To the editor,
In response to a member of the Marblehead School Committee asking, “What are we doing wrong?” in regards to the school flag policy, supportive gestures of pride and inclusion are vital. The quote, “I don’t act like this to change the world; I act this way so the world won’t change me,” has always rung true for me.
Minorities can feel they live in the shadows of the overwhelming “norms” of most people in this town, and it can feel very small.
What are you doing wrong?
As Atticus says in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” it sounds as though you “haven’t walked around in anyone else’s shoes.”
Please be open to listening, and to not be so fearful of your majority’s stake and presence in this town.
As a senior at MHS in 1989, I felt unable to be who I truly was (not a choice!) and now I’m incredulous at how little we seem to have evolved, with some comments I hear by students currently in the Marblehead High School.
My family has “family values,” too.
I have signed some of your petitions to be on the ballot for school committee, on the street and in parking lots, and hope you will be open-minded to those who are seeking a voice and visibility in a town with very established, normalized majorities.
Thank you,
Tanya Braganti
Weston Road
