Copyright Boston.com
A student found a plastic street safety figure that was wearing a Black student’s jersey and had been hung from a ceiling pipe. Wayland school leaders and police are investigating a racist incident that occurred Thursday afternoon in the Wayland High School boys locker room. A student found a plastic “children at play” street safety figure that was wearing a Black student’s athletic jersey and had been hung from a ceiling pipe with a belt around its neck, according to The Boston Globe. School administrators began an ongoing investigation after the student reported the discovery to staff. “This centuries-old symbol of hate and racial violence evokes deep emotion and has no place in our community,” Allyson Mizoguchi, the high school’s principal, wrote in a letter to students and families Friday morning. The administration has identified the students responsible for the incident, but their actions have caused “ripple effects of pain that will be felt by our community in the coming days,” Mizoguchi said in the letter obtained by the Globe. Mizoguchi noted that the incident has caused the targeted student “devastation, confusion, and hurt.” “We do not tolerate acts of hate in Wayland, and we will take all appropriate actions to ensure accountability, learning, and healing within our community,” Mizoguchi said in the letter. David Fleishman, superintendent of Wayland Public Schools, similarly wrote in his own letter that the racist act is “a stark reminder that schools must continue to educate students about the impact of racism.” Fleishman affirmed that the school district intends to “create a culture of belonging and inclusion” and that “such deplorable acts will not be tolerated,” the Globe reported. The targeted student’s parent notified Wayland police Friday morning, who immediately launched an investigation, according to a police statement. The department is also working with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office on the investigation to “determine the facts of this incident.” The DA’s office is planning to hold a community conversation this week in response to the incident, police said. The department has also notified the Anti-Defamation League to provide support to police and the community throughout the investigation. “No person should ever be subjected to hate speech or discriminatory behavior,” Wayland Police Chief Ed Burman said in the statement. “This incident is deeply troubling, and we take it with the utmost seriousness. Our priority is the safety and well-being of the student and our community.” Wayland’s school district has been involved in several racially motivated incidents in recent years. Former Superintendent Omar Easy was the target of racist graffiti in December 2022 and filed a complaint against the district alleging unlawful discrimination and retaliation after he was placed on administrative leave in February 2023. Easy, the first person of color to lead Wayland schools, worked in Everett’s public school district for eight years prior to becoming Wayland’s school superintendent in February 2021. Easy alleged in his complaint that in Wayland, he had been subjected to “… racial stereotyping, undermining, abusive and disparate treatment, unjustified and highly subjective attacks regarding my reputation and character …” and worked in a “racially hostile work environment.”
