JPS Board Meeting - 01/17/23

001Genie Genie Brown yep from Jackson 2940 Washington um CRT teaches black people they are disadvantaged because the color of their skin it teaches all white people our racist conscious of it or not it tells black people they are nothing more than their circumstance it's learned helplessness being told there where they're they're at because of white people Keisha's fear and hatred is based on her reality that she needs other people to agree with her I don't agree with her opinions I feel sorry for her having to live in her fear-based world where most of the population is out to destroy her her reality is not my reality she is not afraid of any repercussions of her actions to spew hate speech freely on social media for all to see I demand her resignation and immediately and

002other teachers that feel the same way as her thank you [Music] yep Stephanie Riley then Maisha Jones Stephanie Riley Jackson Michigan good evening I'm here to express my unhappiness and discussed with the hateful racist and deeply decisive social media post by Keisha Hamilton a person with such contempt and hatred for other races has no place in public life and certainly no place on his school board one must be expected to set the highest standard of personal conduct for the community that entrusts its children into its care to say nothing of the 10 millions of dollars in taxes to keep this school going Keisha Hamilton is only one member of this board the other six board members must openly condemn her hateful words and disruptive conduct tonight or they will stand guilty of condemning this atrocity

003atrocious Behavior enough is enough either blatant open racism is acceptable at JPS or does not the board must make a stand tonight or lose all credibility with every parent student teacher at JPS and the silent majority that supports this school district with their tax dollars once stated by Martin Luther King Jr Darkness cannot drive out Darkness only light can do that hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that thank you beautiful [Applause] Maisha Jones and then Sheila troxy pretzel okay it's hot in here Lord okay now I have to bring the mic up cause I want everybody to hear me I prepared some notes I'm probably not going to read any of those but I first and foremost want to just thank all of the folks that are here to support my sister

004and friend Keisha Hamilton of who I know not I think but who I know has the utmost character and integrity I want to be very clear because I appreciate some of the questions from some of the folks up here who don't understand you see ignorance it's impo I understand ignorance right ignorance means a lack of knowledge you just don't know and I understand the importance of language as having a master's degree in communication and Leadership so some of you because nowhere no way thing about white people not your white mother not your white self not your white daughter and not your white son we're not talking about a person whiteness okay listen closely whiteness is the system the ideology the belief the thought that because your skin is white you are superior to black people

005because your skin is white you deserve better because your skin is white you have better opportunities that you're just a better person and that is not true no human being especially if you claim you love God should be in a approval of the fact that any person based off of the color of their skin is better than another person we are speaking as a human being right now we human beings in here into the board if you believe that somebody because of the color of their skin is better than someone else then you have a problem too because as a board you should be fighting against whiteness again not white people but the idea that because the color of your skin is white you are better than somebody now honey if you wrote Dr Martin

006Luther King make sure you quote the whole thing okay because he ain't just we did not just say um being judged based off of the concept of your character remember what he said before that he said people shouldn't be judged by the color of their skin and as a black woman today who is very beautiful who is very educated who served in JPS systems right now making the lives better for all of your children I know every day I'm judged based off the color of my skin so if you don't quote it quote it right we have a problem and it's not with people it's with whiteness now on my last 10 seconds all of the people who work against racism and check your white privilege please stand up all the white people I only

007want to see white people this is proof that this ain't about you this is about a systemic thing check yourself [Applause] that's all thank you thank you [Music] hi good evening I'm Sheila Troxel I'm here today to speak as a citizen of Jackson I am a resident and taxpayer so I just want to make sure that distinction is clear since I know I work with many of you I am here also in support of Keisha Hamilton and I think Maisha did a really great job explaining whiteness to people and you know that's the best thing about education right is it's an opportunity to have a conversation to understand the actual facts that go into that discussion and so I just want to say I am with you guys that have stood up here and supported

008Keisha you're having some difficult conversations and they're important and I want to keep you in the school board and I want you to keep asking those tough questions it just makes us better it makes us uncomfortable right but we all know through discomfort comes change it's not always easy and it's hard especially coming from a as a white person it is tough to have those conversations and I'm glad that I have people in this community working with me to make me a better white person so thank you Keisha we now have Zoe Lyons and then Eric really really long confusing name you know who you are said it was SC good evening I'm uh gonna read I'm not going to be as well spoken as uh Keisha and Sheila my name is Zoe Lyons I

009reside in Jackson and I have three adult sons who graduated from Jackson high school I'm back with a similar statement I've made before to this board as I believe that it is critical I was born and raised in Flint Michigan myself graduated from Flint Northern High School and I share these bits of information as uh just a quick reminder of who I am I believe I began my own Learning Journey to become anti-racist about six years ago one of the things that we share in this work is what we call the three apps I felt I found and I feel before I started in this work of anti-racism and Dei I felt like I didn't have a lot to learn born and raised in Flint Michigan went to a very diverse High School thought I

010was I was good on all things race related after my learning I have found that Not only was I not good but I was really uneducated about the about race and the history of our country and so I began to seek all of the information and do all the learning I could I feel some sadness now that I was 50 years old before this learning started in me and I urge those of you who are not as old as me to start now in your learning I have learned that systems have marginalized and oppressed people of color specifically black and brown people as well as lgbtqia and other able I feel responsible now to be a good ancestor by continuing this work I share again an invitation to the members of the JPS board our

011superintendent and its administrators and others within JPS to lean in and do all the learning that you can to read books and watch movies and read articles do a book study reach out to me I'd be happy to have coffee with you answer questions and share what I've learned come to a workshop on anti-racism which is currently open for registration I'm also sharing this again because my socialization had me jumping to judgment immediately when I saw pictures of Keisha's social media and then I did my work I spent time thinking about what I have learned I reminded myself that I know Keisha and she is not speaking about white people it is about systemic racism and that that has created disparities that you've heard all about tonight and I called Keisha to talk about it

012these types of actions are what everybody should do before jumping to conclusions and making judgment and it's not too late to start I ask you to lean into authentic engagement and learning about race and racism for the good of our JPS students because here at JPS we proudly have black and brown and white and multi-racial students and they need all of you we have students living in poverty we have hungry and homeless students we have traumatized students and they're counting on you as their board to help them and so other teachers they're black and brown and white teachers they need you too the diversity of this board is something to be proud of it does not have happen everywhere and it's imperative that you communicate authentically with each other that you hear the voices of

013those who have historically not been heard and you come together in your truth and your love and your commitment to understand each other to benefit the students at JPS your time has concluded please thank you thank you then Michael Young after Eric hi my name is Eric sapaniak I was a proud School Board member of Kenwood Hills public schools in Grand Rapids for five and a half years I also had the privilege of being a mentor and friend and colleague to trustee Hamilton we've routinely talked about situations that come up on our own boards and so I want to encourage my friend and chair division maker trustee Hamilton and and tell her that her friendship and truth-telling definitely serve me and my community as much as it does this one I want to encourage the

014board to keep their foot on the gas when it comes to diversity equity and inclusion practices a good example of this is disaggregating data for the races of students that are in your AP honors and dual enrollment programs like my district did you find that these programs are far wider than the district then it should raise a red flag it's not anybody's fault that's in this room today but it is incumbent on us to try to grow that and include more of those students figure out why we're not reaching a certain class of students um and you have to have smart goals about how to grow enrollment in these programs we know that high expectations lead to higher achieving students next to share the wealth a little bit I want to address a misguided action

