Against a backdrop of racial tension across the nation this summer, Wellesley finds itself addressing allegations of racial and ethnic harassment of its own involving high school students.
The content at the center of the controversy was shared by WHS students in a Facebook group chat that naturally did not stay private. Screenshots of the offensive content (which includes references to the N word and lynching) have been shared with us and many others, and there’s been much discussion of the posts online.
Wellesley Public School officials and local police have been notified of the matter and are investigating. This from Superintendent of Schools, Dr. David Lussier and WHS Principal, Jamie Chisum:
Dear Members of the WHS Community:
In the past few days, we have learned about disturbing allegations of racial/ethnic harassment as well as hate speech involving students from Wellesley High School and from some surrounding communities. While we are still in the process of investigating these allegations, we believe it is important to name such a visible violation of several of our Core Values including Respect for Human Differences, Cooperative and Caring Relationships, and Commitment to Community. These core values only mean something if their violation draws an immediate and visible response.
At a time when issues of race and division are challenging the nation, we should not assume that we are immune to these same challenges in Wellesley. To this end, perhaps there has never been a more important time to underscore our ongoing belief that our strength lies within the diversity of our community.
We will work diligently to ensure that our schools continue to be safe and productive learning environments for ALL students. As always, we will work with our community partners in the days ahead to meet this charge. We plan to share specific action steps we will be taking together as we move ahead in this process.
We thank you in advance for helping to underscore these important messages to our students and to our entire community.
Best regards,
Dr. David Lussier Dr. Jamie Chisum
Superintendent of Schools Principal, WHS
It’s more than an “allegation” if you can see it with your own eyes; I saw the slurs and threats on Facebook pages. There are kids in this town who feel unsafe. While the students involved must be held accountable, I don’t advocate shaming or punishing them but rather educating them. Our school system — and indeed the public school system at large — barely touches on the history of African-Americans and other minorities. How many students know of or have read the biography, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” or have been taught about the history of lynching in America. How many units of history are actually spent on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and its aftermath, in comparison to World War 1. World War one lasted 5 years. The enslavement of Blacks in the Americas continued for 400 years, and it is a trauma that wounded all Americans, black and white, and around which there has never been adequate truth or reconciliation., If these students were well-educated they would understand what the words “Black Lives Matter’ actually mean. It is a response to centuries of “not mattering.”
Have you seen the screen shots made by the boy who reported this? I have them and he freely uses the “N” word and threatens serious violence at specific boys in the Wellesley school. Maybe the boy who reported this was invited into the group chat and was “Trolled” because he kept threatening physical violence against a few boys in that chat group over his current girlfriend. That girlfriend had asked out the boys in the chat group and was turned down which lead to this hostility and revenge. What was said in the chat was WRONG, IMHO but it’s not what these boys feel or actually think. They were trolling …………………………………………………..
So because they were trolling it makes it okay? Anything along those lines have some truth to them. You don’t just troll about lynching students, you actually have to have hate in your heart to even come up with such a thing. The fact of the matter is there are a surplus amount of students that now feel unsafe and unwanted by the Wellesley community now that these comments have been made. Especially because of the amount of parents, grown adults, defending this student(s) it’s actually sickening. The amount of people saying it was a private conversation is ridiculous, if you see something wrong on social media it’s right to report it to the school or police of its as serious as this.
There was NO hate speech here. The story behind this is a girl, jealousy and revenge. These teens are friends who were just were acting silly in which they thought was a “private Facebook chat” without ANY intent to harm anyone. The boy who without consent copied the chat group’s messages and reported this to the school is actually the ONLY one who has made clear direct threats of bodily harm with racial slurs included in prior months. ……… all related to back to his current girlfriend. Can anyone say :Revenge” ?
Shame on the Wellesley School System for jumping the gun before all the facts have come out.
The words “Hate Speech” was uncalled for in this situation, really!
Your facts are incorrect. Did you see the messages? I did and as the mother of an African-American child, I was shocked. Why the kids did this isn’t the point. The point is that saying things on social media -about lynching someone or about minorities needing to ‘know their place” isn’t acceptable and more importantly, there are kids who’ve been deeply troubled by this, especially in the current climate where we all see worldwide examples of hate turn into acts of violence. And by the way, according to Massachusetts law , those who expose bullying are supposed to be protected not further victimized. Do you actually think it is a bad thing that such hateful messages were exposed? Who is more vulnerable here — “silly teens” as you suggest, whose Facebook “rights ” to privacy have been ruffled or minority kids who encounter what is at the least, gross insensitivity, and at worst, racial prejudice?
It appears you don’t have all the facts. I have many screen shots of this boy who reported this incident from months before leading up to this tragic event. Perhaps those hateful interchanges on the chat room were directed at the stalker ( aka-the boy who reported them) and not the community at general. I’m not making excuses for any ones behavior but I’m just telling the facts. Again I have screen shots to back this up……………………..
Also the boy who reported this incident is the “Actual Bully”. I have all the screen shots to back this up and have just provided the school with some of them.
Take your head out of the sand.If there is a problem with a girl as you so stated.then what the heck does race have to do with it.calling people apes and talking about lynching n .wake up.this is nothing to do with a girl.
