Wayland town officials condemned racist graffiti aimed at the town's first Black superintendent of schools, Omar Easy.
Easy's first name and a racial epithet were found spray painted on a building across the street from Wayland High School on Wednesday morning.
School Committee Chair Chris Ryan said he denounced "this clear and blatant act of racism."
“This incident goes against the core values of our community, and it undermines our continuing work in building an inclusive environment for each and every person in the community," he said in a statement to GBH News.
Easy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is the second time that a Black school administrator has been the target of racist graffiti in Massachusetts in the last week. Last Thursday, racist graffiti targeting North Quincy High School principal Keith Ford, the first person of color to hold that position, was found inside a bathroom stall.
The Wayland School Committee in the predominantly white, wealthy suburb of Boston hired Easy as superintendent in July 2021. He previously worked as an administrator in Everett Public Schools. Prior to his career in education, Easy played professional football in the NFL for four years.
His brief tenure in the town has already been marked by controversy. In October, Easy was anonymously accused of “berating, shaming and bullying” people at an administrative council meeting. The Wayland School Committe has hired an independent investigator to look into the incident, but no findings have been reported publicly.
Acting Wayland Police Chief Ed Burman said the department is actively investigating Wednesday's graffiti incident.
“We do not tolerate any acts of hate in Wayland, and we want to reassure our community that we are taking this incident very seriously,” Burman said in a statement. “The person or people found responsible for this hateful message will be held accountable.”
Milly Arbaje-Thomas, chief executive of METCO, a voluntary school integration program between Boston and suburbs, including Wayland, called the graffiti an appalling act that hurt not only Easy, but students of color and the entire Wayland school community.
"If leaders of color don't feel welcomed and supported, then how can students expect to be safe?” she asked.
The METCO program’s teen ambassadors have also asked the Wayland School Committee to “step up and offer support to Easy, along with justice to the perpetrator,” in a letter.
Easy is one of only two Black superintendents among the 33 school districts that participate in the METCO program.