015that this school board took the last year voting five to two to exclude the highest and lowest scores in the superintendent's evaluation I've taken courses with some of the folks on this board I recognize the faces and I just want to say that that is no way recommended by the Michigan Association of school boards you have essentially erased two voices of board members a board of seven in this community and one and I want board members to think about what that means especially the new folks on this board what does that mean when they just don't like your opinion on something that the board is willing to exclude it anytime you make a decision after the results have come out like you just did with the superintendent's evaluation you have cheated your colleagues and you

016have cheated the public changing the standards for how you will evaluate the superintendent attendant because you did not appreciate the results of them is wrong and shameful nowhere does masb support a move like that I know that because I was the highest achieving School Board member this past year in the state masb advocates for a consensus model of superintendent evaluations but this model is still flawed and there is a better way to evaluate it and it's certainly including all the voices of the seven members of this community that were asked and charged with the oversight of the board of the of the superintendent and of this District additionally the superintendent still has in his contract is 62 thousand dollar increase for an HR responsibility that he no longer covers since the district has successfully hired

017an HR Manager this is wrong and in the words of my friend Keisha Hamilton good board governance feels like an agenda when you're just not accustomed to it foreign thank you Michael Young I'm uh I'm a preacher Elena Shane after that and um y'all took my sermon um but I do want to start with this um as a pastor um as a personal as the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his heart as a person who speaks to that every single Sunday morning I think we need to remind ourselves that they hung him from a tree too when he spoke against the power on the Empire of greed and power and they didn't like what he had to say either so they hung him from a tree we must not forget that Martin Luther King Jr

018although he says some nice things for our memory and although we go into those memories on Mondays like we did yesterday and we celebrate his birthday we seem to forget that they assassinated him too and lynched him in a hotel in Mississippi as well so we'd like to crucify people that speak truth to power and as a white person I was not scared and I am not scared about that word whiteness it doesn't scare me because I know that that's the system that I came from and that's the sister that we all need to break down now that's my own personal thing my message to the board this evening is is that you have a job to do and you have the blueprint for doing that job you have a Dei It's a Wonderful Dei

019statement on the website I'm proud of that as a Jackson resident my church I'm proud of our website that we have our open and affirming Covenant right on the front page of our Church's website and you have Dei right on the front page of the Jackson Public Schools website stick to that but as you can see you're going to be told that no you can't do that because it's CRT and it's going to make white folk uncomfortable we need to be uncomfortable sometimes [Applause] see I think that I also think that this person Jesus Christ that we're talking about said someone brought it up I was not going to preach or possible ties but since we're talking about that I think that Jesus Christ kind of tends to make the comfortable uncomfortable and The Afflicted

020comfortable I think that's his role and sometimes we don't like to be uncomfortable but we have to be uncomfortable stick to this Dei don't run from it but for the white folk on the board remember it is your work to fight the racism within yourself this racism will not end and this white people honestly open themselves up and deal with it and when someone like Keisha says whiteness it scares us it scares us we don't like it it doesn't scare me because the system of whiteness is what is sickening this world it's what's dividing us and we are the community that is told that is given the power to educate these children in a multicultural multi-racial multi-gendered world and we are ruining their education if we do not stick the Dei and understand how racism

021is tearing apart this nation the soul of this nation and The Souls of these children are in our care and we need to care for them in this Multicultural multi-generational world thank you very much Elena sharp good evening my name is Elena I'm at 715 Washington I am a resident of the city a public high school teacher in the county a mom of five um I also had the privilege of working with many of your teachers throughout the district as they sought to implement educational technology effectively in the classroom during my time as a technology consultant for the ISD and you have some rock star teachers My Hope for the board tonight is for you to stay true to your goal with urgency that is making decisions that are best for our students starting in

022the 1970s research said that the most important variable affecting student outcomes wasn't how much technology they had not the resources of the district not even the curriculum the quality of the classroom teacher all of the research sense has supported this so in a time when teacher morale is lower than ever teachers are leaving the profession more than ever in a time where students face new challenges none of us have ever seen please do not let the distractions you've been presented with prevent you from doing your work please support your students this includes those that have been historically and systematically underserved not all of us are qualified to understand this but I support Miss Keisha Hamilton in her effort to lead us towards understanding how it affects our community most importantly our students it's not an

023easy thing to hear it's humbling but it is so so necessary and since Martin Luther Luther King Jr has been quoted against Miss Keisha Hamilton without full context I wanted to remind everyone of another one that we don't often here from 1967 a lot more difficult whites it must frankly be said are not putting in a similar mass effort to re-educate themselves of their right racial ignorance it is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people of America believe they have so little to learn on your website you state that the vision of Jackson Public Schools is to create lifelong learners that is true the adults in our students lives should be models of that we all as white people and you as leaders of the school Community have the opportunity to

024demonstrate what this looks like with patients Grace and humility especially when it's hard and uncomfortable I urge you please stay true to your vision and Mission just listening to Miss Baker's update is wonderfully exhausting and this is coming from a teacher and a mom of five of all of those wonderful things are due to your hard-working staff what can you do to lift them up after all they have the biggest impact on our most precious things of all our students thank you thank you absolutely now we can have Danita Bentley and then Sherry Butters hello my name is Donita Bentley I am a JPS employee I'm a fourth grade teacher at Northeast Elementary I can't say anything in support of Keisha Hamilton that hasn't already been said and been said better than I could say

025it and my push is actually to the rest of the board that if we truly are trying to fight for Dei if we truly are trying to make our district more Equitable then I hope there is no consideration to try and get rid of Keisha but to push the rest of you to be closer to where Keisha is thank you as somebody who came into the fourth grade teaching position uh last year um well-trained having done a lot of Dei work I am now standing in a position where just last month before this whole thing happened I said to my husband I need to go to the board meeting and I need to tell them how passionate I am about Dei because the trainings we're doing so far are great but I'm at a point

026where the trainings I've I'm getting from the district I'm far past that and I need to know what our next step is I need to know what the big picture is I need to know what we're going to do next because you're training teachers to do better in their classrooms which is an amazing first step and it's something we absolutely need what's the next step when you have all these teachers trained and they are now pushing up against the JPS systems that are still broken what's the next step how do we get past those systems how do we fix those systems where is the safe place to have the conversations to fix the system that are still broken so I would like to know and I know you cannot answer me right now from the

027board what is the big plan for our Dei where are we going from here right now we're training classroom teachers and maybe there's a plan I'd love to see it I don't know where to go look for it what's the next step because it's got to keep going and we have to have these hard conversations we have to be uncomfortable but if we're going to serve all of our students to the best of our ability there's got to be more and teachers have to feel comfortable to push against the systems that are broken that are not serving our children and in that light two more things if I can say I'm quick enough one in our Dei work I would like us to see using more local people who have done this work Jackson collaborative

028Network every teacher in here should see the disaggregated data that they have that is relevant to this community that is the homes that our children are coming from bringing people from Detroit and wherever else that's great we have people right here in this community that can do the job better and give us data that applies to our students second I love love love hearing the wonderful updates as the person said before me it shows to the work that our staff is doing my question where is the time and place to share the trials the tribulations the hard things that we are doing every day because if you're coming and just telling them how wonderful we are the rest of the board has no idea how hard we are working every day and the struggles we

