PRESS RELEASE

November 14, 2016

This morning, community members, teachers, neighbors, students, and parents stood together at Alameda Unified School District elementary schools across the island, united with home-made signs in a communitywide and peaceful effort to demonstrate that Everyone Belongs Here.

“City staff along with the entire community were deeply saddened to learn of the racist graffiti that was spray-painted on the playground of Edison Elementary School this weekend,” stated Jill Keimach, Alameda City Manager. Parents and school staff immediately joined together to remove these hate-filled words. Alameda Unified School District also responded by sending a robocall to all AUSD families, denouncing the attack as “unacceptable to us as a district and against what we stand for as Americans to see these hateful and exclusive behaviors.”

These acts do not represent our Alameda community. Last Friday a candlelight vigil was organized on the steps of City Hall to affirm the power of inclusiveness, compassion, being an ally, and all that makes our island community strong. Several hundred community members gathered peacefully, listened to speakers, and sang.

The day before the vigil, hundreds of students from Alameda High School, Encinal High School, Alameda Science and Technology Institute (ASTI), Island High School, Nea, ACLC, and Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School walked through the streets of Alameda, eventually reaching City Hall, to express their shared concerns about the future. Students delivered a letter, writing that “the youth of this country are willing to come together to talk about important things,” including “Environmental Justice, Racial Equality, Civic Engagement, Women’s Rights, and LGBTQ Rights.” City staff encouraged Alameda students to remain peaceful and act as a model to students across the country.  

The compassion felt at these peaceful gatherings over the last several days defines our island community. “Everyone belongs here. Every ethnicity, every nationality, every faith, every gender identity, every family, every child, every adult, every political point of view; everyone belongs here,” stated Keimach. “In Alameda we celebrate our diverse community and these peaceful gatherings remind us why we love our island.”

Contact:

Sarah Henry, Public Information Officer

(510) 747-4714