From sleeping in car to US Dept of Justice consultant

Her introduction to life in the United States was less than ideal and certainly did not match up with the glowing picture painted of life overseas.

She survived near homelessness, at times sleeping in her car – when she had a car. Sometimes she depended on the good grace of an elderly cousin for shelter as she juggled three jobs to make ends meet, pay her school tuition, and keep body and soul together. At other times, it was the kindness of strangers that she would lean on for a ride from one job to another.

Meet Dr Karren Dunkley, international acclaimed award winning educator, who is today one of two black consultants tasked by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) with overseeing the implementation of a four-point programme to end racial discrimination and harassment in the Davis County school district in the state of Utah.

Dunkley recalled that on her first visit to the state, she was an object of curiosity, even among the black children, who had never seen a black professional woman giving orders to the white school establishment and interacting with white parents.

Black people make up only about nine per cent of the state’s total population.

Dunkley told The Gleaner that when she first arrived in Utah, she was met by some hostility as many people were suspicious of her and the team, believing that they had come to impose the DOJ’s initiatives on the state.

Her journey, though, began in Jamaica, where she lived in Ensom City in St Catherine, attending Dunrobin Primary and later St Catherine High School.

She also attended Wolmer’s High School for Girls, where she did sixth form.

LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

After leaving school, she worked for a year with the Issa-owned hotel chain SuperClubs as a front desk hostess and Spanish interpreter. She moved on to other jobs before moving to the United States on a student’s visa in 1992.

“My father had filed for us, but on arrival, his wife did not want us living with them and so we had to find other accommodation,” she told The Gleaner.

Her first disappointment was that having applied to Howard University, she could not afford the tuition of US$10,000 per year, and all first-year students were required to live on campus, which would add another US$10,000 to the school cost.

She applied for and was accepted at St John’s University in Queens, New York, which worked out better for her as she lived on Parsons Boulevard, in Jamaica, Queens.

At St John’s, she completed a bachelor’s degree in government and politics, minoring in education, and then a master’s in international law.

Dunkley then did a second master’s in education and her doctorate in organisation and leadership at Columbia University.

But, as she recalled, her introduction to American was anything but welcoming.

“Life was so hard. It was nothing like I had envisioned. I had to work three jobs – a waitress, store manager and beauty products representative – all at the same time to be able to pay my school fee and take care of myself,” she told The Gleaner of her struggles.”At times I had to shower at the Long Island Marriott Hotel, where I was a waitress to be able to get from one job to the other.”

Dunkley has moved on to make a significant impact through education both in New York and Philadelphia.

She has served as teacher, principal, urban district deputy superintendent and coach, consistently working towards advancing educational opportunities for children and their parents.

She has held various high-level leadership positions in various school districts, turning around failing schools, impacting the lives of students, teachers and parents.

NATIONAL PROMINENCE

In 2011, she gained national prominence when she addressed a packed audience on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, during a congressional briefing on the Family Engagement in Education Act.

She was also a member of the education transition team for Eric Adams following his election as mayor of New York City.

In her current role as a consultant with the US Department of Justice, Dunkley has been tasked with focusing on four areas: professional learning, specifically on training in the entire Davis County School District; engagement with families, staff, students and the community; changing the school culture by eliminating the climate of racial harassment; and combating discrimination.

She has had to undertake countywide focus groups involving children, parents and the community.

Her reports were recently completed and handed over to the Justice Department, but her work in Utah continues under the DOJ until racial harassment and discrimination have waned.

The reports were recently made public and spotlighted by media across the US, bringing her a measure of focus.

She was recently featured in Vanity Fair, and Black Enterprise magazine is readying a feature on her for publication.

Despite her many accomplishments in the field of education, Dunkley is most proud of her work with the Jamaican diaspora, having served as the Global Jamaican Diaspora Council member for the US Northeast Region for three years. In this role, she worked with Jamaicans in need, bringing relief to them when she can or finding resource persons who can provide such relief.

“I love giving back because I have known the kindness of strangers,” Dunkley, who is proud of the fact that Jamaicans always seem to punch above their weight, told The Gleaner.

Her insights and advocacy continue to shape educational policies and practices across the United States and is constant demand by various school districts in both New York and Philadelphia, where she lives with her husband, and now Utah.

editorial@gleanerjm.com