029are facing every day okay thank you we have sherry butter snacks and then Leland Snooks good evening I'm Sheri Butters I live in the city of Jackson I'm a proud mom of three students who have either graduated from Jackson high or currently working on it and I have to say as a city of Jackson resident as a woman of 48 years I am a product of whiteness I read Keisha's social media post and I felt that in my heart and I understood exactly what she meant because many of my well-meaning friends and family immediately leapt to disbelief offensiveness taking offense and that right there reinforced my understanding of what whiteness is whiteness is designed to keep the current systems in place that are producing the current outcomes that we see you can look at any

030of the data that's been talked about tonight and you disaggregate that and you look at the black experience in our community every single outcome looks different that is not acceptable and we cannot sit in a room who claims to all of these folks hopefully came because they care about the education of our young children here in Jackson County and if they don't they need to leave the room this this board I agree needs to stay focused on education of our children and not get distracted by the issues but the issues that need to be at the Forefront of our education is that our kids deserve an equity centered education that centers around racial Justice we cannot continue to ignore the fact that people like me have benefited from my my skin color right being born

031white being born to a two-parent household to a two income household I've benefited from all of those things but the one thing I had nothing to do with as others have shared I was born a white person and I am a product of my whiteness and I am working to educate myself and hold myself accountable for my whiteness and I encourage us all to do so thank you Leland Snooks followed by Marcy Miller foreign Snooks some of you um Jackson study a resident some of you may have heard my name or seen me I did run for school board and I did not win but congratulations to Derek and Maryland I will be running in the future and I do look forward to sitting up there and replacing one of you so just as another

032little bit of background I am almost finished with my Doctorate of education and also Jeff I am not out of order this is not a courtroom and I'm going to say my piece when I want to say it so past meeting issues you're eye rolling you're calling each other out you're Tit for Tat and asking for the time when someone is speaking and you might not like what they say that needs to end it's not professional it's not setting a good example for the students so it's disrespectful to education and I would say please end it from One Professional to another you're a team and yet you do not seem to act like one you have new members new opportunities to work together so I suggest that you use those you might not like a

033message that someone says you might not like how it's said but you are adults you choose how you react and you choose how you move forward also policies and procedures can be changed you may change how you do things you don't have to act and make decisions like you did five years ago one year ago even a month ago it's up to you so when was the last time any of you were in a classroom for more than 10 minutes do you understand how culture has impacted classroom culture now we really need to reevaluate The Pride that is placed on a baseline of 2.0 arguably 2.0 to 2.6 is successfully failing we need to hold ours to hold us and our students to a better standard than that we can do better we should do

034better and finally I would like to advise the board in the future to have citizens and community members speak constructively and keep things focused on educational concerns and not emulate what the board has done and gone back and forth at one person or another we can conduct ourselves as adults like we should be doing for our children thank you thank you oh Marcy lab okay Stephanie sizek followed by Joanna Perkin good evening I'm Stephanie sizek retired Spanish teacher of Jackson High School to board members Keisha Hamilton and Libby Brown although the motion failed two to five we thank you both for voting to remove the extra duty pay from the superintendent's contract as he is no longer HR director why as a result of your votes in superintendent Beale receiving not only his annual salary

035but also receiving full pay as HR Director when someone else has finally been hired for that position and Deals no longer HR Director this violates board policy 0122 just a list of many violations in the past Keisha and Libby thank you for maintaining Integrity not only in your decision making but adhering to board policy and for continually standing for education of all students anti-bullying free speech Racial equality in support of JPS in a fair and always professional manner thank you shisha please don't be discouraged by the threats The Bullying the intimidation tactics and the harassment that many in this room are and have been using against you in order to quote get you in line end quote it has been one year since that statement was made by recent and former board member Aaron white

036about you Keisha and we can't thank you enough for your courage in standing your ground oh yeah you were told during the you were told during the march 2022 school board meeting once you have a Target on your back it will always be there time has proven this to be true we trust that ill feelings that those individuals have toward you don't turn to physical violence we are praying for your safety and we trust that you continue to stand your ground in the entirety of my 30 years teaching career within Jackson Public Schools you are the best this board has ever seen our blessings to both Libby and Keisha thank you [Applause] Joanna Perkin followed by Amy Wilhelm foreign [Music] I'm Joanna Perkin retired JPS teacher of over 20 years during which time I was

037teacher of the year served as English chair and building committee chair I'm here tonight in support of Keisha whom I've witnessed be harassed berated invalidated spoken down to cut off during these board meetings to say that I am disgusted disconcerted or dismayed would all be a gross understatement the things I have witnessed and personally experienced within this District are the epitome of despicable the this current racial tension reminds me of the former HR director Nicole Johnson who came forth with her appalling account of superintendent Bill saying the n-word in its entirety and by that I do not mean big or he spoke the word in the presence of her the HR Director and a black woman there was an employee witness and she filed a complaint and formerly and professionally reported it to the board

038to no avail was not even dignified with a follow-up phone call as of late superintendent Bill who was also found guilty in the court of law of retaliation all the way to the Supreme Court yet there's a blatant disregard for the policy and Professional Standards that just continues and we focus on Keisha right in fact the board continues this by amending the criteria for bills evaluations to accommodate him after being the operative word after Keisha and Liberty submitted ineffective scores for Mr Beale superintendent bill has been accused of harassment retaliation abuse sexual abuse by a Litany of women over and over and over and over and over again and over again yet it continues to fall on deaf ears and again we focus on Keisha the the board five have remained unmoved and continue and

039overtly a stadium and I quote we need to get to the business of the board while folks if well-being the well-being of students and staff isn't the board business I'm frightful of what is still we continue to fight the good fight the shirt I'm wearing today is not only in support of Keisha but it's a shirt I made for my students several years ago and it reads I was created to do great things I believe that for my students I still believe that for them but they were not afforded the opportunities in the school to prison Pipeline and Dumping Ground they were thrown into to the two new board members I would suggest getting up to speed by taking the time to watch the videos the meetings within the past concluded Joanna thank you thank

040you we love you Keisha Amy Wilhelm and then Andre I don't have a last name good evening my name is Amy Wilhelm and I'm a program manager at the student Advocacy Center our agency supports students and families at JPS as well as across Jackson County in the state of Michigan our agency Works to ensure that all students have the supports that they need in school to be successful and reach graduation or High School completion I'm here this evening to support board member Keisha Hamilton in the important work that she is doing on behalf of JPS students staff in the community Miss Hamilton has recently had Brave conversations about race in the systematic racism that exists in our society as well as in our schools she has spoken out in her role as a board member

041and in her personal life including using social media as a platform for conversations that must be had about injustices that exist in an effort to bring about positive change I grew up in a rural predominantly white town I was provided messages that racism no longer existed and that ended with the Civil Rights Movement it was not until I went to college that I began to learn that racism does very much still exist oppression and bias are embedded within all of our systems across this country just because we don't experience something doesn't mean that it isn't a reality as white people we have the privilege of not experiencing implicit bias and microaggressions but it is a reality for people of color in our society I was also told growing up that I could achieve anything that

