Dear Billy T and Somerville/Medford News Weekly Speakup Line,

Off the record:I was just trying checking out the credibility of this message that was supposedly sent out by Joe Curtatone on Wednesday to all parents of Somerville students, but unfortunately I confirmed that it’s 100% accurate and true! Totally disrespectful to our law-enforcement and community!

From Joe Curtatone and the Somerville Superintendent of Schools:

Early Wednesday afternoon at about 1:15 p.m., results of the Breonna Taylor case were announced. By now, we should all know Breonna Taylor and her story, as well as the circumstances surrounding her death.

It is yet another story of a Black community member – this time a 26-year-old Black medical worker in Louisville, Kentucky – dying at the hands of White police officers. Yet another example of the institutional racism that continues to traumatize and disempower our communities of color, particularly our Black neighbors, friends, and family members.