This Monday, the New Haven Register ran an op-ed entitled: “Inclusive education: If not now, when?” In it, Elijah Manning examined the importance of teaching the next generation an inclusive history that embraces the experiences of BIPOC (black, Indigenous and people of color), woman and other minority groups. He proposed the following:

“If we expanded our curricula to be more inclusive and teach all ‘minority’ achievements, it may help to cross our divides as people. And limit fear of each other. We are more than us vs. them. We are a collection of differences, our experiences. A collection of our ancestors, and our communities. As we all have differences, learning those differences allows us to realize what makes us different makes us great.”

I was thinking about this as I ran by a group of kids on the corner of Dixwell Avenue, decked out in uniforms and masks and waiting for the school bus—and again as I ran by the newly created All Saints Catholic Academy on Ferry Street. There, kids from all over the New Haven community climbed out of family vehicles and school buses and ran up the steps towards the open door of their new school.

I imagine that these kids, probably around the same age as my niece, are perhaps a bit nervous entering school for in-person learning after several months away and amidst a global pandemic; which, I’m sure their young minds are beginning to grasp in a real way. But the vibe seemed imbued —overwhelmingly—with a sense of hope and excitement. These students, reflecting a diversity of backgrounds and coming from different neighborhoods, seemed to recognize that an open school door is access to new beginnings, to friends, to knowledge and to truth in its fullness—all things that are so desperately needed in these challenging times.

They’re running towards that open door. Do we have the heart to keep up with them?