Brewster Graduates Heard Using Racial Slur in Online Video

The Brewster community became ensnared in controversy last week when it was discovered students reportedly with Brewster High School roots were seen on a short video using a racial slur.

The video, posted by Baller Alert, showed students from Brewster using the n-word, according to an article in the New York Post. In the seven-second video, chants of the n-word are heard and then at the end of the video, one teen is heard saying “I f—ing hate n—ers.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Valerie Henning, who is African-American, said in a statement she was disappointed to see the racially charged video with former students in it.

“We repudiate the comments made by these individuals in the strongest possible terms. Knowing that these individuals attended a school district where values of equality and respect for all are fostered, it is disappointing to learn about this incident,” Henning said. “We know that these attitudes are not reflective of our school district or community. We remain firmly committed to providing an education that celebrates diversity and fosters mutual respect.”

Henning added the students in the video graduated this past school year and are no longer under the district’s jurisdiction. A forum to discuss the video and how the community can move forward will be scheduled at a later date, Henning said in an email.

Contacted by The Putnam Examiner, longtime Brewster School Board President Dr. Stephen Jambor referred all questions to the district office.

Social media was abuzz about the online video as many Brewster residents with or without children in the district weighed in.

One social media poster who has two children in the district said minority students were “hurt and sad and angry” over the video.

Brewster resident Mark Hegenaur, a parent of two in the district, said he believes the school system has done a good job teaching tolerance concerning different races and cultures.

“From seeing what I hear from my kids, I think they’re doing a great job,” Hegenaur said of the district.

Norma Mora, a community activist, said the video was very sad to watch.

While there has been a history dating back years of ethnic intolerance, Mora said Brewster is becoming a more diverse, inclusive community.

“We have to do a lot of work to try and understand to address each other as a human being, not necessarily as a race, as an ethnic group because we all breathe, we eat, we need shelter, we need love, we need compassion and it’s about that,” Mora said. “The common ground.”

David Propper