At a race relations forum at Hammond High School tonight, parents, teachers, and students called for diversity training, a higher minority representation on the teaching staff and a general spirit of cooperation and understanding. While there was general agreement that that school is peaceful, some feel that there are situations where more understanding and compassion would be in order from students and teachers. One of the students called for ways to increase the participation of black students in Advanced Placement classes.
Another student shared how he and another black student stopped in the CVS at Kings Contrivance Village Center only to be followed out and accused of theft. According to the student, they were checked by store employees for stolen goods, but nothing was discovered. The student alluded to racial profiling as being the only reason they were checked. While this did not happen on school property, he used this as an illustration of what he sometimes experiences as an African American. About 50 people, including parents, teachers, students and school administrators participated in the forum sponsored by the Hammond PTSA.
The first order of the night was the presentation of a short video showing the student participation in a student-led program from February 2nd where Hammond students spoke eloquently about their thoughts and attitudes about race. Principal Marcy Leonard was beaming with joy tonight as she shared a student video. In her introductory remarks Leonard said that she was proud of her students regarding how they peacefully demonstrated on February 2, 2016, demonstrating their desire for a more vigilant student body in regards to race relations at Hammond.
In the video, while the students primarily focused on black-white relations, one student emphasized stereotypical comments she had heard from American-born blacks towards African-born blacks like her. Another student focused on the humanity of all people and the importance of universal cooperation and understanding. Most of the students focused on their black experiences. Malcolm Anderson, the school’s Alternative Education Coordinator moderated tonight’s event.
He moved quickly from video to breakout groups where he had group facilitators stationed to help engage the participants. The groups focused on several distinct areas steering them to areas of concern to problem solving. Each group presented their ideas. The school administration is planning to compile the suggestions and ideas and make them available to the Hammond community at a later date. Steve Martin, president of the Hammond PTSA made closing remarks, thanking everyone for their peaceful participation. He admitted not knowing what to expect from the public, but his fears were allayed by the productive participation of those who attended.