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By Lisa Moore
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Late Sunday afternoon on the last weekend of the summer, members of the Wellesley Community gathered on the Town Hall green in support of a local family with hopes of bringing the community together in solidarity against hate. The family gathering was organized by the World of Wellesley (WOW) organization in response to racist messages posted on private Facebook pages by some Wellesley High School students directed towards a black classmate and his family.
Michelle Chalmers, President of WOW, welcomed those gathered to the second Solidarity Family Gathering. Volunteers handed out the program for the afternoon event. From the start of the gathering, the message was one of “joining others together,” as each family was asked to find two or three other families with the same color program and sit together for the afternoon. The program was divided into three segments. In the first segment, titled Connecting in the Community, families were given suggested discussion-starter questions and asked to start talking with other families around them.
In the second segment, Sharing in Community, several students and parents shared experiences of racism that have impacted their lives. After each person shared their story, the community was asked to respond together, saying: “We see you, we hear you, we are grateful for you.” Among the speakers, Tendai Musikavanhu spoke to the nearly 300 people in attendance about the impact the recent posted messages had on him, his family, and friends. He recalled the outrage felt by so many from the posted remarks and of an outpouring of support by members of the community, and of friends, black and white, who wept with him over the hurtful posts. “We unite here today to get rid of lies and hatred,” Musikavanhu said, expressing why this issue needs our vigilant attention. “Violent words often fester into violent actions. Only love, unity, and truth stand the test of time.”
In addition to Musikavanhu, his son, Bobo, spoke before the crowd, hoping to aid the town in reflection, saying: “Racism is no new battle. It has been fought by many older and more qualified then I.” He also added: “Love and forgiveness will conquer the battle against racism.”
Between segments, the crowd was encouraged to engage in meaningful discussion with those nearest them, creating a dialogue across the Town Hall green, reflecting on ways to move forward as a community towards healing.
In the final segment, Continuing in Community, Reverend Liz from the Village Church encouraged everyone to continue the conversations at home and to look forward to more conversations in the days and weeks ahead. Meanwhile, Michelle Chalmers invited anyone interested in an opportunity to continue the discussion and be a part of the process moving forward to contact World of Wellesley at www.worldofwellesley.org.
In a further effort to continue the dialogue and make all students feel welcomed and included, Principal Jamie Chisum altered the traditional first-day-of-school routine by starting the day with a school-wide assembly instead of ending with one. He openly discussed the incident of hate speech perpetrated by a group of classmates, stating “I have never read worse speech in my life. Never.” He talked about the lack of privacy on social media and the permanence of things placed in cyberspace, but the main focus of his remarks was on how the writings hurt so many people. “It hurt people in this room, it hurt people in this town, and it hurt people beyond this town. It scared people in all of those places. It saddened people in all of those places.”
Chisum thanked those members of the school and community who have stepped up to help the community learn and heal from this situation, saying “Their generosity of spirit, mercy, and understanding are a lesson to us all.” Chisum made a point to note that this incident is not an isolated incident, stating that “racist acts and statements have happened inside and outside the school walls, before and since this incident.” He spoke of the use of hateful words by kids, who often say they are joking when they say them. “Those jokes isolate. Those jokes perpetuate systems of inequity and unfairness by implicitly and explicitly saying it’s okay to favor and give favors to people just because they look like you.”
In the end of his address, Principal Chisum vowed to keep the discussion going throughout the school year, and to continue working with students, families, and community members to build a stronger, more inclusive High School community. As students left the assembly, teachers handed out red and black wristbands that read “One Wellesley.” Chisum explained that, “One Wellesley is a play off the term ‘One Love,’ meaning a universal love and respect for all people by all people. Our expectation is that when you take a bracelet today, you are committing to do this work with us in any way you can.”
“I believe in your ability to make this place safer, more welcoming, and even better than it already is,” he told the student body. “I firmly believe the voices of love will be louder and far greater in number than any voices of hate.”
Any students interested in being involved in “developing a permanent structure for persistent ant-racist work” are asked to drop by the main office at the High School and contact Mrs. Zinck.
