A Letter from Revere Youth
Dear Editor,
We, the undersigned, are writing to you as an informal collective of Revere youth. The recent murder of George Floyd, Amuad Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others have brought us together to write to you today. We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and our Black community in Revere. We are appalled by the lack of acknowledgement of the ongoing national crisis and lack of support to our community from influential community members.
According to the US Census Bureau’s ACS 5 year estimate, Revere is home to a population of 53.9k people, with a median household income of $53,794 and where 37% of residents are foreign born and 30.1% are Hispanic or Latino residents. An estimated 69% of enrolled Revere Public School (RPS) students are of color (and identify as members of ethnic minority groups). RPS is a Title 1 school district that benefits from additional government funding and resources — because of these demographic statistics. Ironically, neither the school administration, nor the school committee, nor the city council reflects this. There remains to be a lack of representation all throughout the city. The city and school officials have (for too long) attempted to embrace a glorified image of ethnic diversity, without actually addressing the needs of youth of color or committing their work to protecting the civil and human rights of Revere youth of color.
We will not stand for the silence of our community leaders who lack the proper use of the platform that they are equipped with and cease to shed light on the current issues that plague the Black community. To quote human rights activist Desmond Tutu, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.â€
We call upon any and all community members in positions of power to:
1. Publicly acknowledge the human rights crisis and ongoing genocide. Declare that you stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
2. If responsible for the safety and protection of Revere youth, dedicate the rest of your career to protecting youth of color and their human rights.
3. Urge your constitutents not to affiliate with other alleged racist platforms, organizations, and public figures that have attempted to profit off of the ongoing struggles of Revere youth.
4. Commit your work to dedicating spaces for youth, especially Black Revere youth, to vocalize their feelings and organize. Commit your time to listening to youth voices at these spaces.
5. Collaborate with other Revere community officials and organizations that have also stood in solidarity with us and the Black Lives Matter movement.
6. Continue to support upcoming initiatives that Revere youth of color will be pushing for in the coming weeks.
Please do not let the youth of your community down.
Sincerely,
Current RHS student signatories:
Xiomara Romani Rojas
Amir Ayed
Allen Hou
Xavier Alvarez
Ryan Sarmanian
Amelia Viscay
Sarena Sao
Minnah Sheikh
Karen Restrepo Gomez
Emma Cassinello
Karen Santiago
Isabelle Martin
Janaya Busheme
Mikaella Almeida
Jaileen Dubon
Kathy Trinh
Lesley Barrientos
Shirley RodrÃguez
Jonathan Flores Angel
Nour Selman
Oulaya Louaddi
Obsee Tolla
Grace Rondon
Kristian Pecollari
Calvin Boudreau
Daniela Magana
sofia cardona
Jack D’Ambrosio
Nancy Tran
Evelyn Lara
Nicole Perdomo
Dimitrios Hodaj
Lorina Tran
Angelice Leng
Emely Garcia
Alejandra Guingue
Amira Kotbi
elianni monge
Lynberlee Leng
Edwin Hernandez
Fatima
Astrid Noriega
Calvin Tham
giselle madrigal
maria clara campos
Kevin Camargo
Jafar Barry
Jadeline Garzon
jenipher silva
Gianna Uminski
Haroon Mirza
khristel ortez
Keyla Cantarero
Karolina Da Silva
Samantha cajoux
Pamela Pemberthy
Michael Adolphus
Shaimaa Bouras- Saiah
Fábio Tran
Kenny Vo
Gianna Chianca
Malak oufessa
Ariel Uribe
Elicia Echevarria
Ayah Amar
Chelsea Phan
Christy Ly
Ayat Zakaria
Hailey Ancheta
emma bruno
Jessr
Souhaila Mziguir
Thifany Da Silva
zeiry garmendia
Kevin Serrano
Brianna Mercado
Diego Lara
