The first three Lansdale community forums on racism were all about airing and defining problems. This Saturday, local resident and merchant Anwar Muhammad hopes the fourth will start down the road to resolution.
"I’m a solutions-oriented person,” said Muhammad, owner of
The Black Reserve Bookstore in Lansdale’s Dresher Arcade, and a motivating force behind the series of summits that began back in April.
The
fourth summit on racism will be held
Saturday, Aug. 18 from 6 p.m. to 8 pm at Lansdale Borough Hall. All have been co-sponsored by the
Lansdale Public Library.
The first three forums attracted a range of area residents and representatives, and drew the support of Lansdale Borough Police Chief Mike Trail,
Mayor Garry Herbert and several borough council members. And while each meeting highlighted issues with varying success, the third – in which North Penn area students recounted in-school experiences – was particularly heart-wrenching, Muhammad says.
"A lot of people had tears in their eyes,” he said. "Unless you were a tin man or a tin woman, there’s no way you could sit there and listen to these stories and not be extremely disappointed in the schools and the administration, all the way around.”
From curricula to attitudes to treatment by other students and faculty, Muhammad says the school district is not responding appropriately to demographic changes in the community and the school population. "The district loses sight of the fact we’re not talking about eight percent being people of color, we’re talking about 48 percent of the student population. That’s not a small minority – almost half of their schools are minority. That’s extremely important.”
And internal issues aside, he says that the outside world can’t help but intrude. One example was the Colin Kaepernick/NFL conflict over
kneeling during the National Anthem.
"They said some of the white
students were treating then like they were the ones who were kneeling on
the field -- and some of them had no idea what was going on because
they don’t even watch football," said Muhammad. "That’s not a healthy
environment."
From the NFL uproar to the rise of bigotry, "the climate of the United States right now, it’s like it could go either way as far as race is concerned,” he said. "Lansdale is a microcosm of that.”
He feels an urgency to work first with schools. "To me, the children
are the most important, because they’re voiceless and they’re being
injured. I can defend myself, but can a 10 or 12-year-old?”
So Muhammad hopes to have those kids return and help the community draft a document of support and solutions.
"I want the students to lead in the discussion of what they need to be successful, and I will deliver the North Penn superintendent this document in person,” he said. "Then the ball is in their court. They’ll have a choice: to put something in motion to fix these things, or to ignore them.”
And he remains an optimist.
"The concept of America we’ve been taught our entire lives – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – all these things are for everyone, not selectively. The great melting pot we’ve heard about is supposed to be a reality, not a concept. And I truly believe Lansdale has all the components that it needs to be that, right here, and that there are enough people who want to effect change to make it happen.”
