Wellesley High School 50 Rice Street Wellesley, MA 02481-6099
The
Bradford
Wellesley High School’s Premier News Publication
Volume LXXV, Issue 3
To the reader,
Thank you for picking up this special issue. You may be reading this because it was shoved in your face by an enthusiastic Bradford staff member, or because — like many others — you were horrified, angry, and disappointed at the latest racial incident to happen at the high school. But let it be known: this email was neither a singular racial incident or an unrelated happenstance. It joins a history book’s worth of microaggressions and hate speech and stereotypical comments and exposés of prejudiced text messages at our school. It’s time for Wellesley’s culture around race to change. Since the current seniors entered the high school, there have been a barrage of hateful incidents, many of them racist or antisemitic: swastikas etched into computer screens like antisemitism is etched into American culture, group chats plastered with racist images and words, and — most recently — an anonymous email
with racist language and undertones that emulate some of the most horrible of supremacist ideology. Thus, these incidents are indicative of a greater problem of exclusivity and prejudice that divides the high school and the greater community. Our society has a tendency to dismiss things of utmost importance. Through this issue, The Bradford wants to ensure we don’t dismiss a pressing issue and that we, as a community, talk, read, and listen. Let this special issue acknowledge this cultural problem in our town and start a conversation that can change it. We have gathered opinions and stories to project the voices of our community, and we have reported statistics and events to get a clearer picture. Open it up and dive in. Educate yourself on race, reactions, and solutions. Let these stories shape your perspective. – The Editorial Board
Isabella MacKinnon ’20
During the week of February 24, an anonymous email was sent to a Black teacher at the high school that contained “racist tones, language, and repulsive terms that were highly insulting,” according to Principal Jamie Chisum. The teacher who received this email was “shocked and hurt by the contents of the email,” said Chisum, and it was immediately reported to the teacher’s department head. The administration was quick to act and Chisum “immediately involved members of our Technology department, our school resource officer Evan Rosenberg, and the three assistant principals here to launch an investigation.” The event launched conversations across the school with English teachers initiating discussions in their classes and clubs such as “Let’s talk About Race” hosting meetings as a forum for concerned students. Chisum emailed students and parents on March 1 and asked parents to facilitate discussions at home. Chisum called the email a violation of three of the school’s core values: respect for human differences, cooperative and caring relationships, and commitment to community.
The Bradford Online @WHSTheBradford @WHSBradford
Special Edition
Race & Racism in Wellesley: Revisited
50 Rice Street, Wellesley, MA 02481
School responds to racist email sent to teacher Staff Writer
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“I am sending this letter to all the families at Wellesley High School because I don’t want people to have to hear through the grapevine that something has happened and to make sure everyone in our school community has the most accurate information,” said Chisum. The high school outlines a strict policy for harassment in the handbook. “Harassment prohibited by the District includes, but is not limited to, harassment on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, marital status or disability,” says the handbook. “Students whose behavior is found to be in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including suspension or expulsion.” Chisum considered the email a violation of three of the high school’s core values and expressed that he was “outraged that this could happen in our school and to one of our teachers.”
Photo by Christopher Bonis
65 years later
March 2019
Maalik Sinclair ’19 and Alex Stoddard ’19 Contributing Writers
Photo by Max Tracey
Like many students of color at the high school, Alex Stoddard (left) and Maalik Sinclair (right) feel the culture regarding race is unproductive, and that students need to do more.
If segregation in schools was legally banned 65 years ago, why is our school still so segregated in a “progressive” town like Wellesley? Right now, even in 2019, the lunchroom is almost completely segregated by race. Black students eat in our own room, the METCO room, while almost everyone else eats in the cafeteria. Why is that we feel more comfortable eating in a separate area rather than with everyone else? It feels like a free zone during lunch around people who understand us. Eating in the cafeteria, we have to deal with ignorant statements and the feeling that we don’t fit in. Throughout our four years, the school has constantly experienced racist events, to varying degrees. The consistent theme through all of these has been how the school responds. Every time, we talk about what has happened and why it is wrong, and then move on and wait for the next racist occurrence. The school does not do enough in the meantime to make students understand what their words and actions mean to other people. Students should know how wrong these viewpoints are, yet this prejudice still persists. Since the founding of the country in the 1700s, and the founding of the high school in 1898, there has never been a time when minority students have felt that they are fully a part of the community. “I feel like people are looking at me sometimes as I’m walking through the cafeteria. Sometimes I feel like I’m not supposed to be there,” Carlos Giron ’22 said. There is no reason students should feel like they don’t belong in their own community. As the minority, we realize that we do not look and act like the
average Wellesley student, and because of this, we don’t feel like we fit in. In middle school, we remember having to sit in the cafeteria (there was no room like the METCO room) and listen to White students constantly making racist jokes, while the rest of the table laughed and joined in at our expense. When we responded to these jokes, we were called out and isolated as being the problem because “they were just jokes” and “we were taking things too seriously”. Today’s reality is that students don’t feel comfortable breaking down the racial barriers. “For non-White students, it might be intimidating to see all one race sitting at a table and it might make you feel uncomfortable sitting with them,” said Teddy Goss ’19. “People can probably mix it up in order to make a difference.” This feeling is shared by countless students in the school and is an ongoing issue not only in our school but in our own communities. Hawa Farah ’19 echoed a similar opinion. “It’s kind of sad that people don’t really acknowledge the fact that it’s [segregated like this]. I wish everyone was more unified, but that’s just not how this school is built socially,” she said. Not only are we isolated at lunch, but we are constantly being monitored. No matter where we eat lunch or hang out, the school always makes sure to have teachers or staff keeping track of where we are, which stood out especially to Jaylyn Billy ’19. “When you’re watched like [we are], it makes you feel like you’re not supposed to be there. It makes us feel like we’re always in the wrong with whatever we do. It feels like you’re not able
to be yourself,” Billy said. This feeling does not foster a positive learning and social environment. Even when White students get in trouble, it is always taken as an individual occurrence, and the whole group is not blamed. On the other hand, the school consistently expects students of color to get in trouble, and the whole group is blamed for the actions of one or two students. Even before we began attending the high school, students of color ate in a section of the cafeteria that White students referred to as “Little Africa”. They were eventually forced to relocate where they ate, time and time again, as administrators believed they were starting problems in each area they went. Nothing has changed, and this is indicative that our school does not feel inclusive for everyone. The harsh truth about how the school has dealt with all of the racist events in the past few years is that we are not willing enough to disrupt routine to bring about positive change. In order to make an impact, we cannot go along with our normal schedules and act as if nothing has happened. After the racist events with the group chat messages two summers ago, the school made wristbands and talked about the problem for a few days and then went on as if nothing had happened. As a community, we need to constantly address racism and prejudiced feelings, and not only discuss them when some act upon them. In our curricula, we should not only talk about the negatives and the struggles that Black people have overcome, but embrace the many instances of Black success, such as the inventions, the writings, and the economic prosperity of historic Black figures. Learning in greater depth about the history of Black people and racism in the United States will help people better empathize with history behind different groups’ struggles in our society, and prevent these racist and prejudiced incidents from happening. Ignorant viewpoints will subdue and Black students will feel more understood. Our school is just a microcosm of the country as a whole. These issues happen all over the country and are not unique to Wellesley, Massachusetts. It is the responsibility of the school to enhance students’ understanding of race so that all students feel welcomed and embraced by their community.