This past Wednesday evening, I attended my first ever school committee meeting. I don’t have children, so it’s not the type of thing that impacts me directly. But as a longtime resident of Quincy, I am interested in issues that impact Quincy at large. Especially when the issue relates to fairness, inclusiveness and respect. Several people told me about the meeting and urged me to go. So I was happy to attend.
Quincy Public Schools “recognize” Lunar New Year as a cultural holiday, but schools remain open. However, Good Friday is a holiday where schools are closed.
Quincy is approximately 30% Asian and the percentage of Asian students in Quincy Public Schools is close to 40%. In some schools, Asian students are the majority. For years, many Quincy residents have been trying to close the schools on Lunar New Year and have it truly recognized as a holiday.
At this point, I can’t understand the opposition to the holiday. It seems like disrespect at best. And at worst, it feels like blatant racism.
While this would be a school district holiday, it reminds me of the decades long fight to make Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a federal holiday. There was so much resistance!
But Quincy residents are not discouraged. They are galvanized. People wrote letters. They showed up at this meeting and stood in line to speak.
Many spoke about how Lunar New Year is the most important holiday of the year to many different Asian groups. It’s not just Chinese New Year. Many added that for Asian kids, going to school on Lunar New Year would be like going to school on Christmas Day. It’s unimaginable.
Lunar New Year is a full day with extended families gathering — going to temple, eating special foods, wearing traditional garb, red envelopes, and the passing down of culture from older generations to the next.
Several grandmothers spoke about missing time spent with their grandchildren because they had to go to school. Parents take time off from work to celebrate with their families. So for the children to miss out is hurtful to families. And hurtful to the children themselves. How much time do most children have to spend with grandparents? That time is so limited. You can’t get it back.
It was not only adults speaking either. There were two children who spoke in favor of schools closing on Lunar New Year. A girl and a boy. I think the boy said that he was 11 years old.
He spoke calmly and came out of the gate running by talking about the Chinese Exclusion Act. He mentioned that this day, May 6th, was an important date because it was when the Act became law. And how he was so sad when he learned about it.
Then he spoke about how he is Chinese Vietnamese and feels excluded because his holiday is not truly seen. He has to choose between going to school or spending the holiday with his family and that it isn’t right. He received a standing ovation. The next generation is ready.
People spoke about children’s attendance record being impacted and that sometimes most kids in classrooms would not be there on the holiday. That impacts everyone to not have full class participation.
After everyone spoke, the committee decided to table the vote for two weeks because they needed input from legal counsel. The vote should take place on May 20th. I hope to be there.
