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The Pleasanton school board Tuesday night reemphasized PUSD’s commitment to nondiscrimination in light of deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. earlier this month.
The board and administrators read aloud the district’s existing “Equity and Diversity” resolution before trustees made comments about why they felt the need to address it again.
Adopted in January 2016, the resolution emphasizes that PUSD is committed to nondiscrimination based on “gender, sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or the perception of one or more of such characteristics.”
“The strength and richness of our community is in its diversity,” an excerpt from the resolution reads. “The Board of Trustees affirms its commitment to continuing the district’s systemic efforts to build a society free of hatred, bigotry, and racism.”
Trustees Valerie Arkin and Jamie Yee Hintzke, as well as school board president Joan Laursen spoke briefly on the matter.
“While the events in Charlottesville were frightening and ugly, and I was heartened to hear good people across our country denounce the sentiments expressed by the white supremacists, I believe that it is time we all recognize and begin to address the historic and contemporary structural racism that plagues our country,” Laursen said.
“The past couple years of more overt racism have been shocking to many whites, but people of color unfortunately were not shocked — it has been their experience all along,” she continued. “I thought I understood. As a woman, I have certainly experienced discrimination. As someone who grew up in poverty from a broken home, I thought I understood being underprivileged. But none of that compares with the privilege that I enjoy and benefit from just being white in the United States of America.”
Laursen went on to say that she is beginning to understand “how blissfully ignorant I have been about the reality faced by our students and families of color in this country.”
“Even though I thought I understood, the moment this became real to me was the realization that I, as a white American, did not have to teach my son to be careful reaching in the glove box for his car registration during a traffic stop or that he might be shot by a frightened policeman.
“We must be able to talk about this without being offended that we are racist, and try to make the changes in our structures and attitudes that all of our citizens deserve in order to realize the promise of this nation, in order to form a more perfect union,” Laursen said.
Arkin said she felt it was “good for us to revisit” the resolution.
“It’s been very tragic and heartbreaking what has been unfolding in recent days with events across our nation,” she said. “To see the hatred and intolerance is very troubling.”
“I have been asked, ‘Why are we addressing this right now, is it proper for a school board to do this?’ and you know, it reminds me of Martin Luther King’s quote which is one the quotes I really like from him saying, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,’” Arkin said.
“We are all community leaders and I think we need to take a stand on what really matters, and reaffirming our commitment to the PUSD community that we unequivocally support treating everybody with dignity and respect, and as our resolution says that we support a society free of hatred, bigotry and racism,” she added.
Hintzke said that “as much as I think school does have a role in helping with this change in attitude and perception, it really does start at home.”
“Look at who your friends are, look at who you hang out with, what other cultures is your family embracing and are you having that understanding?” she said.
In other business
* The board announced that their next regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 12 will primarily serve as a study session that will delve into considerations for a new elementary school.
Laursen said Tuesday that the workshop will touch on next steps for Measure I1 bond projects “and the conversation about various properties the school district owns.”
* Association of Pleasanton Teachers president Janice Clark and fellow APT leaders donned Hawaiian attire at the board meeting as a tribute to longtime PUSD teacher Eric Thiel, who died in June from a medical issue a day after retiring.
This week is ‘Aloha Spirit Week’ at Amador Valley High where Thiel taught from 1992 through last school year. Tuesday served as ‘Thiel Tuesday,’ for which students and staff were encouraged to wear tourist and Hawaiian shirts.
“Today Eric’s full crew at Amador wore Hawaiian shirts on this Thiel Tuesday to let Eric know that he will always be with us and to remind his community to never forget what Eric Thiel gave to his friends and fellow educators, and to the thousands of young minds whose lives will forever be enriched from his teachings,” Clark said.
Thank you Ms. Laursen for your brave words. Your leadership and willingness to keep learning are admirable.
I am proud to send my kids to such a wonderful school district.
Ms. Laursen’s effort to promote a “society free of hatred, bigotry, and racism” while commendable, contrast with her unwavering support of a former PUSD Superintendent (and her current boss) who aggressively played the race card after facing fact-based criticism regarding her performance.
Bigotry: “Intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself.” I suggest Ms. Laursen reflect on some of her own interactions with other Board members and members of the public who disagree with her.
