Hold All Public Officials Accountable
• Lackawanna Stands Against Racism by Public Officials
School Board Member Forced to Resign
Lackawanna Stands Against Racism by Public Officials
About 150 people demonstrated in Lackawanna on Saturday March 12, denouncing racism by public officials and defending the rights of all. Joined by activists from Buffalo, the demonstrators stood firm in targeting public officials from the School Board and City for a pattern of racist attacks faced by the community. The demonstration was triggered by racist remarks made by School Board member Kevin Rozwood on his facebook page March 8. The comments targeted people of the Middle East and broadly condemned “everyone else” who was not “one of our own.”
Youth, parents and teachers immediately rejected the racist comments from a public official. Facebook is a public space and all officials have responsibility for content posted there. Rozwood is also a police dispatcher and many were concerned that the racism expressed toward Arabs would carry over into his work as a dispatcher responsible for responding to emergencies in the community. The call went out for phone calls were made to the School Board, Mayor and Police Chief, demanding that Rozwood be fired and that all the officials publicly take responsibility for the pattern of racism that exists against Arabs, as well as African Americans and Puerto Ricans. The broad response forced the School Board to have an emergency meeting Saturday morning, which was also met with protesters, demanding: No Racism By Any Public Officials! No Racism in Our Community! In closed session Rozwood agreed to resign. He also spoke publicly with the demonstrators present and apologized.
While the School Board and other officials no doubt thought that would be the end of it, the community went forward with a rally on the steps of City Hall at 3pm. In a spirited action, the community united in condemning racism by public officials and made clear that Rozwood’s resignation was only the first step. Youth called on cars passing to Honk for No Racism and many did so. Reflecting their stand to defend the rights of all and carry the struggle forward, signs also included slogans like Defend the Rights of All; Bigotry Hurts All Our Children; Walk Like an Egyptian; Hold Public Officials Accountable for Racism; No to Racism, Yes to Human Rights.
Demonstrators condemned the refusal by the Mayor and Police Chief to take a firm stand against racism by public officials. They called on these public officials to address the demand that Rozwood be fired as a dispatcher. People are calling on the Mayor, Police Chief and School Superintendent to organize a public hearing where the public can express their concerns and demands and public officials render account. Community members are also considering organizing such a hearing themselves and inviting these public officials to participate. Participants brought out that the public has a right to speak directly with public officials, in public, to demand accountability for the many examples of racism by officials against youth, teachers and the community as a whole. The problem is not one individual, but rather that individuals like Rozwood reflect an atmosphere where government racism is accepted and racist actions go unchallenged by public officials. It is this atmosphere and the whole machinery of government racism that is being targeted. Work now is going forward to demand that Rozwood be fired from the police department and for a public hearing to hold all public officials accountable.
[TOP]