it’s up to each of us to choose how to exercise that choice, and we must respect whatever each one chooses. What we cannot afford, must not tolerate, is apathy, disengagement, a sense of hopelessness. In the words of former First Lady Michelle Obama earlier this week, each and every one of us needs to DO SOMETHING to make sure our freedoms and democracy remain strong.
Former President Barack Obama also spoke the other night and he put it this way:
“We believe that true freedom gives each of us the right to make decisions about our own life – how we worship, what our family looks like, how many kids we have, who we marry. And we believe that freedom requires us to recognize that other people have the freedom to make choices that are different than ours….
At Trinity, you will be surrounded by great diversity and we will expect you to respect the values, custom, beliefs and choices of all others; these are fundamental values to ensure a healthy, peaceful democracy.
President Obama went on:
“Democracy isn’t just a bunch of abstract principles and dusty laws. It’s the values we live by, and the way we treat each other – including those who don’t look like us or pray like us or see the world exactly like we do…. No nation, no society, has ever tried to build a democracy as big and diverse as ours before – one where our allegiances and our community are defined not by race or blood, but by a common creed. That’s why when we uphold our values, the world’s a little brighter….America can be, must be, a force for good – discouraging conflict, fighting disease, promoting human rights, protecting the planet from climate change, defending freedom.”
These are also values and dispositions that we hope will grow in and with you during your Trinity years.
You now join a long line of activists and women leaders who have proudly carried the mission and values of Trinity into this world. For 125 years, Trinity has educated the next generations of citizen leaders, teachers, advocates and activists, corporate entrepreneurs and nonprofit innovators, nurses and doctors and practitioners of the healing arts, women determined to make this world a happier, healthier, more just and free place. Their presence, their hard work, their strong voices and clear influence have, indeed, changed our world.
The first women who did that here were the Founders of Trinity, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. 125 years ago, a small group of very courageous women started their own revolution for justice. These women, religious sisters, certainly did not think of themselves as radicals, and yet look at this room today, a room they could not have imagined in the segregated world of 1897 —but they would be so proud of you today!
We are here today because those women had a powerful, unyielding belief in the right and necessity of higher education for women, and all of us who are their heirs have reaped so many benefits from their courage.
As their heirs, we are also champions for justice not only for women but for persons of color, for immigrants, for our LGBTQ sisters and brothers, for persons who are marginalized and oppressed in this nation and around the world. Because of this mission commitment, rooted in the Catholic idea of social justice, we are proud to welcome you in all of your glorious diversity of race and ethnicity and nationality and language and customs and beliefs. Your diversity makes Trinity stronger, illuminates all of our lives, teaching the members of this campus community how to build a good society in the world beyond Michigan Avenue — a world that desperately needs leaders who know the true meaning of justice and seek to extend its life-giving meaning to every person on this small planet.
As you leave this Chapel today, wearing your Trinity medals proudly, go with the blessings of the Trinity. May you find the strength, the wisdom and the love of the Trinity as inspiration, support and a call to action each day.
Congratulations!
Continue reading →Read comments (0) Add CommentGOATs to the Rescue!
August 2, 2024
Just when the political news cycle seemed like it couldn’t get more outrageous, the women saved us from insanity. Not just any women — two women Olympic Champions who are the GOATs, the Greatest of All Time in their respective sports. Simone Biles is one of the most amazing athletes in any sport, and her gold medal performance yesterday to capture the individual all-round Olympic championship was simply stunning. Swimming champion Katie Ledecky now is the most decorated female Olympian of all time. As both women competed yesterday, their strength and resilience and sheer excellence pushed the negative headlines off the screen, replaced with images of our high aspirations to be the best in whatever endeavors we pursue. That’s one of the reasons why we love watching the Olympics — not only to cheer for our faves but also to soak in the moments of inspiration, hope and joy in achievement.
Let’s cheer for the GOATs!
The achievements of Simone and Katie and other Olympians were balm in a news cycle that highlighted some of the worst of human behavior on the political side. This blog was going to be solely devoted to a certain presidential candidate’s ugly, racist, shameful behavior in his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists. I may still write about the disgraceful, disordered rhetoric of that candidate and the baseline expectations in civility and truth we must have for our national leaders. But the GOATs stole the show this week, and good for them, let’s not let one man’s disgusting behavior distract us from the real champions worth celebrating.
Another huge story of hope and triumph filled our screens last night as well — the freeing of American hostages from Russian prisons. What an amazing story of resilience, perseverance, diplomacy and grit! Who didn’t get goose bumps watching Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kormasheva emerge from the plane at Joint Base Andrews late last night? Congratulations to all public officials, diplomats and private negotiators from multiple nations who secured their release!
As we head into the waning days of summer, let’s continue to celebrate the best of who we are and can be. Let’s appreciate and cheer for the GOATs, and let’s push the negativity and hostility to the margins. Keeping our balance in this turgid political time is essential to be sure that this nation emerges victorious as a thriving, healthy democracy after the November presidential election.
Cheers for Team USA!!
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