Credit: Kyle Zhang

Senior Shubha Iyer and junior Frankie Zilembo display a painting created live during the assembly as jamele adams looks on.

On Thursday, March 4, creator of the Love, Inclusion and Trust (LIT) framework jamele adams spoke to Wayland High School students at the “This Is Our House” assembly about the importance of building a school community centered on equity.

As he walked into the auditorium, adams chanted, “Whose house?”

“Our house,” students responded.

The assembly was funded through the Hate Crimes Grant, which provides financial support for initiatives that prevent, investigate or respond to hate-motivated crimes.

According to adams, he spells his name in lowercase to “signal that he is a piece in life’s grand landscape for all of us.” Previously, adams served as dean of students at Brandeis and director of LIT for Scituate Public Schools. He also served as director of Jeter’s Leaders, a program for high school students in New York City.

The assembly also included student musical performances and speeches from students who worked alongside adams. Student band Vagabond performed, as did freshman trumpeter Ayehu Million, who played Cake’s version of “I Will Survive.” Sophomores Xavier Stewart and John Brevard also performed “Yesterday” by The Beatles.

“We both really like music and a lot of the time we hang out with other people, and just make music together,” Brevard said. “I think music is just a big tool to kind of bring everyone together.”

One of the first student performances featured junior Max Curbelo, who recited his poem “They, You and I.”

“And at the center of it all, I see you,” Curbelo said. “You stand high, looking at the community, remembering that love, inclusivity and trust begins and ends with They, You and I.”

Following Curbelo’s spoken-word performance, sophomore Maya Pereira delivered a speech about her experiences with everyday racism and its impact on her. She spoke about how offhand racist comments and jokes can stay with people and cause harm.

“The repeated words sound like slurs, as if the painful sounds are pushing you deeper underwater as you’re struggling to stay afloat,” Pereira said. “Words that make you question yourself, your worth. My parents always told me not to care about what others say, but the words swarm in my mind as if they’re glue. They become stuck in my head whenever I look in the mirror.”

After Pereira’s speech, senior Sophia Nguyen spoke about her experience in the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program. Nguyen explained that METCO was started by Black mothers in response to de facto segregation and the underfunding of their children’s education. Nguyen said METCO is the reason she will be the first person in her family to attend college. She will attend Wellesley College in the fall.

“So, even when I graduate this year, and even when I am gone, after 10 years of being in this district, I want you to please be kind to each other,” Nguyen said. ”Please be good to one another, even those you are unfamiliar with.”

Additionally, senior Shubha Iyer and junior Frankie Zilembo presented a painting created live during the assembly. The painting, which featured a bridge and flowers, was meant to represent growth in the community. It also included people of different colors, shapes and sizes to show that a community can include people with many differences.

“We the people are meant to be alive right now to navigate these times,” adams said. “We have ample examples on the news every day of people trying to divide us. When we are together we move better. So that’s what we’re doing today and this is our house.”

adams spoke about a way to connect with others that he called “MOO,” which stands for my history, our lives, our future. To demonstrate the idea, adams invited students to talk and connect about a topic chosen from the crowd. He used the activity to show how small conversations can lead to stronger connections.

adams then talked about ways to respond to discriminatory comments. He used the phrase “IQE,” which stands for interrupt, question and educate, to explain how to address offensive remarks. According to adams, simply interrupting and questioning a prejudiced comment can create an opportunity for growth.

adams also worked with the football team following a reported racist incident in the boys locker room in which a member of the team was targeted.

“We had the opportunity to connect with the team, to connect with the coaches, and take a journey on what happened,” adams said. “We unpacked it and figured out where we’re gonna go in the future.”