Associated Files
Title
WBUR Oral History Project: Chandra Banks
Creator
Banks, Chandra (Interviewee)
Contributor
Guberman, Jayne (Interviewer)
Girdharry, Kristi (Recordist)
McDonough, Ryan (Contributor)
Girdharry, Kristi (Recordist)
McDonough, Ryan (Contributor)
Language
English
Date created
February 12, 2014
Type of resource
Sound recording
Genre
Interviews
Oral histories (document genres)
Oral histories (document genres)
Format
Sound Recording
Digital origin
born digital
Abstract/Description
Countless lives were affected by the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and their
aftermath. The WBUR Oral History Project collects stories from individuals whose lives were
immediately and irrevocably changed by these events. Thanks to the generous sponsorship
of WBUR, our team of oral historians, and the participation of these interview subjects, Our
Marathon has tried to ensure that these stories are not forgotten. We believe that these
stories matter, and that they demonstrate the ways historical events transform the lives of
the people who lived through them. Oral historians Jayne K. Guberman, Ph.D., and Joanna Shea
O'Brien conducted the interviews for this project. Oral History Project Manager Kristi
Girdharry, Our Marathon Project Co-Director Jim McGrath, and Community Outreach Lead Joanne
DeCaro recorded the interviews and provided research assistance and post-interview processing.
McGrath and Our Marathon Audio Technician Ryan McDonough provided sound editing and processing
for all of the interviews and clips. The opinions and statements expressed in interviews and
related content featured in the WBUR Oral History Project do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of Our Marathon, WBUR, Northeastern University, or any employees or volunteers
affiliated with these institutions and projects. Our Marathon and The WBUR Oral History
project make no assertions about the veracity of statements made by participants in this
project. Chandra Banks, conflict mediator for the Cambridge Public schools, is a fifth
generation Cantebrigian. Describing herself as a descendant of slaves, Chandra graduated high
school from Cambridge Rindge & Latin, although she had attended Buckingham, Brown, and
Nichols, a private school, for much of her education. The only black child in her class there,
she had been recruited during a period of aggressive minority enrollment in the 1970s.
Describing her "unorthodox" career path, Chandra began with her attendance at Spellman
College, an all black women's college in the South. Over the following years, she worked in a
variety of capacities with at-risk adolescents, also earning a Harvard degree in risk
prevention and counseling, and attending the Institute for Peaceable Schools at Lesley
University. Her goal today, as conflict mediator for the Cambridge schools, is to spread the
concept of non-violent conflict resolution throughout the city. Chandra explains the
co-mediation model she uses with adults, as well her peer mediation program, where trained
students mediate conflicts for their peers, as well as the MBTA police. Chandra describes her
regular attendance as a spectator at the Boston Marathon finish line. In 2013, however, she
did not attend and learned about the explosions from her teenage daughter. Over the following
days, especially once the Tsarnaevs were identified as suspects, she was intensely aware of
the range of reactions - including fear, guilt, and a sense of responsibility -- within the
Cambridge community. Chandra describes the responses to the bombings within the Rindge &
Latin community. She notes in particular the salutary impact of "talking circles," a
restorative justice concept, in facilitating dialogue within the school community. She also
credits the school principal for fostering a sense of openness and inclusivity among students
from different backgrounds and socio-economic levels. At the same time, following the
bombings, Chandra found herself dealing largely with students talking about everyday teenage
problems, which she understood as a sign of adolescent resilience. Reflecting on these events,
Chandra speculated that the younger Tsarnaev brother's involvement resulted from a mental
health breakdown, perhaps caused by family problems and influences. She believes that school
staff would have recognized signs of a troubled mind, if Tsarnaev had exhibited them while a
student at the school. Noting that she does not believe in the death penalty, Chandra
discussed her feelings about appropriate punishment for Tsarnaev, as well as her lack of faith
in the American justice system. Recalling discussions in the aftermath of the bombings about
the general level of violence in Boston, she noted her friends and colleagues' concerns about
the lack of acknowledgment of black murder victims, as well as feelings of abandonment in
places such as Dorchester when police were drawn into the hunt for the suspects. "When I think
of Boston Strong,"she said, "I start to think of Boston residents who don't feel safe in their
homes or on the streets." She concludes that, overall, the events surrounding the bombings
reinforce her basic beliefs in the importance of community development and the power of
empathic listening.
Notes
The opinions and statements expressed in interviews and related
content featured in the WBUR Oral History Project do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
Our Marathon, WBUR, Northeastern University, or any employees or volunteers affiliated with
these institutions and projects. Our Marathon and The WBUR Oral History project make no
assertions about the veracity of statements made by participants in this project.
Source note
The WBUR Oral History Project. Chandra Banks (Oral History), Jayne
Guberman (Oral Historian), Kristi Girdharry (Recorder), Ryan McDonough (Sound Processing and
Editing)
Related item
Our Marathon The Boston Bombing Digital Archive
Subjects and keywords
Boston Marathon Bombing, Boston, Mass., 2013
Permanent URL
Location
Northeastern University Library
Use and reproduction
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Requests for permission to publish material should be addressed to Northeastern University Library's Digital Scholarship Group (dsg@neu.edu).