042I wanted if I worked hard but have learned that the message that many children of color receive is that they need to work twice as hard to earn half as much because of racism in the bias systems that exist my friends of color and loved ones have been vulnerable and shared with me story after story of how they've been treated differently judged pulled over interrogated feared and avoided by white people I have watched it happen with my own sons who are black and how the white person changed their behavior when I approached the interaction they were having which I believe wasn't because I was their parent but because of the privilege that I hold because of the color of my skin racism does exist systematic racism does exist we need to acknowledge this truth if

043there is to be change we need to be brave and vulnerable and have difficult conversations if we want there to be change Miss Hamilton is doing this she is being brave she is speaking her truth and sharing about the reality that JPS students and staff face I applaud her and thank her for the work that she is doing to make change I encourage those here who are pushing back against Miss Hamilton to instead listen to what she's saying and open your hearts and Minds to this reality that our JPS students and families and community members are facing and instead of creating division becomes solution focused and help make positive change for our community thank you last name was Parker Andre yes Parker thank you thank you man um representing the student Advocacy Center we're here

044in Jackson I would like to say good evening to the board thank you for being here uh welcome to the new members I look forward to working with you both Mrs we had a meeting before I spoke with two several of you on the board um let's not lose focus on what the business of the board is um I I believe right now the focus is off the task at hand and what the board is meant to do and and some people will talk about it I think on the agenda you have um the Esser funds and how those should be dispersed and used we still have child homelessness um the the test records of of the district are below average IEPs and and services are not being followed um the teacher morale people have

045come up and said multiple things so let's keep our eye on the prize know that my organization student Advocacy Center and meet myself Andre Parker um are here to help um so whatever I can do please let me know and whatever our organization can do let me know um I I 100 percent um support QC Hamilton it changes hard and and people speaking up for change is is difficult some some of some things need to be said they don't want to be heard it's okay right I don't like some of the things that that are said to me sometimes but the truth is the truth she doesn't speak in vagueness is data driven anything that's said you can look up it's factual sometimes it's hard the facts are hard but it's factual so let's take

046the focus on what Keisha said and The Business of this District because it is great interesting please if I can do anything let me know everyone Stay Together thank you very much Anderson [Applause] yes Paris and then Jennifer I have to read off my phone so okay my name is Paris Anderson and in this speech it says this is my wife Kristen she's sitting back there she didn't want to come up so they got a little intense so um called the audible at the last minute but um I have taught and Coach the secondary level for Jackson Public Schools for the past two and a half decades and on a side note seeing some of these younger teachers uh you know with emotion and passion is a beautiful thing I met a lady ironically during

047Dei training 37 years in the game still excited and passionate so um my relationship with School Board member Keisha Hamilton started roughly five years ago when I taught one of Keisha's daughters and my African-American history class I reached out with an email to all parents with an overview of the class and things that I would be covering Keisha reached out with an email of support and we later met in person at parent-teacher conferences our relationship has evolved since that time with me teaching four of her six children and she's assured me that I will be teaching the other two um we also attended a presentation on by Malcolm X's daughter and started to follow each other on social media she supported me and my Endeavors both inside and outside of academics and I've been fortunate

048enough to be invited by her to many African-American cultural events within the Jackson Community and offer her support and communication for her role as a JPS School Board member never once in these five years has she questioned me a white man a Conservative Christian white man at that in regards to my ability to teach her children about their history a history that's not mine which is kind of how our conversation got started and she has never never had a question about that and I always had questions about myself teaching it she's often referred to my wife again who's back there and children as beautiful and I know of many events in which she has assisted white students and parents with concerns they had regarding their child's education that was shown out here tonight these do

049not seem like the words or actions of a racist to me those who have studied history and black history in particularly enjoy the importance of a militant fighter within the cause and things go way deeper than Martin Luther King and when that's your only reference point it shows uh really where why we're here today not understanding this word whiteness it shocks me that in the year 2023 Society is telling a black woman that they don't like her approach or style I think we have spent too much time as a society telling Black Folk to quiet down and wait till later Keisha Hamilton is a uh I appreciate it Keisha Hamilton is an agent of change and those who truly take the time to not only listen to what she's saying I'm amazed at the amount

050of people that knew what you were talking about and I I think that's a beautiful thing um but to educate themselves on the issues that she is raising will understand that she has to quote well Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Ricky said regarding Jackie Robinson's integration to Major League Baseball she is the medicine Society needs furthermore an amazing thing about black history is that there is way way more to learn about it than MLK that is truly merely the surface I want to say on a side note I'm really impressed with the jobs that Jessica Carter and Jeremy Patterson are doing in their new positions I think you're doing amazing work I think the future is bright and I appreciate your time and consideration thank you Paris [Music] Shelly with her after Jennifer good evening

051today I must speak out against the actions and inappropriate representation of Jackson Public Schools taken by our school board trustee Keisha Hamilton as you have heard from the outrage of others Miss Hamilton has publicly stated that beliefs that are unacceptable for anyone with influence on our children and their education I was astonished at first from reading her comments thinking there must be some kind of misunderstanding but to my surprise when I privately questioned her she not only admitted to the post she louded over the fact that she was an expert on the subject and was paid to teach it to others so sadly she has convinced me that in her deceived and indoctrinated thoughts she does not see she has become what she speaks out against bigotry definition bigotry obstinate or unreasonable attachment to a

052belief opinion or faction in particular prejudice against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group and she states she's just talking about whiteness but what about the post that says the man walking through the forest should be more afraid of coming upon white folk than an animal that's not just talking about whiteness but even to say that that whiteness is evil this comes to the root of the problem evil wants people to turn from God's truths God is Holy and he does not make mistakes he gave us laws to live by he created male and female he gave parents he did and that's truth he gave parents responsibility for their own children he did not create white people evil sin makes white people evil evil is in all of

053us from the whitest white person to the blackest black person and all in between yes white supremacy is wrong but black Supremacy is wrong too quoting a great leader the time is always right to do what is right I gladly look forward to someday joining hands of all colors of skin without prejudice with brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ until then we must admonish and correct those who spread bigotry and false blame to people instead of the evil source we do not we do need good programs to improve education skills and character for all but we must crumble the prejudices and false teachings of critical race Theory and Dei which to me stands for divisive education indoctrination these anti-god anti-truth ideologies are being pushed thank you please stop indoctrinating our children with harmful false ideologies

054thank you so much Joey Wilbur my name is Shelley Wilbur from Jackson County Miss Williams public comments about whiteness that is evil is in fact racist a racial slur if all people are white people are racist how do you teach white children and work with white people JPS has so far been silent they do not condemn these accusations that you've made here we are on the eve of Martin Luther King's holiday I think it's important to remember of this great man stood for some of his famous quotes Darkness does not drive out Darkness only light can do that hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that let no man pull you so low as to hate him there is something about that hate that tears down and is destructive so love your enemies

055never forget what Hitler did in Germany was legal well maybe just to a point though all men are created equal not Equitable but equal thank you for your time thank you Lanisha Wilson I'm King um I am just here for support for Keisha Hamilton I have known her for about 30 years I think this year she's been my best friend since I was 12. some people say she's just gotten into this when she started running for the school board but I've known her to be a big reader since we were like 12 and I would be like how how can you read all these books and understand them so I know she is very knowledgeable in whatever she talks about um and I was just here I'm not a good speaker I'm a person be

