Today, Des Moines Public Schools joins with people across Iowa and around the country in the commemoration of Juneteenth. On this day, 155 years ago, Union troops finally arrived in Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation so that those enslaved there were made free. On this day, in 2020, DMPS pledges to redouble our commitment to addressing and resolving systemic racism in education. That work will range from hiring more staff and leaders of color to teaching a more culturally responsive and complete curriculum to dismantling systems that perpetuate racism to lifting the voices of students, staff and families of color. This is just a beginning. It will not always be easy. It will not always be comfortable.
