Growing up in Chicago’s “Black Metropolis,” the South Side, and going to the posh Hyde Park neighborhood for school, D. Clinton Williams saw socioeconomic divides first hand. “Why can't African Americans have all that,“ he remembers thinking. “And how can I fight for that? The throughline of social justice has always been a part of my life.” He has since mentored and supported students in the same way he was once mentored and supported, including now as Commonwealth’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Keep reading to get to know Mr. Williams a bit better and follow the path that led him here.

Getting to Know You

What is bringing you joy right now? 

It's nice to see a large mix of diverse students coming through the halls. It's also nice to hear the energy of different grades coming together, to see that energy, to feel that energy, and try to harness it. Also, getting back into running this week for the first time in three years. So those kinds of things are giving me joy right now. 

What is your favorite book (or a book you’ve re-read)? 

My favorite book of all time is Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. I just love the way he tells twentieth-century African-American history through that text. I've read it many times. 

What is your favorite comfort food? 

Maple-walnut ice cream. My kids say it's old people's ice cream, but I love it. 

What was your favorite class in high school? 

History, taught by Miss Bonnie Tarta. At that time, I was not a strong student, and in her class, I was making the transition to being a strong student. She believed that I should be in the advanced classes and things like that, so she let me sit in those classes, and she just heard me out. I had a lot of things going on in my head about society and justice at that time. And she was like, “Oh, you could think about these things historically.”

What is your motto?

“Closed mouths don't get fed!” That's something we talk about in my family a lot to emphasize self-advocacy. 

Working at Commonwealth 

What do you love most about working at Commonwealth?

I love the energy of Commonwealth. It really reminds me of my whole undergraduate experience at Oberlin College. I love the fact that people are not defined by what they're wearing, where they live, or the resources they have. People come to Commonwealth to challenge those norms. 

The school gives students the chance to explore—whether it's socially, whether it's intellectually, whether it's academically. When students get here, they say, “Oh, I found my crew. I found my cohort. I can be free to try new things.” That's really exciting to me. And I love the fact that students are free-spirited! That was me in high school.

What led you to teaching? 

I grew up in the racially segregated South Side of Chicago. You were defined by your identity, so that was always something that mattered to me. Even as a kid, I always wondered about the roots of economic inequality and racial segregation. Why does one community have less than another? School always gave me spaces where I could challenge those ideas and ask those questions. 

I went to Kenwood Academy, a public magnet high school in Hyde Park, Chicago. At Kenwood and in Hyde Park, I met friends and had opportunities that expanded my worldview. I explored the University of Chicago after school, saw a young Barack Obama run for state senate, bought coffee next to Senator Carole Mosley Braun, and witnessed Jesse Jackson lead Operation Push. My school and the Hyde Park community helped me imagine a new world for myself but also instilled in me a desire to fight for the liberation of people from the African diaspora. Why can't African Americans have all that? And how can I fight for that? The throughline of social justice has always been a part of my life. 

Since I was in seventh grade, I knew I wanted to work with students and in education. In high school I tutored classmates, and I was a member of Future Teachers of Chicago. After Oberlin, I went to graduate school so I could teach at the college level. Then the opportunity to work at Phillips Exeter Academy as a history teacher, dorm supervisor, and club squash coach changed that trajectory. At Exeter my perspective shifted from teaching to administration. As a teacher I wanted to support my students, but I also wondered, “How do I create policies and opportunities that focus on access and equity, not just for students in my classroom but for the hundreds or even thousands of students?” 

What led you to working in diversity, equity, and inclusion? And then to Commonwealth in particular?

I never thought I was working in “DEI”; I thought I was just doing the work that came natural to me! I worked with students from unresourced communities and first-generation backgrounds at Exeter, Paul Quinn College, and the University of North Carolina Greensboro. As I became more and more involved in this work, my friends and colleagues said, “The stuff you're doing with students of color, students from backgrounds of limited income, students who have accessibility concerns: that is DEI work.” My last job, at Williams College, provided me with a framework for DEI work that helped me think strategically and see new horizons.

I identified with Commonwealth’s history—the commitment to social justice Charles Merrill had when he founded the school and the ongoing commitment to enrolling students from various socioeconomic backgrounds. I fell in love with the school during my visit. I thought [Head of School Jennifer Borman] and my predecessor did an excellent job of building out that foundation, and I just wanted to add to it, see how I could support it. It is really important for me that we're mission driven and that our mission talks about diversity: this is why we're here.

What do students (and families) need to know about you and what you do?

