Social Justice Week is a week-long, student-led exploration of a topic. With assistance from staff and faculty, students will have guest speakers, field trips, projects, debates, etc. This school year, there are 13 Social Justice Week tracks, including five new tracks: African American Experiences, Discrimination in Sports, Drama and Social Justice, Injustice in the Justice System, and Urbanizations’ Effects on the Environment.
The new African American Experiences track, led by Deyon Fullard ‘26, Leila Banks ‘25, Amaya Tempro ‘26, and Bailey Spivey ‘26, focuses on modern Black culture while also looking at historical perspectives outside of slavery. It will delve deeper into how the African American community has evolved and grown from the 2000s to today. Students in this track will get a chance to go out to eat soul food, the ethnic cuisine of African Americans. “We decided we want to start this track because, as a PWI [Predominately White Institution], we feel like it’s important for other students to know more about Black culture and the Black community and just dive deeper,” says Deyon.
The Discrimination in Sports track, led by Harshil Bhatia ‘26, Jake Fogg ‘26, and Miles Lesser ‘26, is a new track this year in Social Justice Week that aims to educate participants in the widely overlooked discrimination and prejudice in modern sports. The course will educate students about the issues of sexism, racism, ableism, and homophobia in sports. The highlight of the week will be an exclusive tour of Citizens Bank Park. Harshil expressed that he and his collaborators have innovated this new track inspired by their shared passion for athletics. Harshil’s ambition is for students to “gain a deeper understanding of how athletes face discrimination in sports” and its individual and cumulative effects. Harshil, Jake, and Miles’s course will educate students on “ways to combat… call it out and stop” discrimination and bias in athletics.
The Drama and Social Justice track is led by Saije Milligan-Swinney ‘26 and explores the intersection between plays and positive social change. Students will participate in workshops and discussions regarding social justice in theater, as well as visit local theater companies that have shown plays relating to social justice. Saije was inspired to pioneer this new track by participating in last year’s play, “Radium Girls,” which deals with themes such as classism, sexism, and workers’ rights. Saije’s goal is to “discuss what kind of social change we can implement in our own theater” and specifically “how to get more racial and ethnic diversity in the upper school.”
The Injustice in the Justice System track, led by Kauveri Shah ‘27 and Grace Salmon ‘27, highlights the flaws that exist in the American criminal justice system. They are going to dive deeper into topics including the 8th Amendment, wealth inequality related to the justice system, healthcare in incarceration, and the importance of gender, sexual identity, and race in the justice system. Kauveri hopes “students will gain insight into the way the justice system works and how it affects those who go through it.” Some experiences they have planned include a trip to Eastern State Penitentiary, speakers including the returning Kurt Evans, and pizza from Down North Pizza.
The Urbanizations’ Effects on the Environment track is going to focus on deforestation and the local and global issues related to environmentalism. This track, led by Lila Milliken ‘25 and Will Matrai ‘25, plans on taking a 2-day overnight trip to French Creek State Park. During this trip, they will be hiking and spending time outside in nature. In their two days at Friends Select, they will be watching documentaries, hearing from environmental activists, and so much more! “I hope students will gain an appreciation for nature and our environment in and around the city,” says Lila. “I also hope students gain an understanding of the importance of trees and wildlife for our community and humans in general.”
The keynotes this year are John Kim Faye and the Heritage West Project. John Kim Faye is a musician and author: his book The Yin And The Yang Of It All is a memoir about the discovery of a voice, a tribe, and a musical ethnicity that goes beyond his identity and roots. Heritage West is “a community-informed archaeological project created with the goal of using archaeology to highlight the stories of individuals who lived in the Black Bottom neighborhood of West Philadelphia from the 19th century to the present.”
When planning new tracks, all the workload falls onto the student leaders. They are “really starting from scratch,” said Ian Lockey, the US coordinator of DEI. “Toni [Williamson, Director of DEI], Margaret [Smith, Director of City Curriculum], and I do check-ins with the groups a couple of times before SJW, and apart from giving some guidance as to what makes a good SJW track to people who haven’t done it before, the work they’re doing is really [their own].” Toni organizes and assures that leaders are keeping social justice at the forefront of their tracks.
Margaret is focused on connecting SJW to the city, helping to find speakers, make trips, and handle all of the logistics that go with that. When asked about new tracks, she said, “[What] I like about new tracks is that they build in opportunities for students and faculty to shape the content of the week in ways that matter to them… That, to me, is SJW working as it should, as an avenue for student voice and choice and as a vehicle of change.”