Princeton Choose

Providing the tools for more honest and effective conversations about race.

The Problem

Daily life in the US is shaped in a multitude of ways by racial division. And yet too many of us are uncomfortable discussing this basic reality, so we deny its existence or else avoid discussing it entirely. Part of the problem is that we lack the proper tools for talking about race in America — because our education system doesn’t provide those tools. In fact, race largely remains a taboo subject inside the classroom, just as it is out in the world. But until we learn to think and talk about race honestly and constructively, we will never move beyond the division, injustice, and inequality that defines American society.

The Solution

In order to fill this gap, Princeton High School students Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo collaborated with Princeton University’s Department of African American Studies to develop “The Classroom Index,” which they call “a racial literacy toolkit and a textbook“ for use in schools. The idea is to make the discussion of racial literacy more engaging to students and teachers, allowing for more effective conversations about race. The project grew out of an earlier initiative, Princeton Choose, an online platform for sharing and discussing personal stories of race that the two co-founded in 2014, after discussing issues around race and police brutality in their AP History class. Their ultimate aim is to shift the conversation about race in America. “We imagine us all working together to co-create a new, shared American culture, one that values each of us despite our differences.”

Princeton Choose recently finished traveling to all 50 states. In the process, they gathered over 500 stories from everyday people talking about how race & intersectionality have impacted their lives. These new interviews will be featured in their next racial literacy toolkit to be released in the Spring of 2019!