Equity, Justice and Multicultural Education (EJM)

Equity, Justice and Multicultural Education Mission Statement

It is the essence of a Sacred Heart education to cultivate the formation of the whole person to be an active, informed, and responsible citizen locally, nationally, and globally. Rooted in our faith, the school promotes a safe and welcoming environment in which each person is affirmed, respected and cared for both inside and outside of the classroom. We intend to empower all members of our community—students, parents, employees, trustees and alumnae with the tools to recognize and value the distinctive perspectives, experiences, and skills of others.

We seek to uphold the mission of our foundress, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, whose vision was to transform the world through the love of the Heart of Jesus, by calling our community to model inclusion, empathy, and respect. We commit ourselves to fostering an awareness that impels us to act because of our belief in the dignity of each person.

We view pluralism as the woven fabric of our community, creating opportunity for dialogue, learning and activism. It is expected that all members of the Sacred Heart community value differences that include, but are not limited to, ability, age, beliefs, ethnicity, family structure, gender, learning style, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status.

The Sacred Heart community at 91st Street is committed to maintain an ongoing dialogue in all matters of equity, justice and multicultural education, and to continuously reflect upon our actions.

EJM Highlights of the Month

February Highlights in US Women's History

Feb 1, 1978 - First postage stamp to honor a black woman, Harriet Tubman, is issued in Washington, DC
Feb 4, 1987 - First National Women in Sports Day is celebrated by Presidential Proclamation
Feb. 12 1869 - the Utah Territory passes a law allowing women to vote
Feb 15, 1921 - The Suffrage Monument, depicting Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott, and carved by Adelaide Johnson, is dedicated at the U.S. Capitol
Feb 15, 1953 - Tenley Albright is the first American woman to win the World Figure Skating championship
Feb 17, 1870 - Esther Hobart Morris became the first American woman Justice of the Peace
Feb 24, 1912 - Henrietta Szold founds Hadassah, the largest Jewish organization in American history, focusing on healthcare and education in the Israel and the US
Feb 24, 1967 - Jocelyn Bell Burnell makes the first discovery of a pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star
Feb 25 1986 - Corazon Aquino sworn in as the first woman President of the Philippines
Feb 27, 1922 - US Supreme Court upholds the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees women the right to vote

February Birthdays

Feb 1, 1878 (1950) - Hattie Wyatt Caraway , first woman elected to the US Senate(1932, D-AR) and first woman to preside over the Senate in 1943
Feb 3, 1821 (1910) - Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman awarded a medical degree in US (1849)
Feb 3, 1874 (1946) - Gertrude Stein, poet, author, art critic; famous for: "A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose"
Feb 4, 1913 (2005) - Feb 4, 1913 - Rosa Parks - "Mother of Civil Rights Movement;" her arrest after refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama.With her consent, Jo Ann Gibson Robinson along with a colleague and two students mimeographed 35,000 handbills calling for a boycott of the Montgomery bus system, which eventual led to the Supreme Court decision to integrate buses.
Feb 4, 1921 (2006) - Betty Friedan, a uthor and activist; wrote “The Feminine Mystique” (1963); cofounder of National Organization for Women (NOW) (1966)
Feb 7, 1867 (1957) - Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of beloved "Little House" books
Feb 9, 1944 - Alice Walker, writer, first African American woman to win Pulitzer Prize for fiction, for “The Color Purple” (1983)
Feb 10, 1927 - Leontyne Price, Grammy award winning opera singer
Feb 13, 1906 (1990) - Pauline Frederick, journalist, first woman network radio correspondent (1939), first woman to moderate a presidential debate (1976)
Feb 15, 1820 (1906) - Susan B. Anthony, leader of 19th century women's right movement; strategist; lecturer
Feb 16, 1870 (1927) - Leonora O'Reilly, labor organizer; founding member of Woman's Trade Union League; helped found NAACP
Feb 18, 1931 - Toni Morrison , Pulitzer Prize winning novelist; first African-American to win Nobel Prize for Literature (1993)
Feb 21, 1855 (1902) - Alice Freeman Palmer, educator; founded predecessor organization to American Assn. of University Women (AAUW) in 1881
Feb 22, 1876 (1938) - Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sha), writer; Sioux Indian activist; founded National Council of American Indians (1926)
Feb 22, 1892 (1950) - Edna St. Vincent Millay, first woman to receive Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1923)
Feb 27, 1897 (1993) - Marian Anderson, opera singer, first African-American member of the New York Metropolitan Opera (1955)

African American History Month

The 2012 theme for African American History Month is

"Black Women in American Culture and History."

"This year's theme, "Black Women in American Culture and History," invites us to pay special tribute to the role African American women have played in shaping the character of our Nation -- often in the face of both racial and gender discrimination. As courageous visionaries who led the fight to end slavery and tenacious activists who fought to expand basic civil rights to all Americans, African American women have long served as champions of social and political change. And from the literary giants who gave voice to their communities to the artists whose harmonies and brush strokes captured hardships and aspirations, African American women have forever enriched our cultural heritage. Today, we stand on the shoulders of countless African American women who shattered glass ceilings and advanced our common goals. In recognition of their legacy, let us honor their heroic and historic acts for years to come.

The achievements of African American women are not limited to those recorded and retold in our history books. Their impact is felt in communities where they are quiet heroes who care for their families, in boardrooms where they are leaders of industry, in laboratories where they are discovering new technologies, and in classrooms where they are preparing the next generation for the world they will inherit." (excerpt from President Obama's Proclamation on Black History Month, 2012)

There are many programs offered throughout NYC during Black History Month.

For a full list of events: http://www.nyc-arts.org/collections/359/black-history-month-2012