056here for support I know you can't say that you've known her for 30 years um so you can't speak on her character or her motive or why she said what she said um and Libby brownie Brown Keisha Hamilton Libby was my um teacher I did graduate from Jackson High School in 2000. I was born and raised in Jackson and I just appreciate all the things that Libby Brown is doing and Keisha Hamilton thank you John King and then here again [Music] John King 203 Third Street here in the city uh originally I thought I would get here uh I'm sure Derek Dobies wouldn't just feel right without him doing a public I was going to say it's John C King not John Johnny yeah and it wouldn't be a meeting I don't think freed without

057me giving a public comment so um there were so many you know you know they talk about the intolerant left and I think that shows here you know who's booing interrupting speakers and everything like that uh I think that shows something about people um you know unfortunately I've been uh through YouTube watching meetings and unfortunately you know the there were the women that have been harassing Jeff eel and you know they're just keeping it up with I would assume just disgruntled employees you know that were fired and so now we want to come up with all kinds of uh really uh crazy things uh um I agree William Hastings you know he uh you know I would say you know I agree with him he gave a really good thing and all this list of

058things with Keisha um he mentioned the hoax and they are proud boys I mean I knew once I noticed the proud boys signing up I mean that was the hoax you know that's what the cities seems you know the progressives love to push these hoaxes uh you know we've had claims of all these racist emails I know a couple people are here that you know sort of pushed that and it turned out not to be true you know we had the heart the arson against the LG Community where your LGBT community leader as it turned out you know uh she was the one that was convicted um nationally there's jussie Smollett so this you know proud boys nonsense it wasn't there's no proud boy chapter that's trying to get people to you know join up

059it's just another uh a left-wing hoax to get people to support Keisha here uh the people that stood up that white I mean they're really sick people that you know to just you know see you know the whiteness and oh you know feeling white guilt or whatever you want to call it um I'll mentioned Zoe lines it was until she was 50 that you know all sudden you know she was impervious to the world and all sudden she became you know informed that race uh I mean it's just and then Michael Young using Christ thank you very much your time is up he's the Antichrist with this here again nope here again Jackson resident yeah ladies thank you sit uh I'm here to address the number of sexual assaults happening under this roof and Ned

060uh I spoke with Jeff Beals Dr Patterson on several occasions and they have ignored what's been going on in the school teacher Hamilton them some soft-spoken words that they be fighting about more important is the sexual assault that took place so the Board needs to investigate that rather Derek Dobby Mr Patterson uh this is serious and I suspect these the board to start investigating this as I look for an outside investigator to come in and look at this you are talking about Akeisha Hamilton this is nothing compared to the sexual assaults going in this school and Jeff Beals ignoring them you've got the nerves to ask me what do we do about it got the nerd to ask me what do we do about the sexual assaults yeah y'all remember me I'll be knocking at

061the door these kids deserve better than that even had a police officer ready to just hand his badge in because he mentored the kid you got police officers lying on these kids that they leave the school and grow up straight up lying so all that's all this will have to be addressed any sexual assaults too if I had to come out of my own pocket for it these sexual assaults will get looked at thank you very much T machines no Sarah Allison and then Cheryl Simonetti good evening um I live lived as of two weeks ago in the city of Jackson we are now on the border of Vandercook in Jackson the city so I bring a unique perspective and then two and a half years my daughter may or may not be attending this

062school um I am a huge supporter of Keisha of many of you on the board um I just hear the comments that are saying and I didn't write anything down because I wasn't going to say anything um but my sorry we're passionate I just it's an opportunity for the board to remember who is coming to your school what they need and I know that in this situation my daughter will succeed wherever she goes she has all of the privilege that everybody has talked to talked about and until the kids in their school that don't have ledge are able to have the same outcome that she's going to have in the future I mean we have to continue this fight and I I just it appalls me when people come up here and say things about

063just the hateful things that have been said and I I don't know I'm rambling and it's at bedtime but please just keep in mind this is the future my daughter will learn about equity and diversity and inclusion regardless of the school that she goes to but she has an opportunity to go to this school to go in this school district we lived six blocks from Northeast until two weeks ago it's a very real thing that we could attend Sharp Park or Cascades I would love for her to stay in the school district it is much more diverse than the school district that I grew up in my father was on the school board of that school district is I would say in a better place than that school district and I really would love that

064opportunity but I would be watching the school board because I know the school board what happens at the school board meetings totally affects the outcomes of students of which I will have one soon please take this opportunity to continue the work in Dei so that my daughter knows and in her teaching my teaching her at home is reinforced in the school so that the other kids in her class have the same privilege that she has please continue that thank you thank you [Applause] Cheryl Simonetti and then Joni orendello Cheryl Simonetti 4871 Country Lane and it is School Board appreciation month I would like to thank each and every one of you sitting up there for your hard work and your dedication and your time thank you I joined those before me who at the very

065least insist that the board censor trustee Hamilton but ideally there must be a call for her resignation I hear your definition of whiteness but that does not excuse her angry and hateful words let us not forget about the other comment that cautioned the danger of encountering a white person on a walking trail this is someone that we have making decisions about what is best for the students of Jackson Public Schools in a district that is more than 44 percent right a city that is over 69 percent white in a county that is 87 percent white and one of her criticisms is decreasing enrollment I wonder why regardless of the fact that she posted on her personal page she has shared it publicly in association with Jackson Public Schools this is a consistent character trait and

066one that does not align with our mission and vision there are hundreds of documented cases of employees and public servants losing their positions and their jobs due to social media posts and the majority those are involving racism if she truly was the Dei Advocate that she claims to be she would be offering education and mentoring and not the ridicule for what she sees as ignorance she accused others for attempting to divide this community this is exactly what she wants this is why she is here it is not for the students the district or the community it is for her Fame and notoriety in the intentional distraction from the great work that this District does these posts were made to incite and divide with no explanation of her supposed intention until after she incited all this

067anger she knows exactly what she's doing I want to be sure the community is aware that aside from resignation there are only two ways to remove a board member either by a recall Vote or removal by the governor several requests have been made to the governor but for anyone else who would like to write you can go to s o m g o v web.state.mi.us thank you thank you Johnny or Joni there we go hi hi my name is Joni orendello I am a Jackson resident and I would like to say that yes I'm in support of Keisha Hamilton I also know several other people that are up there on the stage I personally know Marilyn Acton Dao and I'm happy that she's on the board because I know her heart and I hope that

068she works to bring the board together I have been watching these board meetings for a while now I have been working in the public schools I actually work in several counties I am a special education mediator and an IEP facilitator I also do restorative practices and I'm a local attorney um what sparked my interest to really start watching these board meetings is I had a personal incident with my daughter who has a 504 plan and it was a board policy that prevented her from walking during her graduation ceremony with her peers this last year during graduation her 504 plan allowed for her to complete her classes after the graduation ceremony but because of the board policy she was prevented from walking with her peers and the previous assistant superintendent Patterson his brother called me on