Ena Batic
Juliana DelGreco
Danielle Catherine LaFontaine
Nathan DeSouza
Emily De Jesus Kolsky
Brianna Senecal
Alaa atoui
Lya Castro Cen
Amber Aguilera
Kaitlin Mendalka
Amya
Dania Hallak
Alexa Lostaunau
Antony Arias
Lina Nguyen
Tatiana Roman
ava rocino
Gabrielli Oliveira
Elsy Arely Romero
Zach Bowden
Adam Fazazi
Hien Nguyen
Sarah Kathryn Condelli
Nada Abou Hadiba
Victor pelatere
Brittney Pham
Sophia Garcia
Sydney Ciano
Aya Malki
Valeska Flores Muralles
Ahmed Mohammed Mahtar
Christian Madrid
Guadalupe Alvarado
Eiad Karageh
Phillipe Eligene
Nathan Ramos
Michael Roncevich
Maajda Louaddi
Gaby Hernandez Villanueva
Nafiz islam
Angela Huynh
Yulissa Santana Baez
Rosa peña
Amy Chavez
jackie lemus
Mia Perrin
Carmen Garcia
Eve Lescovitz
Katherine Acosta
Milton Rios
Vivian V.A Le
Astrid Umanzor
Johan Martinez
Camila Sposito
Ryesha Mezan
Amber Aguilera
Youssef Assour
Armando Buenrostro
Edina Ibreljic
Vincent Ventola
Hajar Nadin
Adam Abougalala
Gianna Berry
Jessica Villalobos
Parker Legere
Christopher Osgood
Sarah Reyes
alessandra santos
Isabella Borges
Rafael Andrade
Faith Nwafor
taylor walsh
Steven Leone
angela cene
Skyla DeSimone
Rachel Huynh
Belma Mujic
Giana losanno
Julianna DiCicco
Isabella Restrepo
Hilina tafesse
Itati Salazar
Israelly E. Menezes
jancy vargas
Carolina Bravo
Tyler Richard Minasian
Kimberly Andrade
Tiffany majano
Skye Rivers
Victoria Deoliveira Silva
manuela tobon
jimmy luis dubon
Anthony Insogna-Parziale
Soleil Yuong
Brianna Paradis
Luis Jaramillo
Megan DeFaz
Elaysia lung
Jasmine Rodriguez
Jackelynn Zapata
Salome Gezehagn
Rose Burns
Kalei Alba
Menold Sinani
Carlos Quintanilla
Jason Acosta Espinosa
Shakira Sahibi
Brad Silva
Angelina Marin
Salma Khamis
Yenifer landaverde
Manal Dembri
Kathy Umanzor Andino
Mayerly Ortez
Kevin Hernandez
Kyle Gove
Astrid Hernandez
Natalia Lopez
Cinthia Sarita
Nour EL Houda Belkhira
Anthony Soares
Yassir Soukaki
Alexandra Ramirez Caro
Kayla Armetta
Gabi Vasquez
Trish Le
Hana Aklog
Nattaly Hernandez
Vanisha Samon
Nhan Deo
Emily Woodman
Rony Granados
Mazer Ali
Zachary hbani
Samra Klapuh
Malia Sanchez
Adrianna Fusco
Matthew Perdomo
Dania Alvarez
Gweneth Ke
Jennifer Arevalo Merlos
Tanisha Charles
Gilbert Dario Oviedo Marte
justin cambria
Sabrina Carrion
Wellan sok
Imane Douane
Justin Gullage
Juan Rivera
Emily Tham
Nina Cassinello
Madison Lucchesi
Larissa Alves
Emely Moya
Emmanuel Alvarado
Laura Camilo
Subaiyal Asghar
Jay
isabella abreus
Coby Everton
isabella veraldi
Carolina Bettero
Jaryd Benson
Ricardo Goncalves
Larissa Alves
Emely Moya
Rana Ahmed
Emily Nguyen
Sofia Gouriny
Sonia Salazar
Dayanara Sanchez
Razhan Kamal
Kevin Cano De La Cruz
Jc
Astrid Noriega
Dennis Othmer
Alexandra Burke
sofia rojas
Isabella Silveira De Toni
Esteban Henao
Kimberly Doblado Guevara
Yasmine El Hajjajy
dayanara cano
Nesrine Abdelouhab
Annalisse Hart
Nicole Bagley
Samuel franco
Christian mancia
William Ly
Nadia
Mariam chahid
Elba Tejada
Nahomy Galvez Martinez
josimar martinez
priscila haro
Sarah Rashid
Alondra Enciso
Amina Chitaoui
Rafael Buenavista
Gianluca Atehortuav
Asmaa Omar
Melanie Duarte
Isabella Martinez
Hani El-shibi
RHS Alumni signatories:
Julia Tran
Erica Zapata
Liza Gonzalez
Marta Portillo
Allison Treminio
Nicole Mendonca
Riaz Butt-Garcia
Kamila Calle
Somaya Laroussi
Kevin Nguyen
Brian Arango
Cristian Acuna
Sarah Habbour
Christian Rios Arango
Hridhi Islam
Lesley Santos
Haley Bennett
Omar Bendjahene
Vincent Axiotakis
William Ardon
Heidi Barrientos
Vanessa Cabrera
Jason Reyes
Sari Saint-Hilaire
Christian Eaves
Jennifer Parada
Balsam Zenab Elalam
Alaa Ahmed
Michael Marchese
Matteo Velasquez
Luana Dias
Angelica Ortez
Sebastian Vanegas
Wallid Soukaki
Oumayma Chaibi
Estefania Arroyave
Natalie Maggioli
Sara Mejia
David Lania
Jhovani Lizardo
Ava Hawkes
Kevin Henriquez
Salma Hazimeh
Hind Harima
Jennifer Mata
Abderrahmane Benzellat
Stephanie Carvalho
Olivia Novoselsky
Truc Nguyen
Andrew Reth Suy
Judy Tran
Manuela Gomez Gutierrez
Samuel Bryce Gonzalez
Denys Umanzor
Gabriela B
Phil Smith
Brianna MartÃnez
