Aryav Dhar ‘24
Black Main Line Speaks (BMLS) is an organization based in Philadelphia whose primary purpose is to raise awareness about issues of diversity and racism in private schools around the Main Line.
Alumni of private schools in the area run BMLS as “a platform where Black Main Line community members could share their experiences with racism and injustice”, according to their website. Ayinde Tate, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at EA, adds that Black Main Line Speaks’ purpose is “to amplify the voices of Black students from different independent schools on the Main Line.”
Photo courtesy of the BMLS Instagram page
The founders of Black Main Line Speaks want to remain anonymous because “identities don’t matter in the conversation of this account and platform. The platform is not about us; it’s about the community, the experiences we’ve had, and the need for change in our schools.”
BMLS has made a significant effort to share stories of Black students from 30 schools on the Main Line, including Episcopal. Some of the other schools that have been featured on the BMLS Instagram page are The Haverford School, Friends Central, Penn Charter, Germantown Friends, The Baldwin School, Agnes Irwin, and more.
Many EA students support the mission of BMLS but are unsure of its overall effectiveness. Myles Davis ‘22, Senior Warden of the Vestry, says, “I think BMLS has been a good way to express incidents that one has gone through during their time at a school. As a result, I do think it’s been effective in the way it brings awareness to these times of issues. However, to me, it’s unclear as to the overall change it has made, although I do believe it has the potential to make substantial effects on our school because of that awareness it brings.”
According to one BMLS post, a current EA student claims, “[EA] needs to look into their staff more. Some of the teachers have definitely made some questionable comments that should be taken seriously. They also need to make sure that when students commit some acts of discrimination that they understand why what they did was wrong and some form of punishment, especially if they’re aware of the effects.” Comments like these demonstrate the ability of BMLS to offer students a platform to constructively criticize the way Black students at their schools are treated.
Alaina Guo ‘22 says, “The stories from alumni that they show on their page are really telling. I also disagree with how the school’s own Instagram page is set up to not let BMLS tag them in their posts. It would be better to acknowledge issues and fix them, especially since we’re already making strides with DEI initiatives.”