069the phone without any empathy or anything and pointed me to the board policy and no matter how emotional or how much information I had then how emotional I got I couldn't help but cry there was no empathy during the time that I've been watching this board meeting I have heard Miss Hamilton's voice be turned down I've heard her be disregarded and in one of the comments in regards to something she was bringing up about board policy was that the board policy doesn't address students and interactions with students that was 100 a false statement and I find it um disappointing that a statement like that would be made after my personal experience with it just to shut up somebody I had the opportunity to train Miss Hamilton and she was a great student always asking questions

070always learning more and in that we've developed a relationship and I'm white I don't know if you guys can tell but she has never treated me with any hatred I graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School where the color of my skin was a minority and I've had people not like me because of the color of my skin and I have learned that that's because of their personal experiences not because of me personally and that's the information that I get from Keisha that she's trying to bring out asking for data is not anything that's wrong the board should be open to the data to learn more asking for conferences from other jurisdictions that's something the board should be open for because I graduated from Fort Lauderdale high school and I have friends that migrated and immigrated

071from Haiti and now he's working in the U.S legislature and his skin is darker than Keisha's and he's super successful the three minutes is up thank you David Quinn and then Akira Anderson good evening I guess we're here again huh my name is Devita Quinn and I live work volunteer in this community almost 20 hours a day yeah wow and all of the work that I do in this community homelessness covet working with children working with seniors working with veterans children has always been number one at the top of that list I volunteered on many bird boards committees when I once again see that Jackson Public Schools have eight schools at the bottom school rating is terrible terrible absolutely terrible what you are supposed to be doing is taking care of our children I don't

072see that superintendent what you supposed to be doing is taking care of our children I don't see that somebody on your own time on their own social media has something to say then whoa wow look what she said if it does pull it back the curtain a little bit on what all y'all say come down right then and there you'll all be gone it's just foolishness could not think we could still say what we want to say freedom of speech not now not never you're gonna stop me from saying what I want to say what I want to stand who I want to say it to foolishness get to the business at hand let's get to the business at hand double Elementary five out of ten Jackson Heights 4 out of ten you graduating our

073kids four out of ten no wonder they can't get through college no wonder colleges costing so much because they stand in college so long as you're teaching them nothing hunt three out of ten the three your three minutes Middle School Parkside two out of ten pardon your three minutes are up my peeping is that oh yeah thank you very much good make sure y'all read it because it's everywhere okay I'm Kira Anderson yep yeah okay and then Nancy jankovich Marcy Jackson thank you okay okay so my name is Akira Anderson and I don't have anything prepared right now but I just want to say Keisha look there are a lot of people in this room who are racist and they don't even realize it but I want you and Libby to know something you guys

074have the youth behind you and a lot of other people do not have that they didn't like what they don't like what activists have to say but change will persist they don't like what you have to say but change will persist because you have the Future Leaders behind you you inspire me and you know how much I hate to public speak but these people in here who are talking bad about you good they don't even know you I look up to you and another thing students in this District over what half of these students can't even read and they can they're not proficient in math basic skills that these kids need and you guys are worried about what she has to post you guys never listen to her any other time but you're concerned about

075a post you have you not listening to her you're not listening to her voice you're not into the people out there who are saying that the proud boys don't exist or the KKK doesn't exist I put on a black lives matter protest at 18 years old in 2019 fresh out of high school and guess what as an 18 year old student I had death threats from who the KKK from who proud boys it's not just submit they're not just not here but they're out here and you know what Keisha and Libby I thank you and I love you and you have my support in the youth and that's what matters most because change is coming whether you all like it or not my name is Marcy jankovich I'm a Jackson resident my grandson is a

076student at Jackson Public Schools and I was real surprised on December 3rd 2022 at noon to read the reply to Glenn E Martin from Keisha Hamilton on whether or not there are dangerous animals on our city trails quote the last thing you have to worry about is an animal though that could be a very real threat more dangerous are any white folks you may see on the trail be safe I think that's whiteness Ashley Woodson and Rachel Green and then Wendy Waldron the last three my name is Ashley Woodson Dr Ashley Woodson I'm visiting you from Albion Michigan critical race theory was first articulated in 1989 and was adopted in the field of Education around 1998. it's an attempt at explaining continued racial disparity in the United States but this is about 28 years old

077we are almost three decades behind the pulse of theory and research and mainstream higher education that's most of my life we cannot equitably serve our students if we're still arguing the fundamentals widely accepted principles the fundamentals include that racism is and has been an integral feature of American Life law and culture wealth and Prestige are cumulative and there is little we'll be able to do to legally remediate the consequences of racial Injustice in our society the liberalism is insufficient presumed meritocracy and color blindness cannot Rectify centuries of Oppression based primarily on color the theoretical significance of marginalized voices black people other folks of color have not and are not widely recognized as epistemic agents our reality is offensive to the systems that sustained themselves on the Distortion of our Humanity combining whiteness as property and

078intersectionality for purposes of time it's important to remember that brightness and white are not synonyms rightness is a process it's a system it's a series of decisions that we can decide against now one Fair critique of critical race theory is inability to provide Sustainable Solutions for the problems that it raises it's a bit nihilistic and doesn't account for gender class sexuality disability religion and other axes of identity in sustainable ways it's also surprisingly Christian to contrary to some of the accusations that have been made Christian identified Scholars and metaphors purveyed the framework no man can serve two masters and All God's Children got a song are the most popular of those if you're looking for a critique of critical race Theory critical race theorists those who teach the classes are not afraid of it I

079strongly recommend beyond our reason the radical assault on truth in American law by favor and Sherry that was published in 1997. critical race theory is a Point of Departure for understanding Society it is not the destination if we hope to get to that destination we have to do so in good faith we have to Define racism whiteness Blackness and other categories of social identity honestly and consistently we have to recognize the board member Hamilton's position does in fact align with evidence-based practices accepted in nearly every academic discipline and we have to quote experts and catalysts for social change in their totality so for King since he came up so many times today the majority of white Americans consider themselves sincerely committed to justice for the Negro they believe that American society is essentially hospitable to

080fair play and to steady growth toward a middle class Utopia embodying racial Harmony but unfortunately this is a fantasy of self-deception and comfortable vanity losing easy language about equality resident resolutions about Brotherhood far pleasantly honestly I'm sorry you're three men answer over I'm finding you fascinating I find myself budget three minutes thank you so much for joining us okay we have Rachel Green Wendy Waldron I hope I lied there's one more Roger Downing my name is Rachel Green um and I think I'm going to provide a perspective that I think more white people in this room have had than they would ever admit I come from a racist family I come from a family where I heard the n-word all the time I heard about how black people were worse and they were lesser and

081they were stupid and lazy and ignorant and it is because Libby brown people like Keisha Hamilton teachers like Paris Anderson at this school district or I graduated that I do not hold those beliefs it is because of them because they stood up and they told me what was right and what was wrong they showed me the true history you know I heard somebody mention earlier that what the Nazis did with the Holocaust was legal do you know where they got the framework for those laws they got them from segregation laws in America do you know where the Nazis got the idea for concentration camps they got them from Americans in the native from what we did to Native Americans okay racism is a part of this country it is a part of this history racism

082against black people is a part of this history trillions of dollars of debt of of Labor were stolen from black people our entire world our entire modern world exists because of the slavery of black people and yet some people want to come up here and say that because Keisha Hamilton has The Bravery to engage people in these conversations to make people listen and to make people question their beliefs they think that that's okay to come in here and attack her and attack her for trying to help us instead of you know focusing on what this rule this school board should be the education of our students we have somebody wonderful like Libby Brown who is the reason I see myself as a decent person we have somebody wonderful like Keisha Hamilton who is out here

