Students Hold Candlelight Vigil After More Racist Graffiti Found at Seaholm

It's been a long few weeks at : Another racist slur was discovered Friday afternoon in a boys bathroom just as the school was gearing up for a candlelight vigil, organized to make a stand against the racist acts that have dogged the school in recent weeks.

Hundreds of students, teachers and parents showed up Friday evening at Maple Field, candles in hand, to express frustration and discouragement over the reputation Seaholm is gaining because of the acts of a few.

“It has made me feel really disappointed and also enlightened,” said Erin Brown, co-vice president of Seaholm's Diversity Club, the group that organized the vigil. “It is a minority, and I’m glad there is a positive majority because we need students to unite as one — we will not stand for this.”

Shane Levy, fellow Diversity Club co-vice president, agreed. “I am glad to see the Seaholm community united in a positive manner,” Levy said.

The vigil was held in light of what is now five reported incidents of racism at Seaholm. On April 20, students discovered , specifically targeting five African-American students at the school. The following day, was found in the mailbox of an African-American teacher.

After calling a special meeting for parents April 26, Seaholm Principal Terry Piper then confirmed that two more anonymous notes were discovered inside the lockers of two African-American students April 26 and April 27.

The school held a , during which members of Birmingham Voice, a student group devoted to dissolving racial tensions, urged their classmates to stand up against racism and bigotry.

However, in an email to parents Friday, Piper said another racial slur had been discovered in a boys restroom that day. According to Birmingham Community Relations Director Marcia Wilkinson, the slur didn't name individual students.

Wilkinson said school continues its investigation into who is behind the incidents, though officials believe it to be work of one or two students. "We're still moving forward, trying to put things in place, trying to address what's happened already," she said.

In light of everything that had happened, senior Rachel Redmond — not a member of the Diversity Club — approached a teacher and asked what could be done. The teacher suggested hosting a vigil, and Redmond ran with it.

With the support of the Diversity Club, an event invitation on Facebook and a couple of announcements in school, they were able to rally a congregation of students.

“I’m overwhelmed with the amount of support this event has received,” Redmond said.

Students from all walks of life came together for the vigil, a few sharing poems, songs and stories of how the acts have affected them personally. Note cards and pencils were passed out to attendees as they walked through the Maple Field gate. The note cards gave those in attendance the opportunity to express anonymously how they feel about racism, and Diversity Club members read many aloud at the ceremony’s end.

Some of the notes that hit home with the crowd and received foot-stomping support from the students included:

• “I’ve never been prouder to be part of the Seaholm community than I am tonight.”
• “I have a dream that different races can get along together in the school of Seaholm.”
• “Racism rips apart the fabrics of our hearts.”
• “I never thought I could understand racism until it was a part of my every day life while living abroad.”
• “Racism’s wrong and it needs to end. We’re all a part of this school and we should be treated equally.”