"Wee The People" Programming For Fifth Graders Canceled

Westwood MA

17 May, 2022

3:09 PM

Description

Parents and guardians of fifth-grade students at all five of Westwood Public Schools' elementary schools received an email last Friday informing them that the "Wee The People" program would not be beginning this Monday. The email stated "...parents have reached out with concerns about some of the organization's social media posts. We have examined the social media posts and have had discussions with the organization regarding those posts. Based on these efforts, and in an effort to ensure that we remain focused on the goals stated above, we have decided to look for a different organization to support this critical work." Westwood Public Schools' Superintendent, Emily J. Parks, informed the Westwood Patch that "The initial concern that was brought to our attention was the use of a hashtag, '#whitenessisadeathcult' [on Wee The People's Instagram account.]" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wee The People (@weethepeopleboston) Wee The People made the post with the hashtag on January 12, 2021, in the aftermath of the US Capital Riots on January 6 of that year. The post reflects on the difference between the treatment of the rioters as opposed to Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. "We were told about the parent opposition around 1pm on Friday 5/13. At that time, we were assured the workshops would continue. At 7pm Friday, we were told the workshops were canceled. Our understanding is that a parent objected to a 2021 Instagram post Wee The People re-shared about the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. Our post re-shared the hashtag #whitenessisadeathcult. Based on the hashtag, some white parents in Westwood feared for the safety and well-being of their children in the workshop," Wee The People informed the Westwood Patch. "We borrowed the hashtag #whitenessisadeathcult from 'The Body Is Not An Apology' author Sonya Renée Taylor," They explained. "Having said that, the devastating toll of whiteness as a construct and a set of practices has been written about extensively and for a long time—by W.E.B. DuBois, Frantz Fanon, James Baldwin, Angela Davis, and Toni Morrison, among others… "It is worth noting that in the same [24 hour period] we learned of the district's cancellation of a storytime program about racism, 10 Black people in Buffalo, NY were targeted and killed while working or shopping at a supermarket. Our biggest concern, though, is for the safety of the district's METCO director, who first reached out to Wee The People in 2020 and has sought to build support for our programming since then. We are also concerned about the signal the cancellation surely sends to the BIPOC and LGBTQIA families in the school community. By canceling at the 11th hour, the administration gave away a great deal of its power as a civic institution. It has done so at a time when the safety and humanity of people who are Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, and queer are under real attack. These are vulnerable, exhausted, equity-deserving populations whose lives and well being need to be placed at the center of institutional decision-making. We stand in solidarity with them," Wee The People concluded. As of this writing, Wee The People reported that WPS has not compensated them for the canceled program. The email regarding the cancelation stated that WPS would seek a suitable provider for anti-racist education for fifth graders. "We are considering a couple of organizations that have done effective work for us (both student programming and professional development) in the past, such as the ADL," reports Parks. The ADL's A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute has been criticized for its Islamaphobia and opposition to anti-racism. "The anti-racism program hasn't been canceled. The district remains committed to moving forward with this program and is actively looking at organizations to partner with. I can't tell residents how to feel in response to the delay in programming but can say that as a school committee member and parent, my confidence in the district's commitment to this critical work hasn't wavered," says School Committee member Amanda Phillips. When asked about the potential precedent created by this cancelation, Parks stated "We will continue to move forward with the District's goals around DEI, including implementing this important workshop for students in the near future. We receive feedback and push back regularly on just about every decision we make, often from people with conflicting viewpoints. We listen respectfully and consider the input, and then we do our best to make thoughtful decisions and to implement programming that will effectively move forward the important work of the District in alignment with our goals and values." Wee The People's proposed program included five 2-hr anti-racism training sessions for faculty, staff, and parents/caregivers, and eight 1-hr workshops for students Phillips agreed with Parks, saying "The school committee will continue to support the district in moving this critical work forward. The district has already made significant progress towards its DEI goals. Specifically, the creation of the Director of Equity, Integration and Community Partnerships role held by Lateefah Franck. Expanding the METCO program to include K-5. Moving forward with a district-wide equity audit. There is also additional DEI-related programming in the works."