Small New England town reeling after fifth-grader blurts racial slur from school dictionar

whatever happened to sticks and stones can break my bones?



Small New England town reeling after fifth-grader blurts racial slur from school dictionary


Massachusetts parents are reeling after a fifth-grader discovered a racial slur in a school dictionary.

An outdated French-English dictionary at Tucker Elementary School in Milton was discovered to contain the N-word after a student read the word aloud in a French classroom.



The incident that stirred the community earlier this month saw parents looking for better from the school, which has already been caught up in racial controversy.

'To me, it's not about this incident. It's about the pattern of incidents,' Somaneh Diemé, a parent who created a website, Milton Reckoning, seeking to address the incidents at Tucker, told the Boston Globe.

'How do we respond to it and how do we protect each other?'

The site is backed by many parents in the school district who are demanding that the pattern of racial incidents be brought to an end and that accountability be taken if they should happen.

'It's unacceptable for this to be a rite of passage for Black students in Milton or anywhere,' Vernée Wilkinson, another Tucker parent, told the outlet.

'More proactive measures need to be put into place.'



Milton's interim Superintendent John Phelan said that the district is working with parents and families to address the concerns raised and agreed to determine a plan of action
Milton's interim Superintendent John Phelan said that the district is working with parents and families to address the concerns raised and agreed to determine a plan of action

Parents are now seeking eight demands to be met in response to the slew of incidents, including formal and transparent racial incident response protocol, anti-racism training for staff and mandatory anti-racism education for white students and their families
Parents are now seeking eight demands to be met in response to the slew of incidents, including formal and transparent racial incident response protocol, anti-racism training for staff and mandatory anti-racism education for white students and their families
Last week on Wednesday, parents arrived to pick up their children from the school wearing red shirts in an effort to show solidarity with Black students.

'For fifth-graders this will be one of the last memories they will leave Tucker with,' Diemé said. 'We just want to support the kids, show them we care and we are united.'

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