Dear Members of the Longmeadow Public Schools Administration, Faculty, and Community:
As the world came to a drastic halt in 2020, the rampant brutalization and senseless murders of Black people by state agents forced a spotlight on the ugly legacy of race-based inequities in America. These events caused many to reflect upon how the overwhelming presence of systemic racism built into our country’s institutions continues today. While it may be tempting to think this is an external problem to which Longmeadow is immune, many graduates of Longmeadow Public Schools (LPS) have decades of collective experiences to confirm the opposite. De facto bigotry and anti-Blackness continue to be pervasive within LPS, and the time has come to finally address it with meaningful action.
We, the Longmeadow Alumni Alliance, assert that LPS fail to protect their students against the demoralizing and dehumanizing effects of racism by fostering an environment where racial/ethnic discrimination is not only tolerated, but essentially woven into LPS culture. Historically, LPS have ignored the racist attitudes and racist institutional practices that create a hostile learning environment and cause deep psychological harm to their Black students and other non-Black students of color. We also assert that remaining ignorant to these aggressions has a profound impact on all student’s developmental growth—we will demonstrate this with the many testimonies provided by alumni of all ethnicities.
During the summer of 2020, we created a survey for current and former students to share their racial experiences within LPS. Our goal was to create an inclusive dialogue that centralized race for alumni of all ethnicities and offered support in unpacking the deeply buried trauma from our time in LPS. While this undertaking began as an alliance of white and non-Black former student council members and graduates, it quickly became evident that this anti-racism initiative should be led by the Black students and alumni who experienced the discrimination first-hand. This is our story to tell.
We collected responses from approximately 250 alumni spanning graduating classes from 1974 to 2024. Our findings indicate that while LPS claims to be a beacon of inclusion and academic success, Black students and students of color have suffered trauma under the weight of discrimination from their classmates, administrators, teachers, coaches, and guidance counselors. Black students felt the burden to educate their white peers on all things race, while white students shared they were academically and socially unprepared for a multi-ethnic world “outside the bubble” of Longmeadow, having to unlearn the lies and lack of empathy they observed in LPS from K-12. students. The whitewashed, non-inclusive curriculum has created severe deficiencies in the cultural awareness and historical education of LPS students to the detriment of all.
According to testimonials, the anti-Blackness alumni experienced, witnessed, or participated in began in elementary school. Black alumni reported being the target of racist comments from their peers at a young age and that this was often ignored or unpunished by teachers. They also reported being taunted for their appearance (especially hair), receiving more immediate and severe discipline starting in kindergarten, and being openly disfavored by teachers altogether. One responder recounted being spat on by a white classmate—and that this classmate was never punished for their actions.
Based on the surveys, it is evident that young Black children in Longmeadow not only struggle to be accepted but are made to feel like unwelcome strangers in their classrooms and in the broader community. This early destruction of their self-worth and self-esteem is blatantly traumatic and has potentially long-standing effects on overall wellness and academic success.
Alumni of all ethnicities recounted a marked increase in overtly racist actions, behaviors, and attitudes in middle school. For many non-white alumni, middle school is where they learned that to survive this hostile environment, they had to shrink their cultural pride and identity. They reported that white students and teachers commented negatively on their appearance and made disparaging remarks about their perceived socioeconomic status and cognitive ability.
Horrifyingly, alumni of all ethnicities recalled the “slave ship reenactment” and “slave catcher" activities conducted at Williams Middle School over various years. The teachers leading these “exercises” had little or no regard for the psychological effects they had on the Black students in their care, according to those surveyed. One responder added that one year, the educator brandished a whip and cowboy hat for the activity. Additionally, alumni of color reported a classroom “role-play” of the Indian caste system. Like the slave ship reenactment, this exercise brought undue harm to students of color for the perceived benefit of the white students in the classroom. These activities do not give the proper respect and dignity to Black and Brown history that is given in other areas of the curriculum and rob white students of the ability to empathize by making a mockery of an oppressive history. These examples of institutional racism are too great a sacrifice for Black children and children of color to make.
According to alumni, bigotry and discrimination were deeply entrenched within school culture as teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, and coaching staff fostered an environment of tolerance for white supremacy and anti-blackness. An overwhelming number of Black alumni reported that teachers and counselors repeatedly discouraged them from taking AP courses and from applying to prestigious universities despite their high grades. In one of many egregious instances, a white responder recalled plagiarizing a paper from a Black classmate; while the original paper received a B-, the white student received an A grade.
