Alumna and her Lowell students lead project on American identity
What does it mean to be American? Jessica Lander posed the question to the students at majority minority Lowell High School taking her seminar on American diversity last year. The answer, she warned, has been debated from the nation’s beginning and will likely persist as long as it remains. Undaunted, students in the fall and spring semesters grappled with it and studied the history of equity in the U.S. before devising responses — 55 personal narratives collected in two volumes titled “We Are America” and “We Are America Too.” The essays are deeply intimate, raw, and moving — covering a wide range of experiences from immigrating to the U.S., finding a sense of belonging and self-acceptance, losing loved ones, starting friendships, and overcoming adversity. Lander Ed.M ’15 and her students — many of whom have graduated and are now in college — are now using the books to jump into the national conversation on...