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On Thursday, Feb. 10, multiple residents had to be removed from a Lakeland Central School District Board of Education meeting after they stirred up trouble and used racial slurs toward parents and members of the board.
The Lakeland Central School District includes parts of six towns, including Yorktown, Cortlandt, and Somers in Westchester, and Carmel, Philipstown, and Putnam Valley in Putnam County.
Arguments stemmed from an unruly group who voiced concerns about “Critical Race Theory” allegedly being taught in the school district, and according to reports, they were upset that taxpayers had to pay for illegal immigrants crossing the border and wound up in the Lakeland schools.
During the meeting, some parents were so irate they refused to leave the microphone and had to be removed by school security until police arrived.
Comments from the boisterous crowd included racist statements regarding Black people, Jewish people, immigrants, and women.
A link to a video of the meeting can be found here.
In response, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who represents parts of Yorktown and Putnam Valley and is a former educator and school administrator, issued a scathing statement condemning the actions during the meeting.
“The public display of hateful and racist rhetoric during last week's board meeting is a reminder of how racism and hate continue to threaten our democracy, and we must come together to uproot it and show that we refuse to regress as a society,” he said.
“As not only a former teacher and principal with over 20 years of experience but a Black father to three children, it pains me to see a situation like this, especially in our schools – a place that is supposed to serve as a safe haven for our kids, Bowman continued. “The pain that the victims of this vile hatred experienced and the loss of safety and respect is troubling.”
Bowman said that he will be in attendance at the next meeting of the Lakeland School Board of Education, which is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 17.
“We are supposed to be protecting, loving, and most importantly educating our kid,” he added. But when division is sown and hate is spewed, the people who end up losing the most are our kids. We must be united in our love and commitment to our children and their education.
“Last week, a handful of people tried to take us several steps back into a world where people of color, especially Black students, had to live in fear and experience harassment simply for seeking an education.”
In a separate statement, the Yorktown Democratic Committee said that “we stand in solidarity with the Lakeland Board of Education, their teachers, staff, and students in denouncing the hatred and bigotry that were on display at the recent February 10th BOE meeting where a small minority of people hurled racial and ethnic epithets at interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Gagliardi and a local parent.”
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