STANWOOD CAMANO NEWS: Residents stand up for equity at Saturday rally
Peggy Wendel reports from a rally in Stanwood:
About 30 people took to the streets Saturday on a cold, sunny afternoon to stand up for racial justice and equity.
Some had come to such rallies here in 2020 and some were new.
Parents, children, young adults and grandparents from Stanwood, Camano Island and Arlington gathered on the corners of Highway 532 and 92nd Avenue holding signs that read, “Today is the Perfect Day to Do the Right Thing,” “Do Unto Others,” “Stand Up,” “Be Welcoming” and “Black Lives Matter.”
They came in response to an alleged Nov. 4 incident at a Stanwood High School football game in which Stanwood students allegedly yelled racial slurs at players from Lakes High School.
They Said It
In a statement posted last week on the Stanwood-Camano School District’s website, Superintendent Deborah Rumbaugh wrote, “First and foremost, I, as Superintendent, stand firm in my conviction that any act of hate or hate speech has no place in our district or community.”
She wrote that the school district has launched an investigation into the incident, which could take up to three weeks. She asked that judgment be reserved as the investigation proceeds.
One guy drove by, making an obscene gesture.
“Really? Really? You’ve got a problem with equality and respect?” said Janet St. Clair, an Island County commissioner, who showed up to wave a sign as a private resident.
[St. Clair said,] “For those who say all lives matter, they’re absolutely right. So those lives that are most at risk should matter most. That’s why Black lives matter and Brown lives matter. It’s not an either/or — it’s a yes/and.”
