Lynn Education District Statement Condemns Racism and Bigotry

To the Community of Lynn:

The Lynn Education District Partnership declares our solidarity against racism, bigotry and the inequities that all non-white people have faced in our country for hundreds of years. This has resulted in violence, and unfair treatment on a number of levels to people of color across the country. We pledge to take action and establish a council comprised of students, parents and community leaders including the public and private sector to address these inequities. As we watch and experience the unrest and violence that continues to erupt throughout our communities and nation, we acknowledge that this reality is fueled by the generations of injustice.  The tragic death of Mr. George Floyd, and so many others we can name in communities near and far has inflamed a deep and festering wound in our society that cannot be overlooked.

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr stated:

“We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension.  We merely bring it to the surface of hidden tension that is already alive.  We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with.  Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”

Together as members in the Lynn Education District Partnership, we commit to being a positive force for change in Lynn.  We agree to listen more carefully, to stand up for justice, and actively identify and address disparities in education and economic policy.  We pledge to do our part to level the playing field.  Now is time that we all double-down on supporting and developing the youth of Lynn so they can be changemakers, employing empathy and equity.

The Lynn Education District Partnership is making a commitment to not remain silent.  We will raise our voices when we see injustice, identify resources that will help our city evolve together, and be better as people, employers, organizations, partners and change makers.

In partnership,

Pam Heintz, North Shore Christian School

Joel Abramson, Community Volunteer
Elizabeth Blodgett Smith, Community Volunteer