By Linda Conner Lambeck
WESTPORT – Race-based harassment of students in Westport public schools is part of a growing problem statewide, state and local NAACP leaders told a forum Thursday.
“Racism here in Connecticut is on the rise,” Brenda Penn-Williams, president of the Greater Norwalk NAACP, told what was billed as a town hall hosted at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport. “It feels like we are back in the ’50s.”
State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, who represents Norwalk and part of Darien, told the audience that recent reports of racism are not isolated to Westport
“Across the state and across the nation there has been a 265 percent increase in hate crimes in 2023,” said Duff, citing a Connecticut Anti-Defamation League report.
Duff said a bill passed by the General Assembly this session — backed by Westport legislators — would create a task force to study the factors behind hate speech and bullying and their impact on children.
Penn-Williams said the NAACP became involved in Westport after a number of parents reached out about harassment their children have faced in school and online from other students, and their dissatisfaction with how district officials handled the complaints. (Read about some of those complaints here, here and here.)
The Board of Education is in the process of revamping the Student Discipline Policy and Student Code of Conduct to address a range of offenses, including identity-based harassment, in a clearer and more consistent way.
Parents, however, have grown impatient and have gone to several board meetings to share the experience of their children being taunted with the “N” word, threatened and made to feel unsafe.
At one recent meeting, the school board abruptly recessed, then adjourned the meeting after parents exceeded the time allotted for public comments.
Westport parents also recently launched a website — KindWPS.com — that offers the school board suggestions about the proposed Code of Conduct. The website asks Westport residents to sign a petition that will be presented to the Board of Education at its May 16 meeting.
“The idea [for the forum] was to come together and not only give parents a platform in a safe space to voice their concerns and to figure out ways to combat the hate,” said Mark McElveen, first vice president of the Greater Norwalk NAACP.
Penn-Williams said it was Duff’s idea to convene a town hall on hate-based issues at a house of worship. She reached out to five churches and said the Unitarian Universalist Congregation responded immediately and agreed to host the event.
More than 100 people, not only from Westport, but Wilton, Norwalk and other communities attended.
First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker said she was there to listen. So was state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, and at least two Westport school board members, Robert Harrington and Abby Tolan.
At the end of the two-hour program, Harrington rose to say he wasn’t at the abruptly adjourned board meeting, but said it was wrong to end the meeting that way.
“The number-one thing is we have to acknowledge that the problem exists,” said Harrington. “It’s important to have difficult conversations.”
He said the stories parents and students have told are heartbreaking.
At Thursday’s meeting, one parent who identified herself only as Tiana, said she moved this year from New Haven to Westport because of the schools. She said both her daughter at Staples High School and son at Bedford Middle School have faced taunts and threats both in school and out.
“Administrators have yet to do their job,” the parent said.
Tara Welch, another parent, said her oldest son has been called an “albino monkey” and worse. The middle schooler is big for his age, Welch said, and is prepared to defend himself if necessary. That, however, can get him into trouble, she said.
Albertha Brown, another Westport parent, said her daughter dreads going to school because race-based incidents, although her son has had a positive experience at Kings High Elementary School.
Brown, an administrator in another school district, said Westport school administrators’ investigations into complaints lodged on behalf of her children were poorly conducted.
“We need to work together to create change,” Brown said.
She called for clear protocols to report incidents of racism and urged parents to monitor the time their children spend online — some of the bullying occurs through social media — and to have discussions with them about the issues.
Brown also urged the public to speak out. “People will do what you tolerate them to do,” she said.
Scot X. Esdaile, the state NAACP president, told the gathering that similar incidents have been reported to the NAACP from Greenwich, Bristol, Waterbury, Berlin and Torrington. The number is rising.
“The NAACP takes this very, very, very seriously because we don’t plan on going back to seeing strange fruit in the trees,” Esdaile said, referring to a time when lynching occurred in the South.
To combat hate, Esdaile advocates disciplinary action and guidance for student offenders, as well as help for students who have been hurt.
Duff said while programs like Thursday’s town hall tend to preach to the choir, it provides an opportunity for that choir to arm themselves with knowledge and tools that can effect change.
“We need to walk out with an action plan,” he said.
One idea from Ryan Daugherty, a New York attorney who was asked to speak at the program, is that parents and students continue to complain
Connecticut Chief Public Defender TaShun Bowden-Lewis, another speaker, agreed.
Even though the number of hate crimes is rising, Bowden-Lewis said such incidents in the state often go under-reported.
“People don’t let authorities know,” she said. “We can’t investigate what we don’t know about.”
In Westport in 2023, there was a rise in racist graffiti — six incidents of vandalism reported compared to two in 2021. No charges have been filed.
The session concluded with participants vowing to meet again.
Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.
I was at the town hall last night. There was a lot to unpack and a lot I do not believe to be fact or true. I also feel as if Westport and Westport Public Schools teachers, students, and staff were painted with a wide brushstroke as being totally racist or accepting of racism. I felt this was a slanderous charactetization of many people within the district and it was unfair. We were not told of how many children were involved in these vile racist allegations which I found concerning. This town was painted as being tolerant of racism. Not true. The schools were accused of not having diverse books in the library, not true at all. At one point a parent got up and talked about how we do not talk about inclusion, then followed by saying, “ we are all made in the image of Jesus Christ”. If that is her idea of inclusion, then we have some serious issues to contend with in how to resolve this bc many here are Jewish and do not feel they are made in the image of Jesus Christ as he is not OUR lord or the lord of all who reside here.
I found the meeting to be problematic on many levels besides the vile racist accusations.
I feel we have racist people who live amongst us like any town in America, sadly. Do I think it is pervasive in Westport and in our schools, NO! Do I think it is tolerated in our town and schools? NO!
Is there a PROCESS for everything in our schools including how to handle allegations and accusations that take time including investigations, Yes! Can we all do better to combat racism in general, yes! Our kids, out town, our schools here in Westport are not racist in general. I am disappointed with the massive overgeneralizations about Westport. Uncomfortable conversations must be had indeed because there is slander and libel invovled. We need basic facts and information from all involved to draw conclusions. I am not saying I do not believe all that was said. There was so mich thrown out there that if all were true, this entire district would literally be shut down.
Please DM me if you would like further insight into what I heard.
One last thing, the mischaracterization of the board of Ed not listening to the accounts of racism accusations is a lie. Flat out lie. There are time limits on public comments at school board meetings. Everyone knows this and it is stated at the beginning of every school board meeting. I listened to the recordings of the meetings. You should do your due diligence and look at the facts. I heard the accounts. They heard the accounts. If time runs out, there is the following week’s meeting. There is a process for everything in school districts.
Recently in neighboring Greenwich, a group of White Supremacists met peacefully downtown to voice their support in response to a racially motivated attack in Byram Park. Presumably a white girl used the “n” word and landed in Greenwich Hospital.
Now although it was seen by the assailant as a trigger ,why is it he could use the exact same word to a brother and it would be cool but when she said it ,the word escalates to a “hate crime.”?
Is racism on the rise? Absolutely. So is antisemitism and homophobia. Just last night Target reported it’s bottom line has taken a hit from conservatives pushing back on their Pride lineup. As a result, half the stores will no longer carry Pride merch. It will be available online.
College students are protesting across the country in support of a ceasefire in Gaza. What some may see as antisemitism, they see as genocide.
And these Black and biracial parents in Westport who continue to push the limit on the BOE may well soon get pushback from the other side. Call in the NAACP again and don’t be surprised when the White Supremacists rally.