Written By Barbara Smith,
Blogger and Social Justice Activist
https://www.facebook.com/HWdemocrats/
(my comments are in purple italics)
According to the Boston Globe, the situation was straightforward and horrifying:
“Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School’s junior prom was cut short on April 28 after one or more students were heard yelling a racial slur while a song was playing, school officials said.”
Of course, the lyrics are obviously racist, sexist and unacceptable. The students made an error in singing them, and the adults responsible for playing this music used poor judgement. However, this incident has been blown out of proportion. The media has a tendency to sensationalize- especially with such hot button issues. In addition, leaders of the Hamilton Wenham Human Rights Coalition were chomping at the bit to publicize how “racist” and “classist” Hamilton and Wenham residents are, rather than allowing time for the adults in the room to respond, teach and react. The adults actually present at the event did an excellent job on all of these counts…..
The Boston Globe continues,
“While the music was playing and students were dancing, one or more students yelled the N-word,” Superintendent Eric Tracy said Monday in a letter to Hamilton-Wenham families. “This racial slur was heard by a number of our students and was very upsetting to them.”
“Tracy said high school principal Bryan Menegoni made the decision to end the prom early and address all of the students directly. He immediately opened an investigation of the incident.”
“School officials also have asked the police to investigate, he said.”
“Tracy said the song that was playing when the student (or students) yelled the slur was appropriate for radio. WCVB reported the song was “Caroline” by Aminé.”
“Unfortunately, there is some considerable deflection happening on social media,” Tracy said in the letter. “Some people are pointing at the DJ and administration for playing/approving the song in question. All music played at the prom was radio appropriate as it is a standard of the DJ before being hired.”
“In the letter, Tracy said on Monday morning members of the junior class joined the principal, class advisers, class officers, and a number of teachers to discuss the seriousness of what transpired at the prom.”
“While there was a very somber tone, they used the opportunity to talk about growth as a class — learning and understanding issues of racism and working together with their affected peers to understand the impact of language,” Tracy said in the letter.”
“Racist incidents like this will not be tolerated in our schools or at school events,” he continued. “Our schools and school events must always be safe spaces for our students. We will continue to work together to make that a reality.”
“Tracy said Menegoni also wrote to the students who were at the prom, telling them that steps need to be taken to “repair the harm that has been done.”
“Our students need to hear that what happened was wrong and that as a community we need to stand together against hurtful and racist language,” Menegoni wrote. “At the same time, we will take the necessary steps to determine who spoke this hateful word and apply appropriate disciplinary action. I want to acknowledge that this word is hateful, hurtful, and shameful, and has no place anywhere in our school community. I am upset and disappointed that even one of our students would ever use this word in any context.”
This incident was very unfortunate. However, nobody was physically harmed, the adults reacted by ending the night earlier than planned, people were disappointed, but steps were taken by both the school administration and students to repair the damage…. Below is the student council letter about the prom…. The incident did not need to make Boston Globe headlines twice, nor did any members of the Hamilton Wenham Human Rights Coalition need to blow this incident out of proportion. In fact, they should not even be involved. This was a student disciplinary situation and unlike in the racist situation in Danvers, there was no coverup and no need to put heads on the chopping block.
Student Counsel Responded with Maturity and Determination
The student council letter about prom (google.com)
The above letter link describes the students response including:
- What are you doing to fix what happened?
- This Monday, May 2, the junior class met with school administrators and student council members to discuss what happened. We talked about the harm that has been done and how we are all responsible for working to move on from it together as a unified class. School administrators are investigating the incident further in order to make sure students are held accountable for their actions. We also plan to have a school-wide educational presentation focused on the history of racial slurs like the one used at prom and the impact of those words today.
The Headlines Continued:
Because newspapers love a controversial story especially when sleepy little suburban towns prove to be less than perfectly politically correct than deemed acceptable….. the story continues…..
Songs in the key of life – The Boston Globe
“The school’s principal, Bryan Menegoni, decided to end the prom right then and there, and tell the kids exactly why he was doing so. It was a teachable moment, and good for Menegoni for seizing that moment to explain just how hateful that word is and why ithas no place being shouted in public, whatever the context.”
“School officials have continued to use what happened as a teachable moment, holding a meeting of students, teachers, and administrators to talk about what Tracy called “learning and understanding issues of racism and working together with their affected peers to understand the impact of language.”
“The teaching goes both ways, though.”
“The song in question is “Caroline” by the rapper Aminé. The lyrics include the N-word four times. Which is five times fewer than the F-word.”
“The context of the N-word in the song appears to be one Black guy referring to another Black guy, in a familial rather than antagonistic way. It becomes a problem when white kids conclude that it’s OK to use the N-word because it’s in a song sung by a Black guy.”
“Less open to interpretation is the way the song refers to women as sex objects.”
The lyrics are misogynistic and women deserve respect and protection from hate, too!
“The lyrics are sexually explicit, and some critics have dubbed the song misogynistic, because of its demeaning references to women.”
“One refrain goes, “If ya want safe sex, baby use the knee pads.””
“Charming.”
“In a video explaining the lyrics, Aminé said, ‘My mom might be watching this, right, so I don’t really want to get that explicit with it.’ “
“His discretion is admirable. But if the artist himself acknowledges he wouldn’t want to have to explain the lyrics to his own mom, why the heck is the song being played at a junior prom?”
“School officials say the version of the song played at the prom was “radio appropriate,” meaning the words deemed offensive, and overtly sexual references, were edited out.”
“But since when do most kids listen to the radio? Every kid I know streams music, and they don’t listen to sanitized versions that their parents would approve of. Because, um, they’re kids. What’s the point of being a kid if you can’t get a rise out of adults by saying outrageous stuff sometimes?”
“In his letter to parents, Tracy pushed back against the idea that school administrators shared any responsibility for the ensuing controversy….”
When the Hamilton Human Rights Commission was
creating policy, I requested that the long list of protected classes include “women” and “atheists”. The leaders refused. Two of the Select Board members, who were doing their jobs on behalf of everyone in Hamilton, championed a completely inclusive policy. This was a bridge too far for the faith-based 501c4 political lobbying group and their wholly-owned affiliate supported by your tax dollars, the HHRC…..they don’t believe women’s rights are human rights. They don’t want to acknowledge that all gay rights, access to birth control rights, civil rights, voting rights for people of color and women, marriage rights, trans rights….all of it will disappear if women’s rights are not treated as human rights. That’s because they all spring from the same notion of privacy and bodily autonomy; The Supreme Court is poised to strike down privacy as a Constitutional right. When that happens, everything is on the line. Now, what will those so-called Hamilton “human rights” activists do to further women’s rights? Let me guess….
The Hamilton Wenham Human Rights Coalition leaders
(mainly Anna with code name “Voldemort” reacted by demonizing these 2 Board members, calling them “racists” and anti-human rights” and “bigots”. Several community members including myself have also been the victim of Coalition bullying and banning on the Hamilton Wenham Residents Only and Community Facebook pages that their followers administer and the HWHRC membership page (that I was a member of before being banned) and any voices of dissent. Please, Boston Globe, investigate how this impacts freedom of speech and democracy in our towns…