A crowd of varied students, parents and Westport residents gathered in front of Staples High School and Bedford Middle School on Feb. 27 to peacefully protest against accusations of racism at Westport Public Schools.
The protest lasted from 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Participants held signs with messages opposing discrimination towards people of color, and advocating that students who engage in racist acts deserve more extreme consequences. The protesters included adults and students not only from Staples but from other high schools nearby, including Weston High School and Greenwich Academy.
“I think it’s really important for us to raise awareness about the racism that’s happening, especially because there’s such a small minority [of black students] who go to our school,” Mia Moore ‘26 said. “So it’s really important to speak up for those people because sometimes they lose their voice due to underrepresentation.”
The protest was sparked by the revelations that happened during a Board of Education meeting on Feb. 15, where Westport parents Carol Felder and Richard Anderson spoke out about the racial discrimination their daughters have experienced in Westport Public Schools. Many community members have expressed support and distress towards the situation.
Some people saw it on the news, but there’s still a lot of people that don’t know that this is happening everyday. So, I feel like standing together like this, people are more aware that this is happening.
— Westport resident Tasha Royal
“I was actually deeply upset. My mom sent me an article, and it was just unbelievable,” Cire Holder ‘25 from Weston High School said.
According to the Gallup Center, about “one in five (21%) Black postsecondary students say they ‘frequently’ or ‘occasionally’ feel discriminated against at their institutions — a higher rate than the 15% reported for all other postsecondary students”. Members of the protest are hoping to bring more awareness to the severe discrimination that is going on and create an impactful change.
“What happens is, a lot of [discriminatory] situations that happen are shoved under the rug. And when you have a unified group like this standing together and people are seeing, a lot of people now know this is actually happening,” Tasha Royal, Westport resident said. “Yes, some people saw it on the news, but there’s still a lot of people that don’t know that this is happening everyday. So, I feel like standing together like this, people are more aware that this is happening.”
