Editor’s Note: The statement below from the Senior Leadership Team of Framingham Public Schools is the first step in response to the recent incident that took place in Minneapolis. Further information will be forthcoming and shared with the Framingham Public Schools Community.
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FRAMINGHAM – As educators it is our responsibility to develop the wonderful minds of our youth so they grow up to be productive citizens in this world. How do we prepare our students for the injustice that continues to plague our country? How do we affirm for our Black students that their lives matter? When will we acknowledge that the criminal justice system has historically been unjust to Black Americans? And when will we move beyond affirmation and commit to holding ourselves as individuals and institutions accountable for the equal treatment of all people? This past week our country and our children witnessed a man being brutally murdered by a law enforcement officer.
This, sadly, is one of many videos from across the country that capture a glimpse of the unequal and harsh treatment of Black people in America.
As role models, our children are watching and listening to our response. They hear the deafening silence of too many White Americans who for too long have turned their eyes, ears and hearts away from Black Americans as they have called for justice.
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Members of the Framingham community, we can no longer look away. We stand in solidarity today affirming that Black Lives Matter.
We stand in solidarity with educators across the country calling for justice, accountability and the protection of our Black youth.
To our Black students and staff, while we may not be able to fully understand your hardship, we see you and we stand with you. The wick has been lit and only justice can extinguish this blaze.
Let us work together to build a country where we all can be free.
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