Primary Source Stands Against Racism

On Wednesday, April 28, more than 80 guests gathered at Primary Source to discuss issues surrounding race and education in Massachusetts. "Where Do We Stand: Schools, Race, and Community in Massachusetts" was organized by Primary Source in conjunction with the YWCA's national Stand Against Racism campaign and featured an introduction by Boston University School of Education Professor Dr. Charles Glenn. Following Dr. Glenn's personal and historical overview of Boston's school desegregation movement, a panel of educators shared a wide range of perspectives on the contemporary challenges and opportunities associated with confronting prejudice, creating supportive school environments, and closing the achievement gap for local students.

Deborah Ward, METCO Coordinator for the Wellesley Public Schools, shared insights into how the Wellesley High School community pulled together following the discovery of racist graffiti on campus. The most powerful and effective response to this incident, said Ms. Ward, "was to let the students speak" directly to one another about their own experiences and perspectives. Carroll Blake, Executive Director of the Boston Public Schools’ Achievement Gap program, asked audience members to examine their own identities and to not "ask kids to check at the door an important part of who they are." Framingham's Director of Equity and Achievement, Esta Montano, stressed the need for services, including professional development for teachers, to help Latino students succeed. Dania Vazquez, who serves as the Center for Collaborative Education's Associate Director, provided a personal perspective as a Latina woman and challenged schools to support bilingual education. "We have a schizophrenia in our schools," said Dr. Vazquez, "where we ask students to erase their native language in elementary school and then ask them to learn Spanish again in high school."

Teachers, parents, and community members attended and participated in a lively discussion session following the panel presentations. "Tonight's speakers were stimulating," said Brookline School Committee member and former teacher Barbara Scotto, "and certainly gave us a lot to think about in terms of our students and ourselves as teachers."