Latest Danvers Hateful Graffiti Spurs Response Shift

DANVERS, MA —The latest in a string of racist, antisemitic and homophobic graffiti found in Danvers is causing town and school officials to further reassess how they attempt to combat the rash of hate incidents in the town.

The discovery of homophobic graffiti at the Pickering Street softball field Sunday came on the heels of a swastika found in a third floor bathroom at Danvers High, the suspension of the wrestling program after a fight among wrestlers led to the discovery of a team Snapchat group that school officials said included the use of racist and biased language last week, and swastikas found in bathrooms at the Holten Richmond Middle School on two separate occasions last month.

"On a moving-forward basis, the town will no longer issue statement after statement every time a similar incident is discovered and/or is reported," town officials said in a joint statement. "Our fear is that the constant attention created by doing so is simply encouraging more of the same, which in some cases simply may be attention-seeking and in others truly may be statements of hate intended to do harm."

Officials said they will continue to investigate and document all incidents.

The wrestling team was reinstated this week after some team members were disciplined for using inappropriate comments in the chat.

School and town officials have struggled to figure out how to respond to the barrage of hate incidents following charges that they were not transparent enough when it came to accusations of racial and homophobic locker room hazing within the high school boys hockey program during the 2019-2020 school year.

Following the discovery of the first of the middle school bathroom swastikas last month, officials cited a string of biased or hateful incidents in the town as an indication that the issues go well beyond just the schools or athletic teams.

"We are acutely aware that this most recent incident fits into a broader pattern," officials said on Nov. 9, "both within our schools and within our broader community that includes allegations of racial profiling at a local business, an apparent noose left outside a local church, an investigation into racist and homophobic behavior last year by student-athletes, a Confederate flag flown in our downtown as part of a political rally and a swastika discovered in the woods behind the middle school."

As those incidents have continued on a weekly — and sometimes daily — basis, officials are now looking to pivot once again in a quest for answers.

"We would encourage parents to talk to their kids this holiday season about the power of words — and especially how words and statements rooted in homophobia, racism, antisemitism, hate etc. can do real harm," officials said. "These can be very difficult conversations to have. But there are lots of resources available to parents looking for guidance.

"We have a great deal of work to do toward building relationships, engaging in meaningful dialogue and recognizing that every individual is worthy of respect. We will need the help of community leaders, civic groups, and all individuals with the commitment of working together toward a common goal of abolishing hatred, learning to celebrate diversity and simply being kind to one another."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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