Use your imagination a little here. A girl was rejected by some boys in a certain group. She was using her current boyfriend to bully these boys and tries to pick physical fights with them. These posts were not made because these boys have any racial agenda but were put online for this one “Bully” boy—-to get his goat so to speak. He is a minority and has a chip on his shoulder which he shouldn’t as the Wellesley community is inclusive, even to a fault. This bully boy had been physically threatening the group of boys for months. If anyone ever speaks to his girlfriend he goes crazy and treats to inflict bodily harm and put someone in the hospital to breath out of a tube. Does the bully boy who reported these racial posts seem like a normal calm respectful individual or a deranged serious threat. Please form your own opinion but YES there is a girl involved here.
“Inclusive to a fault”. Just wondering what that might mean. Wellesley has met its burden and then some? Perhaps you think we do more than we should for those people who otherwise wouldn’t be part of our lovely community? I am curious.
The fact that these teenagers thought it was “okay” to joke around about these Issues is upsetting. I’m betting that the public shaming was the best thing that could have happened here, – in terms of making these teens think long and hard about racial slurs, etc. Let’s not kid ourselves. These teens are not the only people/high schoolers in Wellesley who don’t get it. This is a wake-up call that we all need to continually educate our kids with conversations at home and at school.
I have screen shots of messages from the boy who reported the controversial posts that date back from a month prior where he uses the “N” word often and had made MANY bodily treats of serious physical harm against several boys in the Wellesley school all over his current girlfriend. There is way more to this story than meets the eye.
Anne, you are obviously not the parent of a student who passed through Wellesley Public Schools anytime recently. WMS students spend much of 7th and 8th grade social studies on the history of slavery, lynching and the unjust historical treatment of minorities in the US more broadly; last year there was also a Town Hall meeting at WMS with outside speakers addressing the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. In fact, WMS students actually spend much more time on these issues than on WWI or WWII. So it is grossly inaccurate and unfair to say that WPS education “barely touches’ on the history of African Americans or other minorities.
Actually, I am the parent of a Wellesley High School student and a college professor teaching in the humanities. If you look at the Curriculum of the high school you’ll see that compared to World War 1, little time is spent on slavery and its aftermath, and the history curriculum is very Eurocentric. The trauma of slavery & its repercusssions isn’t addressed. (and this is a national shortcoming; in fact, I think that given the limitations of the common core curriculum the WHS teachers do their best). My colleague in the history department, who also has a child in WHS, was the first person to bring this to my attention. Interestingly, there used to be African-American studies at the high school years ago and it was removed from the curriculum. I’m not saying that history lessons are the solution; I was pointing out just one of several ways of advancing greater awareness.
By the way, I thought the history department at the middle school was excellent.
I’m trying to understand why the school dept is involved. Did someone really get expelled? Isn’t this something the parents should be handling?
Solidarity Gathering
Wellesley Stands United Against Hate
Please join the World of Wellesley on Thursday July 28th from 7 – 8:30pm
On the grounds of the Town Hall Green, 525 Washington Street, Wellesley
Everyone is invited to come anytime between 6 – 7pm to make signs of peace and solidarity
The World of Wellesley and greater Wellesley community, including houses of worship invite everyone to gather together as mothers, fathers, grandmothers, uncles and caregivers of all forms to honor our children and pledge to build up a world of justice and peace for them.
Anyone interested in being part of the program, offering words of peace and solidarity are welcome to email the World of Wellesley. This especially includes all Wellesley High Schools students who are welcome to share their thoughts, feelings and expressions. In addition, if anyone would like to sing or provide music for the event please connect.
Please contact us at worldofwellesley@yahoo.com
or on Facebook/worldofwellesley
This event will be offered again on August 24th at the same time and place.
We hope everyone can attend both opportunities to stand against hate.
I just know from personal experience with WPS in the past that they tend to ignore racism. My son and his friends called out another boy who was making appallingly racist remarks about their friend (who is mixed race) and the boy who made the remarks screamed “I’m being bullied” and my son and his friends were labelled as bullies by WHS administration. And the boy who made the remarks…nothing happened to him even though his statements were recorded. WPS reacted in the way they did because of their fairly legit fear of suicide (tho the “bullying in this case wasn’t bullying) BUT they should have also addressed the outright racism which they chose to ignore. Since many kids at WHS knew about this and the lack of response to the racism in this incident it makes one wonder.
I heard about this story from a friend. I read the above comments and am now understanding why people say that Wellesley just looks like a good place to live and under the surface there is a lot of mean-spiritedness and selfish culture.
Reread the controversial facebook post and insert “brutally murdered”/for the term “lynching”. And, think about those young man’s posts/comments.
The comments above, debating who said what first — seem petty. It reminds me of little kids saying — “well, they started it”.
Where is the smart conversations around this issue?
Based on the comments above, the school administration is not telling the whole story. I’d like to see the screenshot to know more information behind this.
smartphones and social media have been most egregious inventions ever. for all that grew up with true racism from 50’s to forced busing of 70’s this stuff is such a nuisance. these posts are faceless. kids, especially males do not have their brains fully develop till their 30. If kids did their homework, played their sports, worked their side jobs, helped their parents and grandparents they would never have time for this nonsense. superintendents of all school districts should ban smartphones from their school districts, students do your work, parents, turn off all their social media access, you are paying for their access right, THIS IS TOUGH LOVE, just do it and move on, I am tired of this, like everyone else. Lets find a new uplifting movement and move forward, this was over in the 70’s