A Joint Statement in Support of AAPI Students and Staff

A Joint Statement In Support of AAPI Students and Staff

May 5, 2021

The guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial represents one small step toward accountability and building a more just and equitable society.  As our community and the nation absorbs the results, it is a time for engaging in dialogue and reflection. If education is, in fact, the most powerful tool we can use to change the world, it is imperative that the festering wound of racism be something we confront through our words, actions, and curriculum at all levels.  It is the critical work of teaching, of learning, of parenting, of being a member of the human family to recognize racism and adopt antiracist practices.

In standing against hate as a community we also acknowledge the broader legacy of racism, including the increase in violence and hate perpetrated against Asian women and men.  As we look to May and the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we reaffirm our support of our Asian American and Pacific Islander staff and students. Passage of the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act at the national level is an important step in addressing racial discrimination and violence.  In our own schools and community, microaggressions toward AAPI students and staff persist and have a cumulative and devastating impact.  In the Concord and Concord Carlisle public schools, there is simply no room for marginalization or “othering” in any form.

There are many students and adults in our community working to make change and we honor and join them in their commitment to creating a safer, antiracist world.

Dr. Laurie Hunter, Superintendent

Concord Public Schools/Concord-Carlisle Regional School District

Sara Wilson, Chair

Concord-Carlisle Regional School Committee

Court Booth, Chair

Concord School Committee

Kate Squire, President

Concord Teachers’ Association

Shel Hull, President

Concord-Carlisle Teachers’ Association