A #bospoli Thread: The decision on the McCormack field lives at the intersection of structural and interpersonal racism.

Structural: Systematic neglect of the grounds by the city for years—every city department says “not me” when asked to repair—allows the city to claim that the grounds are “underutilized”, although our Black and Latinx students use them every day.

Let’s be clear: this kind of neglect would never go unaddressed in Whiter, more affluent parts of our city. The playgrounds in JP get redone all the time, and they’ve never looked as rusted or broken as the equipment at the McCormack.

Interpersonal racism: leadership in our city does not believe that Black and Latinx youth know what is good for them or their community. They treat youth with disdain. They claim they, as White men, know what is better for communities of color than the communities do.

Their disdain was caught off mute on Wednesday, but if you’ve been listening, it’s been on high volume all along.

This combination allows for a 3-2-2 vote to hand over school land without any prioritization of the needs expressed by the communities most affected. This is why we need to re-visit the vote.