Reddit post on racism at Cromwell schools generates large-scale debate

A Reddit thread this week on racism in Cromwell schools mushroomed into a full-blown community debate about bias and discrimination, with the town’s mayor, school superintendent and state senator all weighing in and more than 200 responses by midday Wednesday.

A poster with the username Original-Wealth8478 wrote Tuesday of being a Cromwell High School sophomore who had experienced racism since elementary school, from being called “a sharpie pen” to getting anonymous KKK text messages on the phone.

“I had been subjected to consistent harassment, assault and racism whether that be against me or those close to me. I moved from Hartford to Cromwell for better schooling and to escape harsh bullying but Cromwell would be absolute hell. The principal in the middle school would ignore the racism,” the message said.

“Here at the ‘wonderful’ Cromwell high school the N-word is said so freely and without consequence. They care more about the F word than the N word here, and other racial slurs. And when they do enforce it, it’s only on the black students that say it,” the poster wrote.

Over the next 24 hours, scores of Reddit users responded, with several saying they too had suffered racism in Cromwell schools.

“It is sad, but this is reality for Cromwell high school. I too, am a student of Cromwell high. The faculty does not help the situation, and when we defend ourselves we get suspended … we get penalized to the point that we have to transfer to other schools or we get expelled,” wrote user Opening_Shelter_272.

The ensuing conversation involved dozens of anonymous people posting with Reddit usernames, but the initial post carried enough credibility that Sen. Matt Lesser and Cromwell Mayor James Demetriades got involved.

“I represent Cromwell in the state senate and am horrified to read this,” Lesser wrote just hours after the original post. “If you’d like to meet to discuss any of this, please message this account or shoot me an email at matthew.lesser@cga.ct.gov.”

Lesser told the Courant late Wednesday that he’d been in email contact with the poster.

“I’m trying to set up a meeting with the student. I was horrified by that post,” he said. “I had a conversation this morning with the Cromwell school leaders. I think we need to know more. If we’re not measuring up, we need to know how we can fix it.”

Demetriades, a lifelong Cromwell resident, also exchanged messages with the original poster, and wants to arrange a meeting with Lesser and schools Superintendent Enza Macri.

“This student is very brave to speak truth to power and to speak their truth. If this one student is experiencing it, then that indicates others probably are, too,” Demetriades said. “The superintendent, Sen. Lesser and myself are on the same page: We want to explore the situation further. We want to find ways we can be helpful. What the person experienced is wrong, and the student needs to feel their voice is heard.”

Demetriades said he’s hoping Lesser can help secure more state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion training for staff and students alike.

“The high school has a very active unity club that has met with the superintendent multiple times to work on issues, and the town has a DEI commission. Now that the student has brought this to the forefront, it deserves a united response.”

A Reddit user with the name sleepykilljoy wrote “I grew up in Cromwell, those kids found out I was Muslim and bullied me out of the school. I went to a magnet because of them.”

Another, Stretchy_Cat 64, said “That school has the worst culture of bullying I’ve ever heard of. When I was there the teachers also contributed to the bullying. I watched a teacher mock and humiliate a special-needs student to tears while all her favorites laughed at the poor girl. Racist bullying was also rife.”

“Graduated Cromwell High within the past five years, I remember there was a kid that posted a video in black face making lots of racist comments,” wrote CakeSniffer35. “Sad to hear things are just as they were.”

School officials did not take questions Wednesday. Board of Education Chairwoman Celina Kelleher said she would have no comment beyond the school system’s official statement, and Superintendent Enza Macri did not return messages. But Macri’s office sent out a statement by email saying the school system is committed to DEI and doesn’t accept any form of discrimination.

“I was deeply saddened to read the anonymous reddit post alleging institutional racism within the Cromwell public schools,” Macri wrote. “The administration accepts both identifiable and anonymous reports of bullying and discrimination and will respond to and investigate such allegations to the greatest extent possible.”

Both Lesser and Demetriades defended the town as welcoming and inclusive.

“I know Cromwell people are overwhelmingly neighborly and generous. These few incidents don’t reflect the community as a whole; it’s incredibly loving and accepting,” Demetriades said. “As a gay person I’ve felt very accepted and very loved.

“The big takeaway is that institutional racism exists because it’s ingrained,” he said. “We have to make a decision to unravel the hate and dismantles the barriers of the system of oppression. It takes the whole village to work to make those changes. When people just point the finger at somebody else, it becomes political.”

The mayor said he never heard the N word when he attended school in town, but acknowledged tension.

“There’s some inherent level of tension, we’re a majority white town. Any time there’s diversity or change, some people have a hard time with that.”

Numerous people on the Reddit thread pointed to similar situations in other school systems, with one referencing a 2020 letter from more than 400 students and alumni asking Trumbull schools to change the curriculum, policies and school culture to promote antiracism.

Responses to the original Reddit post weren’t unanimously supportive, though.

“Btw this high schooler is the same person who believes that black ppl can’t be racist. This is coming from another Cromwell high schooler. She’s a raging racist too,” wrote Jaded_File7564.

“This is literally completely true,” replied Patient-Ad-3392. “They’ve said things like thank god im not white but proceed to say they cant be racist because they are black.”