The leader of the local chapter of Black Lives Matter urged the Vancouver Public Schools board of directors to take efforts to protect its students in the wake of the presidential election.
Vancouver resident Cecelia Towner shared her concerns about reports and rumors of racist incidents locally and across the country since the election of Donald Trump to the White House.
Other speakers at the meeting, including a Latina mother who presented a letter to the board in Spanish and a teacher, expressed their fears about racially motivated harassment and of the possibility of undocumented students being deported under a Trump presidency.
Towner told The Columbian she believed it was important to speak to the school board after hearing community members’ concerns at a recent Black Lives Matter chapter meeting. She plans to attend other school board meetings in the coming weeks, she said.
“We’re in a place politically where we have never been before,” Towner told the board.
Towner’s testimony comes a week after Vancouver Public Schools responded to what it’s calling “hate graffiti” spray painted on exterior walls of Skyview High School on Nov. 15. Though district officials have not specified what the graffiti said, a district spokeswoman last week said it covered religion, race and gender.
Vancouver Public Schools Superintendent Steve Webb emailed families about the incident Thursday.
“Our responsibility is to lead and serve with love, teach tolerance and hold students accountable when they behave in ways that infringe on the rights of others,” Webb wrote.
Evergreen Public Schools Superintendent John Deeder made a similar statement to families last week.
“No matter how we feel about the election, one of our core values and beliefs is ‘no child is expendable,'” Deeder wrote in a statement posted on the district’s Facebook page. “One of the seeds of hope is the feeling of a sense of belonging. I urge each of us to support all of our students as we make this transition.”
Portland Public Schools last week responded to concerns about the election results by approving a resolution that blocks immigration officials from entering schools or reviewing student records without going through district officials. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that the board unanimously approved the resolution.
The Skanner News reported that Portland State University President Wim Wiewel last week declared the university “a sanctuary campus,” meaning school security will not enforce federal immigration laws.
“These are really tangible things that you can do to make people feel safe,” Towner told the board.