083being abused being attacked by people and she takes it she takes it amazingly we have some people come out here and use the racism the racist speech that she is a child that she is immature just like they have shut down black women for hundreds and hundreds of years and this is ridiculous that we are having this conversation instead of talking about scroll matters instead of talking about how we have a superintendent who his how many sexual assault allegations this is ridiculous okay Wendy Waldron and Roger Downey is Wendy here Roger Downey yep good evening Roger Downey um I was just elected to the school board over Columbia and um we had two new people on the board we've got two new people here on the board and with all the rest that's going on

084here tonight I want to Echo the sentiments of the young lady who was here with the red hat she's uh saying things that you guys have to know we're in a system our state is ranked 43rd out of 50. in education I know our schools are down the young lady was talking about you know the graduation and that and our our reading we've got six out of ten you can pull six or ten kids out of our high school only six of them can read at a level that is warranted only four can do math at that level and I gotta just let you know that with the new people on the school board that we have and that you have change is coming and we got to get back to with everything else we've

085got to ready our young people we've got a radio in so many ways for the world that they're going to be coming to because it's going to be changing you've got a person that's in a sixth grade you can't imagine a six years between now and their graduation the changes that are going to come and you guys gotta be in the Forefront you can't be waiting to be told what to do you got to grab the ball by the horns and you've got to lead that's with the students that's with the staff wherever you come in contact with and you better work together as a board or it's not going to get done thank you thank you [Applause] yeah oh now thank you all for your um participation tonight I really appreciate some of you

086being here now it's time for our action items Marcus action items all right so the first item that we have is a resolution authorizing switching our transfer agent so our District bond payments are typically sent to a bank authorized bank or paying agent to distribute Bond principal and interest payments to all the bondholders out there there's a very nominal fee for the service it's usually a few hundred dollars per per day issue we currently use the Bank of New York Mellon for this service and after talking both internally and with our financial advisors at pfm we've we're looking to switch our transfer Agents from Bank of New York to Huntington Bank the costs are almost identical however the reasoning for this is Huntington Bank provides a higher level of customer service and servicing these Bond

087payments then Bank of New York has has been over the last couple of years so at this time we would recommend adopting the resolution authorizing this change move adoption of the resolution support any discussion on this before we vote okay let's vote all in favor aye opposed thank you passes okay the next one's it's awesome salsa Marcus electronic science software hosting all right so the district is looking to move our electronic science software to a cloud-based version what that means is some of the internal components on our electrical electronic science throughout the district will need to be replaced which is what this quote is for to upgrade the upgrade the components of those signs they will be paid for from the general funding and included in the next budget amendment that you'll see in the

088next couple of months down the road so at this time we would recommend approval of the proposal from Johnson sign in the amount of forty one thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars thank you you have a motion second support any discussion I'm sure um just because I'm new uh is there I know we have a purchasing policy uh was this like bid uh were there bids for for this worker is it under a certain threshold where it wouldn't be bid so we've not we did not get these however we purchased the signs from Johnson signed so it is we have the science came from there so they would be the experts and able to switch the components out and be using compatible part so we already use this software in a in a computer-based version

089so what we're doing is we're recommending that we shift to a cloud-based version so that we're Simply Better protected and able to continue our communication should we run into an event like we had last November no we did not bid this out because again the signs are Johnson signs and we're using the same software that we use before this is strictly upgrade there we go all in favor I opposed thank you motion carries next we have the resolution calling for a public hearing on the Essa Grant funds Marcus all right so one of the requirements of the sr3 grant as you know from our presentation last summer is to allow for Meaningful stakeholder consultation the proposing current use of the sr3 funds what this means is every six months we need to come back and

090have a public hearing to update the public receive any input and make any necessary adjustments um needed so at this time we're recommending adapting the attached resolution which is calls for public hearing so I can provide that six-month update next Wednesday January 25th and 85 at Reynolds Hall okay thank you any discussion about this one yes some discussion um I'm wondering if we can change I'm sorry we need a motion first I'm sorry I'll make a motion support okay now let's talk about so I'm wondering if we can change the time um 2 45 PM is in the afternoon which doesn't give us an opportunity to attend can we change the time do I need to make a motion for that I'm sorry repeat that there's there's no reason to that we cannot change the

091time we simply need a this was attached to our facilities of Finance meeting but if you want to suggest a Time not as opposed to changing your time so something in the evening would be nice so we can have an opportunity plan it's 5 45 5 30. just a different time I don't know what would work for all of us but just a different time 5 30 on the same day Miss Hamilton that'll work thank you so we're gonna just so I keep track of this we're going to amend the the recommendation to run the motion simply to change the time everything else is is good at least at this point correct Hamilton yeah the time was my issue thank you thank you no more discussion okay all in favor aye opposed okay thank you

092motion carries okay now we are in Old business Yolanda this is one that you brought to our attention that we had sort of um didn't go over as we should have do you want to talk a little bit about that yeah basically yes basically the board identified that there's some work that we should do can do and need to do in order to create cohesion amongst all seven of us that are represented here today and we did um have someone from masb come down and attempt some interactive team building activities but that's where the law stopped so I have this is on the agenda so that we can move forward with creating some board Norms now that we have two board members bring their perspective into this space gain a better understanding of every individual's

093why what is the reason why you are on the board how can we collectively and collaboratively talk about our District's priorities set some realistic goals so that we can have these tough conversations talk about the data that is presented to us that has not been presented to us that we need to discover that's out here our hope is that we get that scheduled we come together as a board put something in writing and actively adhere to those board norms agree to all hold each other accountable so that we can come to the community demonstrating cohesion camaraderie understanding bringing information about what we are actively doing to close the achievement gaps increasing our literacy scores ensuring that our students are being adequately prepared to enter into college thank you I look forward to continuing discussion on

094that it's our old business hopefully becomes current business and future business and we we are able to establish those nerves okay thank you okay now we're going to board comments does anybody have a comment on the board I do Keisha yes I do okay so um first I want to just thank everyone but I'll start with um our state board president State Board of Education president Dr Pamela Pugh who was a champion for public education and an advocate of our 1.3 million Michigan students for being here tonight um she's here and tonight tonight in support of our students at Jackson public school thank you so much for being here I also want to thank everyone who has come out in support of public education who have come out on behalf of our community who are

095here because they recognize the power and necessity of Truth seeking and Truth speaking in order to provide an education that best serves each individual student in JPS I want to thank those who understand that racial disparities exist and the only way to eliminate those racial disparities is to face them thank you all for being here Jackson pool Jackson Public Schools is better because of your concern and care for our student body our parents and our dedicated teachers I'm going to deviate from my notes just a minute because I am overwhelmed with the support of my community I am overwhelmed with the way that you all showed up for me tonight I am overwhelmed that the things that I have done in this community the messages that I have put out there the teachings that I