“The past couple years of more overt racism have been shocking to many whites, but people of color unfortunately were not shocked.” Wow.
Why do you assume “whites are shocked by racism” but “people of color” are not? Have you ever lived or worked in a neighborhood where you were a minority and experienced discrimination? It might make you realize that this is more complicated than simply passing resolutions and making speeches from the safety of your bubble.
I’ve been the only person of my race at a store, restaurant, social function, etc. Attitudes and perceptions are changed by personal interactions not by proclamations.
I don’t remember the PUSD school board denouncing or even commenting on the recent Islamic-terrorist attacks, such as Barcelona. Did I just miss it?
Why isn’t the school board agonizing and or apologizing for the Wounded Knee massacre and other American military atrocities against the American Indians?
If PUSD is going to draft policy and or have discrimination policy discussion, it should be all inclusive, if not PUSD should butt out remain silent!
Whites did not experience forced assimilation!
I was referring to the race that owned this land.
“kill the Indian, save the man”
This was the mind set under which the U.S. government forced tens of thousands of Native Indian Children to attend “assimilation” boarding schools in the late 19th century.
Decades later, those words-delivered by U.S. Cavalry captain Richard Henry Pratt who opened the first school in Carlisle Pennsylvania-have come back to symbolize the brutality of the boarding school system.
The history of this forced assimilation is far from settled. On August 7, 2017, the U.S. Army began to exhume the graves of three children from the Northern Arapaho Tribe who had died at Pratt’s Carlisle Indian school in the 1880’s.
The children’s names were Little Chief, Horse and Little Plume-names they were forbidden to use at the school.
This is just a brief moment in our history, there is much more.
Your comment is not worthy of my response other then to state the United States Supreme Court of America declared Indians own this land.
Before that, the U.S. Government signed treaties declaring Indians own this land.
Indian survivors to this day know that they own this land and they hold title to this land.
Your comment is ridiculous!
Just because Native americans migrated here first, it does not mean they “owned” anything: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-americans-lived-on-bering-land-bridge-for-thousands-of-years/
The United State landed the first men on the moon, do we own the moon?
We landed the first robotic explorers on Mars, do we own Mars?
Very few cultures that make up most Nations today are populated and/or by the original inhabitants. By your standards, none of these nations are legitimately owned.
There is such a thing as a conquered nation.
Antifa is not fighting discrimination, they’re fighting against free speech. They’re fascists in the same vain as the KKK.
For now, they’re safe destroying cities like Berkeley, San Francisco and other democrat-run cities. They only hurt themselves.
Let’s see what happens when/if they branch out into more conservative counties.
Along another vein: I find it very interesting that the KKK and ANTIFA both cover their faces.
Why is that?
Standard Practice!
Outlaws have been covering their faces since before Jesse James!
how can one denounce and reference the meaning of dr. Martin Luther king in the same statement. Congratulations, an amazing achievement.
I dream of a day when all men, women, and children are judged not on the color of their skin but by the content of their character…..unless you’re white, then you’re just privileged.
Sorry, I will recognize the injustices that others face, work to ensure I consciously take a second approach to any of my decisions to ensure I’m not acting on unfounded bias, I will accept I have advantages over others because I had a strong family unit/involvement, parents that drove values to help me earn success in today’s world, etc.
I will not however allow you to reduce their hard work, achievements, and my own children’s successes to their skin color. They may have privileges, but they are the result of hard work and investment in their future- not because they’re white. Nor will I support a movement that creates a non-actionable/de-motivating excuse for non-whites to try to achieve.
Guess that’s an accurate statement but not a true one – go back to your history books and read about every nationality that immigrated to the US and the prejudice they faced…..Irish, Germans, Russians, Slavic, etc…..all forced to assimilate.
Michael,
Funny reference – the people that owned this land before…..as they didn’t believe in land ownership
I understand that. And vegas loves the fact they do.
I’m going to need to find a safe space. This conversation is hurting my feelings.
However worthy they are, words are cheap.
Almost every school has an anti-bullying policy, but policies don’t stop bullying. That can only be achieved by the determined cultivation of an anti-bullying culture on an everyday basis, and by strong action in the face of every single instance of bullying.
It’s the same with fighting discrimination. Unless the fine words are supported by constant vigilance and resolute action, they are utterly meaningless.