City leaders have offered reasoned responses this week as controversy swirls over suspending “High-Five Friday” in the Northampton schools, and we urge them to continue working with the community on a revised youth outreach program.
Starting in December, Northampton police officers rotated among the city’s four elementary schools, greeting students in the morning, exchanging high-fives and fist bumps and, sometimes, playing sports on the playground. It was a well-intentioned effort to foster a relationship between police and youngsters, based on a program described last year at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference.
“High Five Friday” was put on hold last week after some parents pointed out that not all children — particularly students of color and youngsters who had previous negative encounters with police — were comfortable with uniformed officers at their school. And some School Committee members said the program had not been properly explained to the community.
Northampton Police used the right tone in announcing Feb. 18 on its Facebook page that Chief Jody Kasper and school Superintendent John Provost “decided to stop the High Five Friday, but they remain committed to exploring alternative programs.
“For a large portion of our population this program may not seem controversial. However, we cannot overlook the fact this this program may be perceived differently by some members of our community, Most importantly, we want kids to arrive at school enthusiastic and ready to learn! Luckily, we still accept high fives, low fives, and fist bumps. If you see any of us out there on the streets, feel free to ask for one!”
Kasper told the Gazette early in the week: “We thought it was a great way to start building relationships with young kids. We liked that it was something that was seemingly — seemingly — simple, but has turned out not to be.”
As the story gained national attention, Kasper explained to The New York Times, “Certainly we do not want to have our officers at a school and have kids, even if it’s a handful of kids, be traumatized and have a negative experience with our officers. That’s the opposite of the goal we’re trying to accomplish.
“One of the things we’re all learning in our current climate is we need to listen to other people and hear what they’re saying.”
Predictably, Northampton was targeted by conservative commentators. Bill O’Reilly on Fox News took aim Wednesday night: “Why don’t you toughen up out there in Northampton, all right? If you didn’t have the cops, the place would be overrun.”
More disturbing is the intolerant tone of some Facebook posts, including the accusation that a few “social justice warriors” citing hypothetical concerns persuaded police and school officials to halt a program that was received positively by many children and parents.
Provost correctly criticized the divisive comments on social media. “I have had many conversations with parents and community members with diverse opinions about the program,” he said. “I have found all of these conversations to be positive and productive. It dismays me that much of the online discussion has been so hurtful. Children learn by observing adult behavior.”
Provost and Kasper plan to meet again March 14 to discuss possible alternatives to “High-Five Friday.” Part of their process should be a public forum with face-to-face conversation and an opportunity to hear all points of view in the community.
There is evidence that the racial divide in the United States is reflected in differing opinions that blacks and whites have about police. According to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults last summer, while 75 percent of whites believe their local police do an excellent or good job in treating all racial and ethnic groups equally, that view is held only by 35 percent of blacks.
Mayor David Narkewicz is right in supporting Kasper and Provost for responding “to legitimate concerns raised by members of our school community. I appreciate their commitment to working together in the coming weeks to address those concerns in the interest of all our students and families. … and I wish people would step back a little bit because the tone I hear is very troubling.”
Indeed, this is a teachable moment in Northampton, but only if people with differing points of view are willing to engage in civil discourse and listen carefully to each other.