What started with a youtube video and a hashtag has now resulted in the resignation of the headmaster at Boston Latin School. Meggie Noel and Kylie Webster Cazeau released this video on Martin Luther King junior day, after feeling frustrated when they believed their concerns about an unwelcoming atmosphere at the nation's oldest public school were not taken seriously by headmaster Lynne Mooney-Teta.
Yesterday, Boston School Superintendent Tommy Chang announced Teta was stepping down, as two investigations continue into how Boston Latin's administration handled complaints by minority students, Chang said, “doctor teta has always been committed to the school, she has demonstrated that as a student, assistant headmaster.”
But deep wounds remain -- and will be a challenge for a new headmaster. Unable to bridge a racial divide, the headmaster of Boston Latin resigns. What will it take to heal the nation's oldest public school? Consider that 8.5% of the students at Boston Latin are African-American, compared to 32.4% district wide. Latino students make up 11.6 % of the student body, compared to 41.5% across all Boston Schools. As school prepares to get out for the summer, one student had this reaction to the headmaster's sudden resignation. Dr. Mooney-Teta released a statement saying she believed her decision was in the best interest of the students and the school.
Rahsaan Hall ( @rahsaandhall ), director of the racial justice center at the ACLU of Massachusetts ( @ACLU_Mass ) and attorney for one of the Latin School families joins Adam Reilly ( @reillyadam ) to discuss the issues along with Rachel Miselman ( @RachelMiselman ), a 1989 graduate of Boston Latin, and Lazarus Vekiarides ( @lazvek ), an alum from the class of 1986.
Hall began the discussion saying that he was surprised by the resignation of Dr. Teta. The ACLU of Massachusetts did not take a position on the demand for the removal of Dr. Teta. However, the ACLU was adamant that there need to be changes in how the Boston Latin School deals with issues of race. Hall said that the school district would not remove the headmaster or ask her to resign. “From an advocacy standpoint, certainly there were some of us who were asking for her removal. There were some who made no comments on the position, but to hear it happen at the end of the school year certainly left us very surprised,” said Hall.
Rachel Miselman graduated from the Boston Latin School in 1989. She was saddened, but not surprised, about the situation regarding the racial climate at Boston Latin School. Regarding Dr. Teta’s resignation Miselman says, “She’s a tremendous educator, and to echo Boston City Councilor Matt O’Malley-he’s been consistently supportive, it’s been a tremendous loss to the BLS community.” Miselman also shared a personal account where she dealt with racism from other students. As a senior, her locker was vandalized with the term ‘loser’ and ‘black jew’ written on it. Students also stuck pennies in parts of her locker. “This is something that I have always kept closed,” she said, “I can tell you that I received tremendous support from the administration.” Miselman said that the headmaster at the time, and teachers immediately called for an assembly to address the issues. She added, “ I knew that I had a problem, or I needed to go in and talk- they were there for me.”
Lazarus Vekiarides graduated from BLS in 1986. Currently, he has two children- one a ninth grader at BLS. He said that the feedback he has received from his son is that the programs to raise awareness around the racial issues at the school have been very good. Vekiarides also said that there is a level of unrest from his son’s perspective. “I don’t know if he [his son] knows that it affects him all that much. His day to day life doesn’t change all that much when the headmaster goes away, but I think everyone has been expecting something,” he added.
Rahsaan Hall represents the family of student who was a victim of a racial slur. A young man in this student’s class held a cord in his hand and called the student the ‘n’-word and said he should lynch her. The student victim went to the administrators and nothing was done about it. Hall added, “on top of that, the administration never notified her [the victim] parents. It wasn’t until later when there were subsequent incidences that the administration began to do something about it.” Hall said that Miselman had an unfortunate experience, but it was addressed swiftly, but his client’s child did not receive the same kind of response.
For more, watch the interview above.
