Stein’s letter was misguided
Reading Gil Stein’s demand for PVUSD Trustee Joy Flynn’s resignation (Sept. 19-25, page 9), it seems clear that this is an instance of a white man attempting to police the behavior of a Black woman.
He comments on grammar and spelling mistakes; on her “lack of preparedness”; on her “lack of commitment.” He says that she has “failed to make the effort to learn,” that she seems “ignorant” and “clueless.” He then shares that she has declined to meet with him, citing safety concerns, which he deems “absurd.”
First, we would like to invite Mr. Stein to reflect on why a Black woman might feel unsafe meeting with a seemingly angry white man, who has been openly and publicly hostile in his assessment of her work, up to and including comparing her behavior—again, a Black woman’s behavior—to the KKK.
Second, we would also invite him—and all of us—to reflect on the ideas of “ignorance,” “efforts to learn,” and “preparedness.” Where do those ideas come from? Are “worship of the written word,” expectations of the “right way” to do things, and standards of “perfectionism” all ideas actually rooted in white supremacy culture? Is there an internal or implicit bias against the first Black trustee—who also happens to be a woman—on the PVUSD board that might be causing him to excessively focus on what she is doing (from his perspective) “wrong?”
Finally, we would like to remind him—and everyone reading— that Ms. Flynn is exceptionally qualified for this role, which is why she was appointed. She has served as a trustee on the Second Harvest Food Bank board, as vice chair of the Santa Cruz County Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and as a member of the Circle on Anti-Racism, Social and Economic Justice. She is also a parent, a fierce Black woman in the world, and an insightful and powerful community member and leader.
Creating diversity does not simply mean giving a Black or Brown person a seat at the table. It means letting go of some of our old ideas about how things “should” look or “have always been done” to create space for new ideas, new perspectives, new ways of doing and being that are informed by diverse experiences. We strongly encourage all of us to pause, reflect, and think critically before following Mr. Stein’s lead.
By Emma Ledvina, Pam Sexton, Susan Kohen, Jill Susskind of Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Cruz County
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In response to Gil Stein letter
We are writing as representatives of the grassroots group Pajaro Valley for Ethnic Studies and Justice, in response to Gil Stein’s absurd and racist attack (Sept. 19-25, page 9) on PVUSD trustee Joy Flynn in his letter to the editor.
It is important to note that Stein has a long history of publicly attacking people of color, especially women of color, who do not conform to his extreme pro-Israel beliefs. This includes respected ethnic studies professors at UC Santa Cruz and San Francisco State University, the director of the Resource Center for Nonviolence, PVUSD trustees and civil rights activist Angela Davis.
It is also relevant to note that Stein made significant financial contributions to the political campaign of Trustee Flynn’s predecessor, Kim De Serpa, two weeks after they jointly pushed the PVUSD board to cancel its ethnic studies contract against the best interests of teachers and students. It is no wonder that he considers Trustee Flynn, who he has less influence over, an unsatisfactory successor.
Stein criticizes Trustee Flynn for asking clarifying questions about the school bond measure before making important decisions, calling her “ignorant and incompetent” and using the long-standing racist trope of questioning and disparaging the intelligence of Black people.
He singles her out for opposing the censure of Trustee Medina, even though the decision was a 4-2 majority vote by the board. He lambasts the typos in her emails as a lack of commitment, even as he misspells the PVUSD superintendent’s name within his own letter to the editor.
As parents, educators, and mentors of young people, we have witnessed trustee Flynn demonstrate many of the qualities we aim to cultivate in our students. She has shown courage, humility, and integrity in asking thoughtful questions before making important decisions, in changing her mind when necessary, and in taking accountability for her actions.
Trustee Flynn’s sincerity and honesty has been a welcome change from trustees who ignore emails from students and constituents, lie to colleagues and constituents, fail to disclose key conflicts of interest, and bully students in public, even if they may have fewer typos in their emails.
By Nat Low and Eli Davies, (Aptos), Lourdes Barraza, Gabriel Barraza, Roy Recio, (Watsonville), Christine Hong (Soquel) and Bobby Pelz (Santa Cruz)
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