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Parent urges board to respond to Islamophobic remarks, says district must protect all students equally
Summary
During public comment, a parent urged the Chappaqua school board and administration to publicly condemn Islamophobic remarks made at a prior meeting and to apply protections equally to all student groups.
Barrett Flom, a parent with a student in the district, told the Board of Education during the March 26 public-comment period that the districtdid not respond to Islamophobic statements made during the prior week's public comments and should do so.
Flom said the earlier references to Sept. 11 in that context amounted to Islamophobic rhetoric and contrasted the board's recent public condemnations of antisemitism with what he described as silence when Islamophobic language occurred. "All of our students, Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and all others deserve to feel safe and loved," Flom said. He urged the board and administration to protect all students equally and to not "pick and choose which groups to protect." The parent closed by asking the district to take action to ensure equal protection.
The board accepted the comment during the public-comment portion of the meeting; the transcript records no immediate board response to Flom's remarks beyond the standard "thank you."
