Anti-violence speaker gives hard look at racism, prejudices

SWAMPSCOTT – At an anti-violence presentation at Swampscott High School, speaker Calvin Terrell reminded his audience that the children killed in Newtown were a small percentage of the children who die every day.Terrell, founder and lead facilitator of Social Centric, an organization that provides education and training for all ages to enhance human interactions and global progress, was invited to speak as a part of Swampscott High School?s Wellness Week. Terrell dove deep into the heart of racism, classism and prejudices that he said society has been conditioned to believe in.Of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy last Friday, Terrell said, “I?ve responded to murders, shootings, riots in school,” said Terrell. “The shootings tend to happen in affluent communities. The one thing I always hear is, ?This was not supposed to happen here.? I?m always sensitive to that, but if it wasn?t supposed to happen ?here,? was it supposed to happen somewhere else?”Terrell called for a “vigilance” from the parents, family and friends of Swampscott students who filled rows in the high school?s auditorium, to be aware of a “society where we are saturated by stimuli” to place stereotypes on others and make quick judgments based on race, gender, religion or class.Terrell said racism is worse in 2012 than it was in the 1950s, and there are more slaves on the earth “to feed our industrialized consumption” now than there was pre-Civil War. “We are in the United States and yet we have to earn the word ?united,?” he said. “If we don?t change ? our streets are going to run with blood.”Terrell had the audience go through exercises, asking them to “take off your politically correct hats” and answer honestly with the first race that came to their heads when a word came onto the projector screen. The word “civilized” prompted “White,” the word “criminal” prompted “Black.” When Terrell put the word “terrorist” on the screen and the audience answered “Muslim,” Terrell put down the microphone and spoke loudly, “At that shooting last Friday, if the shooters had been Arab or Muslim, or even Mexican, the reporting would have been very different, wouldn?t it?”Terrell said the most important thing for people to do is atone for sins of racism and genocide, and recognize when it happens. “Why does it take horrible things to happen to start having meaningful conversations?” he asked. “Getting out of race doesn?t mean it?s over. We have work to do.”Terrell asked his audience to “clear the air and pray for this community of Newtown,” and ended his presentation with the words, “Clean it up, let?s earn the word ?unite.?”Swampscott parent Mindy Hanlon said at the close of Terrell?s talk she thought the discussion about the awareness of prejudice went very well with the blame the 20-year-old Newtown shooter, though deceased, was about to receive. “I think you can?t look at the person as evil,” she said. “To point fingers at one person doesn?t solve anything. It?s about what we can take away from it. This is a way people can start to look at, how can I change myself?”Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].