Oh my gosh, DEI touches on many, if not all, aspects of life at Commonwealth! DEI, I believe, is a shared responsibility, and I think of my role as a chance to work with the entire Commonwealth community to foster a culture built on respect and civility, personal growth, civil dialogue, and honest self-examination. A lot of what I do is to listen—to make sure individuals feel heard and to create opportunities, strategies, and initiatives that foster a sense of belonging. As a school we work to ensure DEI facilitates dialogue. We are constantly asking: How do we learn to listen closely? How do we learn to express our concerns? How do we deal with conflict? Our annual Diversity Day, which I oversee, is an example of how our community of students and faculty come together to explore the many facets of diversity at Commonwealth while encouraging open discourse on questions of race, class, gender, religion, ability, and more.

I work closely with our faculty and my colleagues in Admissions, Advancement, and Communications, and I support the Student Life team in creating a healthy and inclusive learning environment. For instance, this fall, Carrie Healy [Director of Admissions and Financial Aid] and I led a faculty discussion on ableism. Later in the semester, I’ll provide faculty guidance on how to respond to microaggressions they hear or witness in the building. I collaborate with senior administration to diversify our recruitment and hiring practices and team up with the Admissions team to build partnerships with community-based organizations and other schools as we work to diversify our student body. 

With [English teacher] Catherine Brewster, I’m a faculty advisor for the ninth-grade class, and I am part of the team that teaches the Ninth-Grade Seminar. I also support students in our affinity and alliance groups [such as Asian Pacific Peoples Affinity Group, FAM for Black/African-American students, Gender-Sexuality Alliance, Latino-Hispanic Association, First Generation Low Income Group, and Jew Crew). Students come to these groups to find community, and I help them build structure and programming. Commonwealth is a welcoming community, but these affinity spaces enable students who share a common identity or lived experience to connect, build fellowship, and share mutual concerns. 

You’re also part of the administrative team for Dive In Commonwealth. What does that work entail?

Dive In is such an amazing program, and it is an honor to work alongside Rui Shu and Paul Brunick [the Director and Assistant Director of Dive In]. I participate in all aspects of Dive In. This summer, I led a homeroom session with the rising ninth graders, taught a humanities class on the History of Immigration in America, and led a field trip to the Massachusetts State House. 

During the school year, I work with the Dive In team to recruit, interview, and admit applicants. We have a growing number of Dive In alumni/ae enrolled at Commonwealth, and the goal is to create continuity for them. I’m part of those students’ support system once they get here. Dive In alums at Commonwealth frequently have conversations with me about workload, Hancock, academic expectations, and a host of other issues, which can make the transition easier for them, I believe.

When and how can students expect to meet you? And how can they connect with you during the school year?

I think the most important part of any DEI position is just to be in the space where students are, and I try to meet them where they are: I'm always available to meet during school hours or even after school. I'm always available for email conversation. My office is always open to anyone who wants to come in and just sit and chat.

As part of the Student Life team, I meet with all the new families over the summer. And I lead sessions on building community at new student orientation. I am looking forward to developing new ways to connect with families, too.

What does a typical day look like for you?

When you’re an administrator, your days might not turn out the way you planned them! On any given day, there’s a student who wants to talk about what they are learning in class or others who need comfort because of various issues occurring in the world. So I try to be nimble and open to whatever is coming through the door. I think Ms. Borman and the rest of our colleagues have given me space to do that, so I can really be present with individuals—students and faculty and staff. I especially enjoy recess and assembly, and I love Tuesdays, when there's class meetings and I get to connect with our first-year students.

I start my day with a nice walk on the treadmill, I aim to eat breakfast and dinner with my wife and kids each day, and I try to end the day listening to music or reading before heading to bed.

Anything you’d like to add?

It really means a lot that this school was one of the first to say, “We will admit Black students, we will admit students regardless of their gender, regardless of their income” in 1958. That was right on the heels of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954 and just before the flawed school desegregation efforts in Boston in the 1960s and 1970. 

There’s this one quote from The Walled Garden [Charles Merrill’s autobiography of founding Commonwealth] that I love. Writing in 1982, Merrill reflected on how Commonwealth could help Black students “on to positions of power and influence. Perhaps in this way the destructive patterns of American racial relations could be broken.”

Reading that, I started to breathe in the history of this school, and I thought, “Oh, this is not just about what we're doing in this five-story building; it's about being a model of what education can look like.”

DEI runs through the history of the school. It is in our DNA. And we can continue to embody that history even as we say, “How can we do more? What is our responsibility? How do we create that next generation of leaders?” We can ask those larger questions that don’t just affect the students and faculty and staff here but also have larger reverberations. 

Learn More About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Commonwealth