In light of recent events that have occurred at Westford Academy, various school community groups have been working towards making WA a more inclusive environment for students.  WA's ADL organization has been around for five years working to combat hateful speech and actions while also creating...

WPS held a town-wide restorative justice-centered seminar on March 3 following the Jan. 28 incident at a WA girls basketball game, where racist comments were directed at a Black player on the opposing team. WPS Superintendent Christopher Chew started the seminar with a recollection of the events...

The Westford School Committee passed their first public statement during the Feb. 14 meeting after racial taunts were targeted at a Black Wayland player during a girls basketball game. The committee voted on a resolution to a restorative approach in the hope to support those affected by the racially...

Student perspective on Wayland-Westford verbal abuse incident. “What did they say?” “What’s going on?” “Is she crying?” “Are they laughing?” I was at the home game on Friday, Jan. 28, when racial, sexist slurs and insults from the Westford Academy stands were hurled at...

During a Westford Academy girls' basketball game on Friday, January 28, racially charged comments were directed at a Wayland High School player from the WA student section during the final moments of the fourth quarter. As a result, students were not allowed to attend any home or away games Tuesday and...

"What is that?” the girl who walked past my table asks as she points to my lunch. I respond, with confusion, and ask her what she had meant. She continues to point at the food in the container and then covers her nose. The scent of my lunch filled the noses of those within a radius of six feet around...

I was on my way home from my first ever rally protesting anti-Asian hate crimes in the US after six people of Asian descent were shot and killed in the Atlanta spa shooting in March. I had just posted a picture I took from the rally of me holding up my sign that read "I am not a virus". Only four minutes...

Dear fellow people of color, you're not whitewashed; you just deserve better. If you're a person of color in a predominately white area, you've probably heard the term "whitewashed" at least once in your life. You may have been called it, know people who have been called it, or even have been the...

Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84, was assaulted walking alone in a neighborhood in broad daylight on January 28; he died two days later. Noel Quintana, 61, was on his way to work when a stranger started to kick his bag and slit his face with a box cutter on February 3. Marc Quidit, 49, was shot by an armed robber...

"Does anyone in this class speak Chinese?" my history teacher asked as she flipped through the slideshow detailing the Five Dynasties of Ancient China, "Sophia, how would you pronounce this?". I looked up befuddled as the whole class stared at me. "I don't know," I said as my voice shook, "I don't speak...

“Look at me, ching-chong!” my elementary classmates used to say to me while pulling back the corner of their eyes in an attempt to mock me. My frustration and anger never met my peers as I buried it within me. I went home and cried that day ashamed of my appearance — ashamed of who I was. At...

The Black Lives Matter protests took over mainstream media this summer as people from all over the country voiced their support for anti-racist actions. Social media, connecting people during a world-wide pandemic, aided the travel of news and fostered remote discussions about racial issues. With this...