United Black Clergy to hold town hall to address ‘unchecked’ racism in Pasadena

The United Black Clergy of Anne Arundel County will host a community town hall Friday to address the “unchecked culture of racism” in Pasadena.

Two of the area’s schools — Chesapeake High and Chesapeake Bay Middle — have been under scrutiny following racist acts that targeted African Americans.

“We are not going away until we have confidence that African-American children and their families are safe in Pasadena,” said Apostle Larry Lee Thomas Sr., leader of the county’s United Black Clergy, in a statement. “Despite assurances from Dr. George Arlotto and his staff, we are still seeing manifestations of racial discord in our schools. This is believed to be a reflection of a small portion of the Pasadena community.”

The clergy is calling upon the community to address racism it says has existed in Pasadena for decades, and spread to its schools.

“When Chesapeake was built in 1976 there was a culture leaning toward what we know as Jim Crow. Blacks were in Pasadena before Chesapeake and they will be there after a Chesapeake,” Thomas said. “In Crofton, there was a noose incident at a school and the entire community stood up and made a clear statement that such things would not be tolerated in Crofton. We have not seen that in Pasadena.”

Black students at Chesapeake High School have repeatedly been the target of racist attacks. Last week, a black student was sent an anonymous message via AirDrop that included a photo of a confederate flag and the words, “You n**s will rue the day,” according to the student’s mother.

And before that, the words “Kill all blacks” was found written on a sheet of paper students use to sign in and out of counseling sessions.

The school endured a slew of raciallymotivated incidents in the spring. Ethnic and religious slurs and symbols were written on a toilet seat and carved into a doorway; a brawl with “racial overtones” broke out, according to the school’s Principal Stephen Gorski; and a student flew a Confederate flag from the back of their truck and hung a noose in the car’s rearview mirror.

The 2017-18 school year at the high school ended with black students complaining of daily racial abuses.

Chesapeake Bay Middle School witnessed its first reported racist act on Nov. 1, said schools Superintendent George Arlotto. A noose made of toilet paper was hung inside a stall in a boys bathroom.

The clergy has invited residents to bring awareness to these issues and develop a plan to solve them.

“We want to see if the community as a whole will join us in being silent no more and making a statement that racism is not welcome in Pasadena,” Thomas said.

The town hall will be held Friday at Mount Zion – Magothy United Methodist Church, 8178 Arctic Dr. in Pasadena at 5 p.m.