Racist graffiti targets Wayland superintendent

[ad_1]

Wayland town officials have condemned racist graffiti aimed at the town’s first black schools superintendent, Omar Easy.

Easy’s first name and a racial epithet were found spray-painted on a building across from Wayland High School on Wednesday morning.

School board chairman Chris Ryan said he spoke out against “this clear and blatant act of racism”.

This incident goes against the core values ​​of our community and undermines our ongoing work to create an inclusive environment for every member of the community,” he said in a statement to GBH News.

Easy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This is the second time a black school administrator has been the target of racist graffiti in Massachusetts last week. Last Thursday, racist graffiti targeting North Quincy High School principal Keith Ford, the first person of color to hold the post, was found in a toilet stall.

The School Board of Wayland, in the affluent and predominantly white suburb of Boston, hired Easy as superintendent in July 2021. He previously worked as an administrator at Everett Public Schools. Prior to his education career, Easy played professional football in the NFL for four years.

His brief tenure in the city has already been marked by controversy. In October, Easy was anonymously accused of berating, humiliating and intimidating people at a board meeting. The Wayland School Committee has hired an independent investigator to investigate the incident, but no findings have been made public.

Acting Wayland Police Chief Ed Burman said the department is actively investigating Wednesday’s graffiti incident.

We do not tolerate any act of hate at Wayland, and we want to reassure our community that we take this incident very seriously, Burman said in a statement. The person(s) found responsible for this hateful message will be held accountable.

Milly Arbaje-Thomas, executive director of METCO, a voluntary school integration program between Boston and the suburbs, including Wayland, called the graffiti an appalling act that hurt not only Easy, but also students of color and all the Wayland school community.

“If leaders of color don’t feel welcomed and supported, then how can students expect to be safe?” she asked.

METCO Programs Teen Ambassadors also called on the Wayland School Board to step in and offer support for Easy, as well as justice for the perpetrator, in a letter.

Easy is one of only two black superintendents among the 33 school districts that participate in the METCO program.

[ad_2]