DEI means recognizing the intrinsic humanity in everyone.

Our Newsletter brings you updates of efforts to support

diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our town.



Vol. 2 No. 1 January 19, 2025

O God in these turbulent days when fear and doubt are mounting high give us broad visions, penetrating eyes, and power of endurance. Help us to work with renewed vigor for a warless world, for a better distribution of wealth and for a brotherhood that transcends race or color.

Martin Luther King, Jr. from a prayer at

Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia September 6, 1953

The Desmond-Fish Public Library welcomes Raymond A. Brown on Monday, January 20, at 2 p.m. to speak about his grandparents, Raymond and Sadie Alexander. The Alexanders were pioneering lawyers for civil rights at the tme of deepest segregation. Mr. Brown will discuss their groundbreaking work and their connection with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Register here.

News from the Manitou School

Director Maria Stein-Marrison shared that The Manitou School celebrated MLK Jr. Day with a school-wide assembly. The School puts an emphasis for school families on Monday as a Day of Service dedicated to helping others, and created an extensive list of volunteer opportunities for parents and children.

Click here for the complete list, many of which are ongoing chances for helping others.

News from the Garrison Union Free School District

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated throughout the Garrison Schools, with teachers of the youngest children through middle school talking about the importance of Dr. King's legacy. Principal Allison Emig emphasized the importance of learning aobut Dr. King to the entire school community.

Teacher Julie Greene explained how first graders read many books in class about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. "We discussed ways to show kindness to each other and wrote about ways to show kindness. We carried this over in Guidance with Ms. DiDiego and made a kindness quilt."

Middle School social studies teacher Christine Valvano reported: "Middle School students celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by engaging in an informational read-aloud about King's life. His background and impact on America as leader of the Civil Rights Movement was the focus of the lesson. Students learned about different methods of nonviolent protest which include marches, speeches, sit-ins and boycotts. The activity culminated with students choosing a quote from MLK Jr. and reflecting on the meaning of the quote and why they chose it in a written response."  

News from the Haldane Central School District

REMINDER: The Haldane EDI Committee of the Haldane PTA has chosen to read A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall, an American author living in Jerusalem. Visit his website here. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction in 2024. The Committee will be meeting to discuss the book in early February.

All members of the Phillipstown DEI Committee and Haldane community are welcome. To join the discussion, please contact EDI@haldanepta.org. 

About the Philipstown DEI Committee

Our informal group was formed in response to a racist incident at a library event in 2021. Members representing the Garrison Union Free School District, the Haldane PTA EDI Committee, Butterfield Library, and the Desmond-Fish Public Library developed a community-wide survey, the results of which can be read here. The two school districts and the two public libraries have also been joined by the Manitou School and many other community organizations. All are welcome to be part of the effort. Please contact philipstowndei@gmail.com

Our Mission Statement

The mission of the Philipstown DEI Committee is to raise awareness

and foster learning and sharing opportunities that promote

community-wide engagement.  By working together across institutions, we strive to ensure that all Philipstown community members are represented, acknowledged, and valued.

Future Plans

We invite you to join our Zoom meetings that are held the last Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m. Other projects we are working on include a Spanish-language Book Club, guest speakers and authors, parent workshops, a Library of Humans, and more. To obtain a link to the meetings, email japicello@gufs.org.

To sign up for the Newsletter mailing list, please visit our Website

Our goal is to share future newsletters in Spanish also; thank you for your patience.

Compartiremos futuros boletines en español; gracias por su paciencia.

La diversidad, la equidad y la inclusión son objetivos muy importantes.