The Equity & Justice Institute
Overview
The Crossroads School Equity & Justice Institute is a landmark program of Crossroads School, launched in September 2018.
Former Head of School Bob Riddle conceived of the Institute to provide more opportunities for students to develop as engaged citizens and to significantly bolster the School’s impact on the global community. Crossroads’ Board of Trustees approved the proposal in 2012 as part of the capital campaign Worlds Unimagined: The Campaign for Crossroads.
The Institute launched in 2018 with a mission to find meaningful solutions to the challenges our students will inherit, including racism, sexism, poverty, war, environmental degradation, educational inequities, religious persecution and genocide. The Institute brings new opportunities for service and innovation to our students while developing and supporting meaningful community action with partner organizations.Learn More
The Equity & Justice Institute
Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® Program
Serving nearly 50 students from the local neighborhood, the six-week program offers full days of instruction at Crossroads taught by college aged student interns. The multicultural and researched-based curriculum promotes literacy, civic engagement and social action.
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The Equity & Justice Institute
Distinguished Lecture Series
A key feature of the Institute is its Distinguished Lecture Series. The series brings noted scholars and activists to campus to help stimulate dialogue among students, educators and community leaders committed to tackling the problems of racism, poverty, war, genocide, educational inequities, environmental degradation, religious persecution and other forms of injustice. These events are free and open to the public. (Pictured: Robin DiAngelo, author of “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism”)
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The Equity & Justice Institute
Black Film & Culture Festival
The Equity & Justice Institute is proud to present the newly revived Black Film & Culture Festival. Originally titled the African-American Film Festival, this celebration of Black filmmakers first debuted at Crossroads in 1990. The event honors the invaluable contributions made by Black filmmakers to the world of cinema. During the 2023-24 school year, the Black Film & Culture Festival featured three films by a Crossroads parent of alumni, renowned filmmaker Michael Schultz P’91: “Cooley High,” “The Last Dragon” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
The Equity & Justice Institute
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Meet the Director
Read MoreCassandra Chase is the director of the Equity & Justice Institute at Crossroads. In this role, she collaborates with students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff and the entire School community to make an impact on local, national and global issues.“It is with great enthusiasm, commitment and imagination that I begin this journey at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences as the director of the Equity & Justice Institute,” writes Cassandra. “I join with the awareness that radical models of education are vital in addressing diverse, systemic, critical domestic and global issues. I embrace the Institute's mission and look forward to building this beloved community, together.”
Supporting the Institute
The Crossroads School Equity & Justice Institute is financed through an endowment made possible by generous donors. If you would like to make a gift to support the work of the Institute, please email giving@xrds.org.
