by Hayley Feland
At a recent school board workshop meeting, Hopkins School Board member Jen Westmoreland questioned whether people will survive climate change and white supremacy.
“If we look at climate grief, if we look at the impacts of white supremacy, if we look at all of these systems of oppression that are bearing down—I mean, there’s like a survival element that we’re talking about, right?” Westmoreland said. “So it’s not like, are you going to go out and get [inaudible] job? It’s like, are you going to survive?”
Westmoreland made the statement while discussing how success is defined.
At the 8/20 @Hopkins270 school board meeting, Jen Westmoreland, in an exaggerated display of rhetoric, dramatically questioned whether students will 'survive' the pressures of climate change, white supremacy, and systems of oppression.
"I’ve had some really interesting… pic.twitter.com/5wTKLvmXBW
— Mark Gilson 🌱 (@markwgilson) August 24, 2024
That discussion was part of a larger group conversation in which the school board members discussed their personal Enneagram numbers; the Enneagram is a personality test which assigns numbers to participants (1 through 9) that allegedly identify certain personality traits.
“We’re talking about social emotional learning, we’re talking about restorative practices and how we build community and repair relationships because if we don’t there are great impacts in the community,” Westmoreland said during the Aug. 20 meeting.
Westmoreland continued, asking the room, “What does it mean in this current context to be a successful human?”
After Westmoreland’s remarks, the board discussed their plans for the 2024-25 school year, which includes board members learning “best/next practices in innovative, equitable, and anti-racist educational practices locally and nationally.”
Westmoreland was first elected to serve on the Hopkins School Board in 2017 and was reelected in 2021. Her current term ends at the end of 2025. Westmoreland also ran in a special election to serve on the board of commissioners for Hennepin County this year; however, she lost in the April primary election for the seat.
Westmoreland is Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s domestic partner. Moriarty, a public figure who has been strongly criticized by both elected officials and law enforcement organizations, has previously expressed her belief that “white supremacy is ingrained everywhere,” and “white supremacy is what we all live in. It’s the water.”
Earlier this year, the Hopkins school district was scrutinized for its approach, or lack thereof, to public safety following several violent incidents during the 2023-24 school year.
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Photo “Jen Westmoreland” by Hopkins Video.
