Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School admits students from fourteen divisions, serving one of the most diverse populations in the state of Virginia. Nevertheless, many alumni feel that the regional population is not accurately represented in the Maggie Walker community. Specifically, critics argue that Maggie Walker underrepresents Black and Latino populations. In 2019, only 8.0% of the students in the incoming freshman class identified as either Black or Latino. However, Maggie Walker has made substantial progress this year, admitting more Black and Latino students in 2021 than ever before. 

In order to see this progress continue, the Antiracist Alumni of MLWGS, a group of Maggie Walker graduates ranging from the classes of 1997 to 2020, is working to pave the way for a more inclusive and representative community for years to come. 

The Antiracist Alumni (ARA) of MLWGS was founded in 2020 when Maggie Walker’s Regional School Board initially began substantive discussions about the diversity of Maggie Walker and has expanded to around 100 to 150 members. The ARA’s founding notably occurred during the resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests—as well as protests surrounding Confederate monuments, like that of the Lee statue—in Richmond and across the country following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. 

Currently, the group works with the Thomas Jefferson Alumni Action Group, a similar advocacy group at Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax, to promote equality in the admissions process and the community. Together, these two organizations strongly supported House Bill 2305 in front of the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year. This bill aimed to increase minority representation in governor’s schools by enabling the state Department of Education to regulate and guide schools on how to promote equity and increase access to governor's schools for historically underserved students. However, despite the reforms promised by House Bill 2305, it was ultimately rejected by the General Assembly. 

The Antiracist Alumni group also makes their voice heard in the community through governmental officials and local agencies by reviewing meeting records of the MLWGS Regional School Board and commenting on the discussion boards. In an October meeting, one alumnus from the class of 2006 stated, “While I strongly believe that eliminating the achievement test is not a silver bullet, and it won't solve everything, I think it's an essential component of showing our commitment to equity.” The group advocates for a new admissions policy, which does not require students to have taken Algebra I as a prerequisite for applying to the governor’s school. They have also initiated interviews with 2021 Virginia gubernatorial candidates in order to discuss new methods to assist minority populations in schools.

In order to achieve their goal of an inclusive and supportive society, the Antiracist Alumni group aims to expand their influence and gain support from the community. The ARA recently formed a partnership with the Black Alumni Network, a group consisting of Black alumni who notably created a survey in June of 2020 that asked Black students at MLWGS a series of questions about their experience and perspectives on the racial climate at the school. Together, they are working to create a scholarship fund for Black students at Maggie Walker. Rasheeda Creighton, a Black alumna of the class of 1996 and key member of the Black Alumni Network, stated, “We wanted to find a way we could have present and future students feel supported by Black alumni, so they don’t feel like they are alone.” 

Being an alumna of one of the first graduating classes of Maggie Walker, and one who is still active in governor’s school events to date, Creighton can provide an effective analysis of the school over time. Unfortunately, she has noticed that today, “Qualified students don’t want to come because of the experience [that] they’re hearing. They just don’t want that social experience.” 

While she did appreciate school administrators taking the time to hear feedback from alumni, she noted the fact that “accountability must be prioritized,” and administrators must further prioritize communication with current students. There are a number of ways the Antiracist Group and the Black Alumni Network seek to prioritize these issues, but the biggest topic of conversation is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) spokesperson for the school, either part-time or full time. In order to better support Black, Latino, and Hispanic students, Creighton believes “DEI must be a stated priority. If it is not stated with some very clear consequences for actions that are counter to what the intent and purposes [of the DEI clause] are, then it is just lip service.” 

For Alison Walter, alumna from the class of 2008 and active member of the ARA, the DEI position which the ARA and Black Alumni Network support “is something that we would fully support. It has to be somebody not a part of the existing admin.” 

Walter, who herself is an educator in Northern Virginia, is sympathetic to the challenges MLWGS faculty face in creating the changes the ARA is advocating for. “As a teacher, I feel a little guilty advocating for these things because I know how hard this year is.” She believes the biggest challenge is a disconnect between alumni and administration, but she appreciates Director Dr. Robert Lowerre for slowly bridging that gap. “We [alumni] have a very collaborative relationship with administration, and I found it very heartwarming how Dr. Lowerre invited lots of frustrated alumni to come join the Strategic Plan committee to discuss collaboratively.” 

She went on to say, “I do think there’s a lot more that needs to happen, but I think administration has taken a lot of steps, such as Dr. Williams’ leading professional development for faculty and staff.” Later, Walter pointed out,“It’s not that no one thinks this [DEI] is an issue, it’s just that it might seem too big or overwhelming for school administration.” She reflected on her own realization of the privilege she had while attending the governor’s school, stating, “As a white alumna, I learned a lot after looking at Rasheeda Creighton’s survey from current Black students.”

For alumni, one of their biggest priorities is changes to the admissions test. Tanim Islam, class of 1997 and member of the ARA, acknowledged backlash that it is still too early to evaluate the change’s efficacy. “It’s true that it is still too early to tell, but if there isn’t a change in the quality, we should just not do an admissions test.” Like Walter, he is sympathetic to both the Black alumni from MLWGS as well as administration, stating, “They have to antagonize two groups of people: one who is worried about quality concerns and the other, such as myself and the ARA, who are more concerned with equity issues.” Walter also noticed concerns of the quality of the school being reduced with admissions test changes. “It’s ridiculous. As an educator myself, tests aren’t a good way to figure giftedness out. Giftedness at magnet programs have a deep history in white flight and trying to make segregated schools.” Further, the test itself is biased from the start, as Walter noted, “The fact that you can prepare for these gifted tests and that there are individuals who pay for these [preparation] courses is already inherently unfair.”

Along with concerns for demographic issues, the alumni groups are also concerned with a lack of a holistic education for students, particularly one that teaches the history of Maggie Lena Walker. Neither Walter nor Islam learned about the history of Maggie Walker; the only thing Walter could remember was “One field trip to Jackson Ward, but it wasn’t put into context of the history of the school.” Creighton said, “You can have a present day program in a space but still acknowledge the history of the space. The fact that the history is not taught is an abomination.” Not only does she believe the necessity of the school to educate students on the namesake, she also emphasizes explaining the entirety of the history– not just Maggie Lena Walker and her impact but also the black businesses who she helped, or the small community that did support her endeavors to become the first African American woman to charter a bank. “There’s a whole story to be told, and the story does not just include Maggie Walker. We must include her as well as how we got to Maggie Walker. We must understand the entirety of her history and legacy.” 

This issue is especially heartbreaking to older alumni, who have a greater connection to the history of Maggie Lena Walker and the building prior to becoming a governor’s school. For Lowerre, he acknowledges the necessity to close the gap between old alumni and current administration. “There are some big disconnects that I didn’t realize until we started working with the old alumni. There’s an element with them that is horrified that we’re in this building. I also understand how this was an all-Black school, and it’s not now. There’s work we have to do to bridge the old alumni.”

The alumni continue to advocate for justice at Maggie Walker, for an inviting school culture and holistic education that they could not receive. As Creighton stated, “School is stressful enough, and there are social issues [at Maggie Walker] beyond the normal high school experience.” Thus, alumni such as Creighton, Walter, and Islam seek to remove these obstacles and are willing to work with administration and the rest of the school board to create an environment for students to flourish and grow as the school promises to do; they have and will continue to check the board in order to ensure that this happens, and they push for the changes they know MLWGS students, past, present, and future, deserve.