Around New England

Second-Grader’s Racially Tinged Remark Sparks Calls For Action

November 12, 2018

A second-grade boy whom a school principal overheard saying he didn’t want to invite an African-American kindergartner to an unspecified event because he didn’t want “people who look like her” sparked outrage from the kindergartener’s parents and calls for wider action across the Berkshires and the country.

The principal told the parents that the incident took place during breakfast at Kittredge Elementary School in Hinsdale, a town of about 2,000 people in Berkshire County, not far from the New York state line, according to the Berkshire Eagle. The children were talking about parties when the second-grade boy made the remark.

The kindergartener’s parents “are working with the district’s superintendent to explore ways that local schools can confront discrimination in a more sustained fashion, rather than responding to isolated incidents,” according to the Berkshire Eagle.