Chatwani, Marer move forward with plans for racial equality

A race-fueled hate crime blossomed into a new beginning for social inclusion efforts at Mira Costa after sophomore Nisha Chatwani and senior Jennifer Marer began using their grants from the Clinton Social Inclusion Grant to promote acceptance of racial diversity among students.

Manhattan Beach’s Clinton family offered the grant after an unknown individual(s) fire bombed the Clinton’s home in February 2015. Officials alleged that it was a hate crime with racial ties, grant co-founder and donor Malissia Clinton said. The Clintons then donated the $33,000 raised by the community for a number of grants aimed at racial equality and inclusion, Clinton family member and senior Michai Clinton said.

“I never expected to be the target of a hate crime, so the whole event was overwhelming and hard to process,” Michai Clinton said. “The support I received from my community helped me recover from the devastation.”

Both Chatwani and Marer applied for the grant, through which they each earned $5,000 to spend on their ideas to promote racial equality at Costa. After submitting proposals along with schedules and itinerary outlines, each student won one of the 10 total grants awarded to district students and community members alike.

For more information about the grant budget and the proposal process click here.

“I hope that after all the grant money is distributed, people in our community continue to show the same ambition for promoting racial inclusion,” Michai Clinton said.

Both Costa’s Black Scholars Union and the Manhattan Beach Middle School received funding from the grant to further promote racial equality.

“Racism stems from ignorance,” Michai Clinton said. “The opposite of ignorance is knowledge. By educating the members of our community about the cultures around them, our community can overcome any racial issues we have encountered and create a stronger sense of inclusion.”

Video: Michai Clinton describes his happiness in the outcome of the Clinton Social Inclusion Grant on March 1st at Mira Costa. His family along with MBEF selected the winners in hope that they could increase inclusion at Costa.

Additionally, in honor of Black History Month, Black Scholars’ Union held an assembly on Wednesday featuring Mira Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale as a guest speaker. Michai Clinton currently serves as the Black Scholar Union’s treasurer.

“I want to see something productive and meaningful come out of a tragedy,” Dale said.

Photos: Jennifer Marer works on her “Our Beauty” event. Michai Clinton and family push past hate crime and work towards social inclusion.

For Marer’s grant, she is currently continuing her plans for an art event, which will take place in the coming weeks, called “Our Beauty,” where student activists will showcase pieces that evoke emotions and that depict students’ views of diversity. She collected artwork on Jan. 27 and hopes the event will bring a positive light to racial conversation, inspire people to create more art with people from diverse cultures as protagonists and start a discussion on the importance of media and representation in a fun way, she said.

“With the grant money, we are going to buy art displays and decorations that will be used this year and, hopefully, in the future for years to come,” Marer said. “These decorations would make the event more interactive and convention-like and encourage as many people to come as possible.”

Chatwani’s plan includes the updating and creation of a new club at Costa called Club Harmony, which launched in January to raise  awareness about different races, religions, abilities and sexual orientations. Clinton family members spoke at the club’s  first  meeting about racial equality and the tragic events that happened to the Clinton family in February of 2015.

“I was inspired to make a difference in our community and raise awareness about students who experience racism,” Chatwani said.