Black alumni also recalled needing to advocate for themselves more than their white peers to receive academic assistance. In one instance, a student had the police called when they attempted to stay after school for academic help. We received reports of gym teachers assuming that Black students did not know how to swim, counselors who had little empathy for Black students experiencing discrimination, and teachers who falsely accused high-achieving Black students of cheating. Black alumni had very few soft places to land and little support from the school to succeed, unlike their white peers.
Within the larger community, Black alumni shared that they were repeatedly stopped by Longmeadow police when driving or walking through town and that the administration weaponized the police as a way to threaten and control them during and after school hours.
On a social level, responders of all ethnicities reported division along racial lines in classes and in the cafeteria. Responders of Asian and Arab descent reported that, in addition to anti-Black racism, both anti-Asian slurs and Islamophobia were deemed acceptable by their peers and went unaddressed by teachers and administrators. These experiences are consistent with the responses of white alumni who reported witnessing how poorly their classmates of color were treated within the high school, and who admitted their own deep shame in having been complicit in the psychological and emotional violence of racism.
Disturbingly, a significant amount of alumni reported difficulty recalling names and faces of racist aggressors from high school, while recollections from elementary and middle school were vivid. We believe the inability to access these memories is a response to the trauma and helplessness experienced during these years. Our findings suggest that bigotry was so pervasive in Longmeadow High School, to such an extent that students were desensitized to racist remarks.
Looking comprehensively, LPS openly promotes its involvement in the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunities (METCO) program, the nation's largest voluntary school desegregation program. While on the surface this may suggest their commitment to educational equity, the recorded experiences of Black METCO alumni reveal a markedly different story. Black METCO alumni shared the difficulties their families experienced in order to gain and maintain access to school in Longmeadow. METCO alumni, as well as alumni commuting from Springfield, shared the alienation they experienced from their classmates simply because they did not live within Longmeadow town lines.
The “othering” of these students was so blatant that at one point, while competing against a predominantly Black high school in Springfield, Longmeadow students chanted, “that’s alright, that’s ok, you’re gonna work for us someday!” Many Black students also felt like their acceptance into the system was contingent upon their participation in sports such as track and field, basketball, and football. But even then, alumni recall specific abuses from their former coaches and teammates. Longmeadow’s relationship with the METCO program and their students speaks to the exploitative nature of this transaction, which is another unacceptable failure of LPS.
While many Black alumni recounted negative experiences, they also expressed deep appreciation and gratitude for the Black advisors and families who offered unconditional support. One place where this support was continually found was the A Better Chance (ABC) House. ABC, a program born out of school desegregation, gives academically gifted students of color a chance to attend high-performing academic institutions. The ABC house in Longmeadow, run by one of the few Black families in town, was home to mostly Black and Latinx young men. These young men greatly benefited from the connection and support from the ABC family who saw them for who they were and did not define them by their struggles or “lack” of resources. This support enabled these young men to envision a different path for themselves, and in turn, create more successful futures despite many documented negative experiences in LPS and the Longmeadow community. Many of these young men are still “brothers” and continue to support and encourage each other as they pursue their respective careers.
Over the decades, METCO advisors, ABC house families, and the Unity club created a meaningful network of support for Black students, whether their address was in Springfield or Longmeadow. While these resources proved valuable as “safe spaces” for Black students and alumni, they were not enough to alleviate the brutal impact of the ever-present dehumanization experienced during their formative, preteen, and teenage years within LPS.
We are at a point in time when lawmakers are trying to manipulate the truth and “whitewash” history, but we will neither let our history be rewritten nor will our collective experiences be erased. We recognize that in July 2020 Longmeadow publicly acknowledged that “racism is a public health crisis,” and that after completing an equity audit LPS pledged anti-racism efforts. We maintain that well-articulated words are not enough. We ask that as you reflect upon our findings, you prioritize changing the culture of LPS so all students feel welcomed, supported, and encouraged to succeed as students and as human beings. We welcome any chance to have an open dialogue with the administration to find solutions. The voices and perspectives of Black alumni need to be centered in any anti-racism work within LPS.
The battle to end racism in Longmeadow is not a new fight. We acknowledge those who came before us. We have strength in numbers but know that far too many have come forward courageously, yet alone. We honor the voices that have been silenced and those who never had the support to speak up. We honor the people dismissed by the administration and those hurt by their time spent within LPS. We feel stronger because of you. It is a new day, and today, we lend our voices to this fight.
Sincerely,
Longmeadow Alumni Alliance