“Inviting Peace” was the theme of “Our World House: A Cultural Showcase,” a now-annual School event organized by the Department for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB), for which students from the Lower School (LS), Middle School (MS), and Upper School (US) were invited to share performances, dialogues, and demonstrations, and then enjoy a festive reception afterward. The event was presented in collaboration with D-E’s Parent Affinity Groups as a way to celebrate myriad identities within our community.
To situate the event in its new space in the school calendar each January, DEIB Director Dr. Marcus Ingram proposed that the initiative’s name and intention be inspired by the quote from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“We have inherited a large house, a great world house in which we have to live together… a family unduly separated in ideas, culture, and interest, who because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.”
Mr. Joel Lee ’17, US Assistant Director of DEIB, and the official event MC, opened the showcase by referencing this quote and Dr. King’s “belief in community and justice,” which aligns with our School’s mission to “make it better” beyond the halls of D-E.
The show kicked off with a dance performance set to Bad Bunny’s “Nuevayol,” choreographed by eighth grader Ella Gorcie ’30 and facilitated by the Latino Parent Affinity Group.
The South Asian Parent Affinity Group, co-led by Reena Amrute and Kalpana Bains ’99, P’28, ’31, then assisted with a presentation of peace quotes from inspiring South Asian figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Malala Yousafzai; remarks from seventh graders meant to shed light on the diversity within South Asian cultures; and a LS dance performance, choreographed to Ed Sheeran’s “Sapphire” and the title song from Bollywood film Om Shanti Om. The US South Asian Affinity Group also presented a dance routine to the Bollywood song “Nagada Sang Dhol Baje.”
Following the series, Kennedy Jarvis ’26, a leader of the US Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club, presented a reading about how a unicorn found her rainbow (flag).
Next, the Chinese Parent Affinity Group, co-led by Ms. Dan Wang, facilitated an endearing PreK 4 performance of the “Midu Folk Song,” a LS performance set to the song “South of the Colorful Clouds,” and a striking Kung Fu demonstration with sword choreography featuring LS students.
The self-described “African Superstars,” directed by Annrita Muhungura, then took the stage to dance to a medley of hip-hop classics and Afro-Caribbean beats, including Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).”
Sixth grader Lauren Burke ’32 followed with a beautiful rendition of “Me & U,” an inspirational song by Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems.
The Korean Parent Affinity Group then presented a series of performances, including Austin Chu ’32 playing the gayageum, a Korean zither; a choreographed dance to the ubiquitous K-Pop song “Golden,” led by Alene Huang ’27; a taekwondo demonstration, led by Gavin Park ’28; and a percussion ensemble playing Korean drums.
There were also two performances from D-E Performing Arts—US String Jam, with a piece composed by Mr. Diego Garcia and directed by Ms. Annaliesa Place, and the LS/US Chorus singing Ysaye Barnwell’s “Wanting Memories,” directed by Mr. Kenneth Kacmar P’26, ’28 and Ms. Fiona Crawford.
In closing remarks, Ms. Simone Henry Agblonon, LS/MS Assistant Director of DEIB, thanked faculty/staff, our parent community, and especially all our student performers, who displayed an incredible amount of courage, dedication, and collaboration to pull off a successful showcase. “The diversity we saw here is what makes the D-E community so amazing,” she said.
Sincere gratitude is expressed to the following identity-based Parent Affinity Groups who tirelessly volunteered their time and talents to facilitate the acts as well as provide an elaborate spread of savories, sweets, and sips representing a wide variety of cultures during the post-show reception: Asian American Parent Affinity Group; Black Parent Affinity Group; Chinese Parent Affinity Group; Jewish Parent Affinity Group; Korean Parent Affinity Group; Latino Parent Affinity Group; LGBTQ+ Parent Affinity Group; Middle Eastern Parent Affinity Group; and South Asian Parent Affinity Group.