096have given that you all have received them thank you I can't say thank you enough thank you thank you as a citizen of the United States of America under constitutional law and protection I have a First Amendment right to free speech and I exercise that in all spaces and all platforms that I choose what I understand from being a woman in this American Nation and a black woman specifically is that sometimes others would rather I not exercise any of my rights as outlined in the Constitution I do not apologize for exercising any of my rights I want to be clear the real issue is not actually about me and I realize that what I am experiencing publicly as a black woman is what many of our black students and other vulnerable and marginalized groups are

097experiencing privately the national temperature is at a boiling point and this type of bullying intimidation gaslighting ignoring and attempting to silence that we have seen for a very long time not only from individuals outside of this County but also from this board table is what's causing our educational system to fail here in Jackson what I expect and hope that we as individuals who respect the Constitution and each other's rights under it would do is to one learn to ignore tweets that are disagreeable to you to fully read the tweet and attempt to understand it three choose to be a part of the solution so that in time that we could no longer be factually true we have to ask ourselves what are we angered over the fact that it was said or the fact that

098it is true or is the issue our incomprehension of how policies and practices established by the white majority are impacting each of us the real issues that brought many of us and many of these detractors out to exercise their First Amendment right are not the tweets it's an agenda to eliminate and do away with public schools because Public Schools primarily serve the poor the global majority and other marginalized groups we must not let them be successful the real issue is an attempt to discredit disrepute censure intimidate and steal the seat of a person who dares to acknowledge the experiences of the vulnerable who dares to compare them to the data of this District the data along racial lines of this community and address them we must not let them be successful the real issue is

099an attempt to disempower bully and intimidate citizens of the global majority and other marginalized groups into being quiet you're here you are here you are here you are here and as long as you keep showing up they will not be successful and the last of the real issues is an attempt to silence the discussion around disparities along racial lines that exist not only in this District this city our County or our state but across this nation we must educate ourselves more understand how these racial disparities are impacting us and our neighbors and not let them be successful in silencing us Desmond Tutu the South African Bishop Theologian and human rights activist said my humanity is bound up in yours for we can only be human together I invite each of you to present I'm sorry

100I invite each of you present to begin or continue to work around understanding the experiences of people who do not look like you it's in these conversations where we will find that we are more alike than we are different our world is changing to reflect the rich diverseness of each of us present accepting that will allow us to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem I'll end with this as we come off this Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr holiday in his famous words whatever affects one directly affects us all indirectly and Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere again thank you so much for showing up thank you Libby do you have anything lib okay thank you Derek sure I have a few comments um I just want to

101recognize some of my former colleagues in attendance tonight vice mayor Arlene Robinson I saw out there still here councilman Freddie Dancy uh the city's director of diversity Equity inclusion John Willis and I think that's County Commissioner Darius Williams sitting in the back as well uh they've uh it's been these leaders uh probably more than any other that taught me um so much about some of the issues that so many raised here tonight and my sincere appreciation for those that have showed up and voiced their support um for uh for Keisha here uh as a mayor who led the city uh during the led the city during the George Foley report test and the activism that led to a lot of the changes in racial and economic policies in Jackson I want to be the first

102to say that I've only been able to do that through listening to those leaders and recognizing um uh sometimes uncomfortable reflection on the privilege that my identity as a white male has conferred on me um it's what led me to address so many of those issues as mayor and what will drive me to continue to work uh on those issues in partnership with those on this board um I think while so much progress has been made systemic racism continues to permeate our society today those facts are not caused by any one of us sitting in this room it's not any one of our individual faults but it is everyone's obligation in this room to educate themselves on their realities and challenges of the certain populations continue to face and do something about it uh and

103I'll say I think out of uh fairness and because I have been to some of the past board meetings and listened and learned I think that uh some of the language and tone of some of the past board meetings has probably felt threatening to both sides of the perceived divide on the board and I'm happy for the opportunity to start fresh start new to work together on board unity and collaboration I think it's important to note that um Unity doesn't mean Conformity to an idea and that we can respect A diversity of opinions and different beliefs and that we can disagree without being disrespectful as well tonight probably offers us a good step for us to educate ourselves about continue to educate ourselves about racial Injustice some of the terms discussed here tonight that were

104raised to stand for economic and racial Justice in the community and do we begin to address it in our schools and arguably most important in this moment to set a unifying tone in supporting those issues around diversity Equity inclusion uh it means we have to meet with one another to listen to and learn from one another so congrats to the new uh leadership uh to my new board member and I look forward to working with everyone here the rest of JPS leadership and uh Educators and other faculty and getting around for the opportunity to meet everybody Marilyn I just wanted to say how thankful I am to see so many people that came out and we're bold enough to say their peace and I'm really going to work hard as a new board member to

105collaborate to have Unity it's not about my opinion it's about collaboration it's about the children when Shalonda said what was our why it's because I really like children and I want to see them succeed in life and be educated and that's what we're here that's why I'm here for the children so I look forward to working with the board and to hear all of your comments email me with anything that you need to that we would like to have you know noticed are your concerns so I thank you for um coming out tonight I too would like to Echo the importance of the desperate need for our district to refocus re-envision what our priorities are we know the impact that the pandemic caused all of our school systems Across the Nation we have a lot

106of work to do we can only address these issues if we can come together agree to disagree understand take the time to ask those clarifying questions at the fundamental level our actions our words our beliefs should come from a place of love with the intent to educate inspire call to action invite others in and quite invite those quiet voices in to those crucial conversations I encourage all of you to come to next month's meeting we appreciate looking in the audience and seeing individuals that genuinely care about our students our data is concerning and we understand that My Hope as a board trustee is that we Embark upon creating realistic obtainable smart goals to address some of these issues we need your support we appreciate your support we hear you loud and clear thank you so

107much I would like to thank Jeremy and Julie for your reports I love hearing what's going on all around the district I would like to especially thank Elaine thumb for all of her work with Sam's book flood I know she puts a ton of work into that and my own child at Sharp Park love the book he got and I know she was busy traveling around to all the elementaries so thank you to her and then also the Parkside family event like you had mentioned Jeremy was a great success my own daughter said don't come don't come but then when she saw how fun it was going to be then we got a call can you please come so it was great so hats off to Krista jarvy and all the staff there so first

108I'd like to say ditto to everything they speak last you don't get to say the new stuff um I do want to add one thing though we have new board members we have board members who've been with us for years we're here tonight um I am just thrilled to be in the position of working with this board the new the old and trying to um establish a consensus if not a hundred percent agreement we need to be able to work together and the one thing I want to say about all the turnout I love having a lot of people here at the meeting what I would like and I did notice it is that some of the comments I could tell they didn't know the background on it so come come to the board meetings

109and be able to follow an issue through so you know where it came from how it's been addressed how it ended um I think you find there's a lot less distance between the opinions if everybody kind of knows everybody else is thinking doing and what has happened so far so thank you for coming board I'm absolutely thrilled to be starting Anew this year working with with you um and please feel free to take your concerns to to someone who can actually give you an answer a reason one of those why things have done thank you see I turned it off again Okay calendar January 25th is the Esser public hearing Reynolds hall now that was changed to 5 30. let's not forget that also the 25th the facilities and finance committee um immediately follows the

110public hearing that will that still be okay that'll be at three o'clock so the Finance meeting will be at three o'clock followed by the answer public hearing and February 21st first is our regular board meeting and I'll be up in the library again as we now call it the media center okay I will hear her entertain a motion to adjourn some of second all in favor thank you very much