To the editor:

Parents be aware.

Some of the children who attend public schools in Kennebunk have made derogatory comments to some of the few children of color in our community.

I was dismayed to hear of this through Paris Thomas, who spoke at a recent event at First Parish Church of Kennebunk. Mr. Thomas and his wife, Andrea, are members of the Committee for Diverse Learning, a new group that is helping to educate school children so they will be able to appreciate the diversity of American society.

I cannot name the children involved but do want to let you know what kinds of things have happened. An Asian-American child was told not to sit at a particular lunch table because it was reserved for “Americans.” Students called a black child a most offensive name. Another black child was told by some children to sit at the back of the bus.

These incidents, and many more, filtered to the Committee for Diverse Learning through caring students and parents.

Andrea Thomas said these examples are just a few of the ugly things coming from children at our schools. Some of the incidents have been addressed by teachers and parents, but many are afraid to voice the incidents so as not to be blacklisted as a trouble parent at the school, or they brush it aside as kids being kids.

After all the years since Martin Luther King and thousands of others stood up peacefully to confront these issues, I am sad and angry to know that children in our small town have absorbed negative attitudes toward people of a culture or color different from their own.

I am asking parents to be aware of this problem, and to do their best to teach their children that all Americans, except American Indians, came to our shores from other countries and cultures, and that the resulting diversity is what makes our country unique and strong.

Vicki Adams

Kennebunk