Corey Khat
Arlin Arias
Aaron Rondon
Melissa Perez
Madison Cunningham
Matthew Stasio
Samantha Karl
Kati Perlera-Medrano
Joe Gendreau
Alejandro Ortiz
Fernando Lara
Alyssa Julia Mellone
Ahmed Ibreljic
Ally Ciano
Naila Jabbar
Kiana Ny
Adrian Vynnesh Boodoosingh
Daniel Gutierrez
Britney Sao
Cristian Medina
Zemar Jones
Christopher Bundick Jr
Isabella Velasquez
Melisa Avdic
Erin Mahoney
Kathryn Calo
Stefanie Flores
Nadira B
Abigail Gutierrez
Natalie Maggioli
Jessica Vo
Zachary Gentile
Emely Morales Pizarro
Erica Zapata
Mimi Hoang Tran
Palmira Caraballo
Marcella Cardone
Tina Nguyen
Maria Torres
Stephanie Vu
Alejandro Zuleta-Munoz
Sonya Chaabouni
Jillian Eaves
Sarah Benhalima
Arlin Arias
Lizbeth Gutierrez
Salvatore Christie
Jonathan Nushi
Gabriella Serraino
Idriss Taoujni
Nicolas Velasquez Leon
Josue Aguiluz
Daniel Celaj
Sid M
David Phan
Sofia Aurora Gil
Roman Iacoviello
Kelli Brawley
Wissal Fathy
Camilia Aichfakir
Sofia Aristizabal
Olivia McManus
Sonia Hercules
Alejandro Imbrechts
Reinaldo Diaz
Valentina Saldarriaga
Hannah Fitzpatrick
Joela Goga
Mayanka Meristal
Leila Cesic
Andres Mejia-Callejas
Isabella Amato
Tinuola Olatunbosun
Revere Resident signatories:
Arturo Buenrostro
Jannel Mercado
Jhonnatan Rivera
Sarrah Naittalb
Lina Ghiat
Jhonnatan Rivera
Lesedi Zulu
Ayah Harper
Fadi El Asri
Chantal Fontanelli
Gabriella Torres Mendez
Jena Baiz
Stephanie Reyes
Fazeela Sheikh
Lorenza Cuci
Victoria Figueiredo Martinez
Katherine Sandoval
Clara Coll
Arnulfo Imbrechts
Kethlen Jacome
Lina Nasri
Kashif Sheikh
Farah Shaikh
Nadia El-shibi
Umar Sheikh
Amanda Kosta
Bilal Sheikh
Chaimaa Hossaini
Nicole Almendares Joshi
Caroline Ibaachen
Rayan Echelh
Hassan Sheikh
Angela Abad
samantha solis
Isabella Hoeun
Alondra Enciso
Hira Sheikh
Marisol Lopez
Safaa Laroussi
Franklin López
Sothea Yuong
Liv Yuong
Ayah Khamis
Jasmine Deleon
Cheyenne Rose Gibney
Lesedi Zulu
Kevin DePaula
Other signatories:
Rocio Gonzalez
Olivia Silveira
Nicholas Chaparro
Luka Papa
Katherine Sandoval
Stephanie Azurdia
Nayellie Estrella
Jermaine asegura Hernández
Kayleigh Brammer
Ahmed Hesham Reda
Kelly Diaz
Ariana pacheco
Jemima Salvador
Adam Lahyani
Justin Truong
Brenda Mata
Maria Hernandez
Tinuola Olatunbosun
Aden yeshitila
Jeancarlos Guerrero
Justin Truong
Alem Cesic
Sofia Visconti
Ashley Diforte
A Mission Towards Equity
Dear Editor:
Today, we reflect on the tragic death of George Floyd, the racist incident in Central Park, the shooting of a Black man while jogging in Georgia – as well as many others. We are saddened and angry about these events that once again laid bare the ugly racism that still exists in this country with particularly deadly consequences for Black boys and men (not that Black women are exempt).
While we are horrified, we are unfortunately not surprised. These are not isolated incidents but a chronic pattern of racial hate crimes that have persisted for hundreds of years. In this difficult time in which communities of color are disproportionately affected by the devastating health, social and economic consequences of COVID-19, this seems too much for these communities – and all of us – to bear.
We feel frustrated and even helpless as we struggle with what to do to fundamentally change the racist systems, structures and culture that contribute to tragedies like George Floyd and so many others. But, we know that as a community, at the very least we must recognize, discuss and grieve the heinous incidences of the past month.
At a time like this, and the many others that will come, we must reaffirm the importance of our mission of “improving the health and well-being of the diverse communities we serve.†CCHI strives to model what it means to value all lives. For those disproportionately affected by this pandemic and in memory of those that have lost their lives, we rededicate ourselves to partner with others to root out racism and journey towards equity.
Joan Quinlan
Vice President for Community Health
Leslie Aldrich
Executive Director, CCHI
