An admission that the Old Rochester Regional School District and the teachers’ union had both failed to carry out in-depth review and implementation of programs that would expose racism at its core came from Cary Humphrey, chairman of the district committee, as the joint meeting opened on June 15.
Earlier promises made during the 2019 school year, promises made after Barbara Sullivan, a grandmother and founding member of the Tri-Town Against Racism organization, came forward with concerns that racism, bias, and deep-seeded discriminatory systems co-existed in the Tri-Town schools, were never fulfilled. Humphrey conceded that most staff and committee members believed the district had been following up with training and policy. That would later be confirmed by incoming Superintendent Mike Nelson. Humphrey said, “We are now all moving in the same direction with the same goals.”
On this night Sullivan, along with two other founding members of the Tri-Town Against Racism organization, were invited to directly address the joint committee members. Accompanying Sullivan to the virtual podium were Alison Noyce and Tangi Thomas. In a three-part approach, historical, current and future issues around racism, the speakers addressed the committee and some 165 others who had logged into the virtual meeting.
Sullivan spoke first. She said after bringing problems of racism to the attention of school officials, problems she said not only dealing with students but also with teachers, “They dropped the ball.” She told the story of a mother who received a call from her crying child who had locked himself in a restroom to escape being bullied. The mother’s urgent request for assistance had elicited a response of “…why does your child have a cell phone in school?”
On a personal note, Sullivan shared her granddaughter’s attempts to get school officials to understand the breadth of racial bias within the walls of ORR, where she said name-calling was common, along with black jokes, and racists comments overheard between teachers. And, Sullivan said frequent use of the “n” word was something children of color were all to familiar with hearing. There was an incident shared by the granddaughter to her grandmother where a substitute teacher had told the child she should go to New Bedford to be with other brown people. Adding to the insults and innuendos that her granddaughter had chronicled, Sullivan said that after a poetry-slam event featuring black authors two teachers were overheard saying, “…we need an assembly on how not be offended by everything.”
“What is needed is deep introspection,” Sullivan implored. She suggested a three-part strategy of self-exploration, a task force to examine problems, and a grant to fund and support programs for black students. She said of the Tri-Town Against Racism, “Here we are, stronger than ever; you have not earned the right to be trusted; you’ve only checked the boxes.”
Noyce said of the group’s momentum, “White community members are showing up.” She stated, “I hope you have shown up to make change.” She referred to a culture of “casual racism”, like laughter that ensues after jokes are made against black students. She said it’s the kids that laugh and the kids that say nothing that help to perpetuate the problem.
Noyce wanted more from the teachers now. She cited one proactive English teacher who had taken the murder of George Floyd and asked her students to find the parallels to The Crucible. But she also said that other teachers say, “I don’t see color,” and believe everything is okay. She said her own children had been called monkey and slave. One incident in the junior high school involved one of her sons. Noyce said that after being provoked, her son had engaged in a physical altercation. Shaken to be called to the school under these circumstances, she learned that her son had been told he should have taken a more passive approach to the situation, “like Martin Luther King.” She said she begged the administration, “What are you going to do to keep my son safe in this school?” She was told her son had thrown the first punch, and that he had chosen violence. “Racial slurs are a type of violence,” Noyce stated.
Tangi Thomas spoke to the future. She said that in order to make the schools safer and to educate children on racial bias, school officials needed to “be bolder and clearer.” She wanted everyone involved to work actively towards a non-racist school with a new, robust plan. Thomas suggested that the way forward needed to include more than putting out fires and passing out reading lists. “Hire someone to help, find an appropriate role model, have peer-to-peer remediation. A firm speaking-to and suspension is not enough.”
Thomas said that more effort is needed to bring teachers of color into the schools. But she believed this was only the beginning and offered assistance. “We are here to help you; let’s get to work.”
Nelson followed-up saying that anti-racism work had begun but that, “We have to be better.” He then listed all the programs, lectures and professional-development days the school had initiated after Sullivan had met with the school last year. He noted such themes as self-exploration, diversity training, and bringing students in to talk and met with teachers. He also said that unconscious bias needed to be dismantled and that this is only the beginning. “We should have included more people from the community,” he noted and that he sought to have strong partnerships with all stakeholders.
Nelson’s strongest statement came towards the end of his comments when said, “We acknowledge we’ve had our problems. Racism goes against our mission of having a safe, welcoming, supportive school. I know these are just words, but moving forward we will move away from a single white perspective.”
Mattapoisett School Committee member John Muse said, “This is a simple acknowledgement that there is a lot of education necessary… We don’t do enough; every individual can do something. When we see or hear racism we should not accept it.” He admitted that he was guilty of not speaking up instead of sending a message that racism is not appropriate. “Silence increases the problem.”
Many of the other committee members spoke up in support of the Tri-Town Against Racism organization, offering to help, to support, and to do the hard work before them.
Suzanne Tseki, a member of the ORR school committee and Mattapoisett resident, said that things had been swept under the carpet and that, “We can teach right from wrong, but how do we reach people’s hearts?”
Michele Cusolito of Rochester asked that the joint committee meetings maintain an agenda line item for this very topic and that monthly reports on the school’s plans and progress against racial bias be provided.
Mattapoisett Town Administrator Mike Lorenco introduced himself, saying that he was new in his position but as a person who grew up in town and went to ORR he had a vested interest and wanted to “…listen, hear the stories,” and support the schools and the entire Tri-Town area with proactive approaches to help.
After the meeting was adjourned, Sullivan added that she was pleased to see town administrators on the call.
By Marilou Newell